Abstract
The theoretical basis of this teaching pedagogy combines infusion methodology with experiential learning. The infusion method addresses two areas which faculty specifically wanted to include: critical thinking and problem-solving skills. A comparable project by Young, Lee and Kovacs (2016) also used experiential learning and stated, “university student engagement in service-learning type activities has been shown to have an impact on students’ beliefs, attitudes, and values, particularly related to working with older adults”. (p. 2) As a measurement of explicit curricula and core competencies, the students developed a portfolio with content prescribed to meet CSWE EPAS 1-9. The portfolio may also be used as a tool to demonstrate various social work practice tasks when the student graduates and is actively seeking employment in the profession. To evince evaluation skills, students had to complete a summative evaluation of the project and compose a presentation for the key stakeholders (long term residents and staff, social work faculty and staff, and university administration) indicating how this project took place, how success was evaluated, and how future classes can build upon this project to continue the community partnership and provide sustainable service learning activities on an ongoing basis.
Recommended Citation
Wickersham, Kimberly M.
(2018)
"Learning Outside the Box: How to Incorporate an Experiential Service-Learning Project Encompassing Implicit and Explicit Curriculum in Rural Areas,"
Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal: Vol. 10:
No.
1, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61611/2165-4611.1171
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/crsw/vol10/iss1/10