The Relationship between Enrollment in Service Learning Courses and Deep Approaches to Learning: A Campus Study
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Utilizing 2012 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for both \nfreshmen and senior students on a college campus, this study isolates the influence of \nparticipation in service learning courses on freshmen and senior students’ application \nof deep approaches to learning. Deep learning, as compared to surface learning, \ndescribes the extent to which a student engages in the learning process. Students \nwho use deep learning strategies make more robust connections to course material \nby emphasizing learning activities such as integration, synthesis, and reflection. By \nmaking deeper connections, students focus on both the substance and the underlying \nmeaning of their studies. Students learn to apply the knowledge gained to real \nlife situations and successfully integrate this with prior learning. Multiple linear \nregression results for both freshmen and senior students suggest that students’ use \nof deep approaches to learning increased as their participation in service learning \ncourses increased, adjusting for student characteristics and participation in other \nhigh impact practices. These findings provide a rationale for institutions to support \nfaculty who engage with their community partners to develop service learning \ncourses. For faculty who teach service learning courses, these findings support the \nvalue, from an institutional perspective, of the work that they do.
Authors: Thomas W. Hahn, Julie A. Hatcher
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2191384643