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The community-engaged pedagogy of service-learning is an integral teaching strategy aligned with the mission of Iona University and an Edmund Rice Christian Brothers education. Service-learning can take place in any department, major or class as is deemed appropriate by individual faculty members in collaboration with the community partnerships coordinator for service-learning and with the approval of the associate vice provost.

This page outlines the meaning and benefits of Service-Learning as well as Cocurricular Service-Learning.

If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss a service-learning course option please contact Kevin M. Griffith, CFC, '83 at kgriffith@iona.edu.

What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning is a faculty-led academic experience for students.  The components of a Service-Learning Course include:  

  • Academic Content: Teaching the academic content of the course while developing skills that can be applied to student learnings outside of the classroom
  • Community Need: Enter into a reciprocal relationship with a community partner (local, national or international) that incorporates what is learned in the classroom with community-based service projects/activities for Iona Students
  • Intentional Reflection: Participate in reflective experiences that facilitate deep critical thinking, academic learning, engaged citizenship and social justice.

In a service-learning course, students acquire knowledge and develop skills based on academically rigorous content through scholarly literature, faculty lectures, independent research, group activities and a variety of other educative experiences. These knowledge and skill sets are then paired with and applied to what a community partner group (public and nonprofit agencies; civic, charitable, religious and governmental organizations) has identified as a need for the community it serves.

Courses with a service-learning component can be offered in any academic discipline, focus on any applicable academic topic and be facilitated by any faculty member who wishes to explore service-learning.

Community partners are central co-instructors in the educative process. These partners work with Iona and our individual faculty members to design and implement service activities that enable students to apply newly developed knowledge and skill sets in a way that provides meaningful experiential outcomes for all parties.

Service-learning pedagogy emphasizes that community voice, knowledge, and identity play a formative role in defining what service initiatives are implemented. Our intention is that relationships with community partners are “reciprocal.” We commit ourselves to never take more from a community partner than is given, or to give more to that community partner than is learned from the experience.

We believe that all service-based initiatives must honor the values, perspectives, identities, and knowledge sets of community partners. Our community partners identify the need that our faculty and students will partner in serving. It is not the role of the University to decide in isolation what a community needs or how these needs will be met!

Intentional reflection is a cornerstone of service-learning pedagogy. Scholarship on experiential and service-learning pedagogies consistently asserts that students cannot be expected to perform an action (such as service) and subsequently walk away with significant insights. However, when the activity is paired with reflective components, the potential that students experience significant learning is greatly increased.

Every academic service-learning course at Iona University includes a reflection component that seeks to equip learners to move beyond surface level understandings of complex social issues and facilitates deep critical thinking, academic learning, and engaged citizenship. Reflection often manifests itself in written form, but other strategies are encouraged – including large and small group discussion, artistic expressions such as poetry, painting or drawing, and multimedia presentations. Regardless of modality, a service-learning experience is not complete without a reflection component.

Service-Learning Opportunities

  • Are open to all faculty and all courses provided they are approved by the Associate Vice Provost
  • Can be in-person/on-site or virtual
  • Can be local, national or international

Service-Learning Partnership Matches

Approved service-learning courses can avail of the following service opportunities if they are a partnership match for the course:

  • A partnership with an appropriate community organization
  • Study Abroad Trips
  • Iona in Mission Trips/Immersions
  • Mission & Ministry Service Projects

Service-Learning Is Not

  • A volunteer program
  • Community service hours
  • Service through the Office of Mission & Ministry, the Study Abroad Office or Iona in Mission trips/immersions without formally approved Service-Learning designation
  • Any service that is not connected to a formally approved Service-Learning course

For a more detailed document on service-learning, please contact Kevin M. Griffith, CFC, '83 at kgriffith@iona.edu.

Cocurricular Service-Learning

Cocurricular Service-Learning  (CoSL) engages students in activities outside the formal curriculum that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities for reflection.

CoSL resonates with the founding principles of Blessed Edmund Rice’s approach to education as a means of standing in solidarity with those marginalized by poverty and injustice: Presence, Compassion & Liberation.

CoSL honors the tradition of St. Columba who erected a Church and monastery on the Isle of Iona.  From Iona, he promoted the cornerstones of his teachings: Faith, Scholarship & Service.

What Is Cocurricular Service-Learning?

Iona University offers a variety of service opportunities for students to volunteer their time with local, national and international community partners.  Many of these opportunities are sponsored by the Office of Mission & Ministry through its highly successful Iona in Mission program and/or its tremendous efforts at community outreach.
These immersions and community service projects can be designated as Cocurricular Service-Learning opportunities provided they meet one of these criteria:

  1. The service is sustained over the course of an entire semester, or
  2. The service is sustained over the course of an extended immersion experience.

In both instances, the service must include a built-in mechanism for reflection and deep critical thinking.

Cocurricular Service-Learning – Student Benefits

  • Students who participate in a CoSL project or program can attach their CoSL certificate to their résumé.
  • A CoSL certificate that is attached to a résumé is attractive to potential employers. 
  • CoSL helps move students from providing volunteer services for others to becoming advocates for real change in society.
  • Engagement in CoSL benefits students in the areas of personal growth and interpersonal development.

Experienced Faculty

Experienced service-learning faculty members who can share their experiences with you include:

  • Nadine Cosby, Ph.D., Provost's Office and Media & Strategic Communication
  • Jennifer Gerometta, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Speech Communication Studies
  • Tony Kelso, Ph.D., Media & Strategic Communication
  • Joshua Klein, Ph.D., Criminal Justice & Sociology
  • Tricia Mulligan, Ph.D., Provost's Office and Political Science
  • Natalie Redcross, Ph.D., Media & Strategic Communication
  • Bret Sanner, Ph.D.,  LaPenta School of Business
  • Michelle Veyvoda, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Speech Communication Studies

Faculty Service-Learning Reflections

I started using service-learning as a teaching strategy because…
it is an exciting opportunity to use an active and impactful pedagogy. Students learn a lot in the classroom, by reading, writing, thinking, debating. They learn even more from applying what they learn in a life context. They synthesize what they are learning differently, reflectively. Students bring so much to serving others through their unique training and position and receive much in return.

I have found that service-learning has benefited my students by…
allowing them to experience civic engagement and global citizenship. These concepts become real, a part of their overall academic and life experiences. Through their actions, students understand the importance of community and that they have much to offer.

I have or currently use service-learning in the following classes...
Politics and Poverty in the Dominican Republic and Haiti; Politics and Development of India; International Law.

The service-learning project I am most proud of is…
working with our community partner, Crossroads, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. This service project allowed our students to work with a variety of groups including the Haitian community, children, prison inmates, dump dwellers, recovering addicts and religious congregations. Students connected on a very deep level with the people we met and were inspired and motivated to engage in advocacy projects upon their return to the U.S.

If a faculty new to the pedagogy were to ask me if they should consider using service-learning, I would say…
YES! It is an enriching, challenging approach to teaching that will reach students on a deeper level than any classroom experience alone. It prompts students to synthesize what they know on a much deeper level and demonstrates that they can in fact move the world.

I think my teaching has benefitted by incorporating service-learning because…
I am more aware of and sensitive to how students react to academic content and life experiences. As I have experienced many “firsts” in working with the students and our community partners, I think it has made me a more thoughtful, empathetic and effective teacher and scholar.
 

I started using service-learning as a teaching strategy because…
building relationships in the community and witnessing the experiences of members in the community that students will serve as speech pathologists makes me, and them, better at what we do.

I have found that service-learning has benefited my students by…
adding value and meaning to their academic experience.

I have or currently use service-learning in the following classes...
Aural Rehabilitation, Phonetics and Intro to Oral Communication.

The service-learning project I am most proud of is…
Delivering treatment-to-go bags (toys and at-home treatment plans) to families in need with children diagnosed with hearing loss.

If a faculty new to the pedagogy were to ask me if they should consider using service-learning, I would say…
Jump in! Do it! But be flexible and encourage your students to be flexible. Just like life, working with a community partner requires compromise and patience. The payoff is remarkable.

Contact Us

Kevin M. Griffith, CFC, '83

Community Partnerships Coordinator for Service-Learning


The Mission of the Community Partnerships Coordinator for Service-Learning at Iona University is to:

  • Promote Service-Learning courses with faculty in all academic areas.
  • Promote Cocurricular Service-Learning opportunities with Iona-in-Mission, Study Abroad and Mission and Ministry service programs.
  • Promote community partnerships with local, national and international organizations to enhance service-learning opportunities for Iona students.
  • Enhance Iona University’s status as a Service-Learning Institution.
  • Foster Iona University’s mission for social justice and the liberating power of education
  • Foster Iona’s mission of intellectual inquiry, community engagement and diversity.
  • Foster Iona’s vision of experiential and entrepreneurial education, innovative pedagogy and community and civic engagement.