By Andrew Leon
At the Service-Learning Fair, Bryn McMahon and I had a table. At the table, we discussed folders that we had. The folders contained a handout on courses at GW that include service-learning and a brief description of each course. Also, in the folder was a handout of our PowerPoint presentation on Service-Learning. In addition there was a pamphlet on the Office of Community Service explaining what the office does and programs students can be involved in through the office. There was a handout on the Neighbors Project, which is one of the community agencies that works with the Office of Community Service. Lastly, there was the Service-Learning Advisory Board Report from January 2007. This report contains a definition of service-learning, the current service-learning activities at GW, key partners involved and recommendations for advancing service-learning at GW. People referred to in the report are GW Professors, GW students, and community agencies. We also had two TVs, which projected our Service-Learning PowerPoint slides.
Bryn and I went over our PowerPoint presentation, when people came to our table. We told them what service-learning is, if they did not know. We also talked about how service-learning can be a beneficial addition to a class or curriculum by increasing student retention and graduation rates as well as enhancing teaching and learning. Another benefit is that students, faculty, community partners, site staff, the University, and the community all benefit from service-learning. We talked about other schools that have service-learning, such as American University, as well as the steps to create a service-learning course. And we included some examples of service-learning in classes.