J Comput High Educ (2014) 26:210–212 DOI 10.1007/s12528-014-9088-8

Introduction to the special section on e-service-learning Jennifer Maddrell

Published online: 8 November 2014 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

The Journal of Computing in Higher Education is pleased to highlight within this issue a series of articles examining instructional design practices associated with service learning, an educational approach that combines academic coursework with community service and work-based applied learning experiences. While service learning has long been facilitated on college campuses, e-service-learning is an emerging strategy to offer equivalent experiences to the growing numbers of online students. Within an e-service-learning approach, either the instruction or the service components are conducted virtually. Of the 21 million students enrolled in US colleges and universities in 2010, an estimated 6.1 million were taking an online course (Allen and Seaman 2013; Hussar and Bailey 2013). Designing authentic opportunities for real-life application of the course content is often a goal of instructional designers and faculty; a task made harder for those designing and facilitating online courses given the inherent challenges associated with the students’ separation from the institution. Data from a recent membership survey released by Campus Compact, a coalition of over 1,100 US colleges and universities with approximately 6 million enrolled students, indicated that 95 % of responding institutions incorporated service learning as a means of offering students real-world experiences (Campus Compact 2013). Research reviews suggest traditional service-learning and e-service-learning approaches are used as educational tools in a variety of disciplines and formats and can have positive effects on a student’s cognitive development and engagement in social issues (Andrews 2007; Celio et al. 2011; Conway et al. 2009; Novak et al. 2007; Strait and Sauer 2004; Warren 2012; Yorio and Ye 2012). Research also suggests benefits for the served community-based organizations, including added J. Maddrell (&) Chicago, IL, USA e-mail: [email protected]

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labor to fulfill their missions, assistance in volunteer recruitment, and access to resources (Blouin and Perry 2009). However, calls remain for additional research to identify preferred servicelearning methods and conditions to foster improved outcomes (Andrews 2007; Celio et al. 2011; Novak et al. 2007; Warren 2012). The objective of this selection of special articles is to explore the design of service-learning and e-service-learning approaches through the lens of those who have engaged in service-learning experiences. Through an examination of service-learning methods and conditions gathered during a series of interviews with college students, faculty, and instructional designers with applied and service-learning experience, Jennifer Maddrell suggests a set of instructional design considerations to support the effective and efficient implementation and facilitation of service learning. As described by interview participants, service-learning experiences give college students and faculty the opportunity to offer support and expertise to nonprofit community-based organizations, while providing authentic learning experiences to the students, including those studying in online courses. Based on this examination of participant experiences, a set of instructional design considerations is offered that centers on (a) goal examination, (b) the nonprofit partnership, (c) project design and management, and (d) assessment. As suggested by this analysis, central to the successful design of service-learning experiences is the establishment and management of projects that will maximize the attainment of goals for all stakeholders, while contemplating important contextual constraints, such as time requirements, desired service location, required experience level to complete a desired deliverable, and available support from the nonprofit partner. Monica Tracey and Sara Kacin offer a design case that illustrates an e-servicelearning project involving graduate students enrolled in an online course. The design case provides a detailed description of the processes taken by the facilitators to support the virtual collaboration among participants, including the use of email, instant messaging, Google Hangouts, Google Documents, and Skype. With the support of two coaches and an instructor, the students designed an instructional intervention as a service-learning project for the benefit of parents interested in improving their parenting skills. Tracey and Kacin suggest this case identified successful service-learning processes, while aiding in the assembly of a toolbox of tools and techniques to facilitate virtual projects. They concluded from their case analysis that the described service-learning approaches offered an excellent means of contributing to the community, as well as a valuable learning experience for the students. While reflective practice is often associated with learning, Kathy Guthrie and Holly McCracken present findings from a study that explored critical reflection to facilitate knowledge construction within e-service-learning courses. The authors approached this study as an examination of the phenomenon of experiential learning through service-learning and reflection on that learning. Results from this study suggested that students felt the multiple perspectives and diversity of ideas gained through the reflective process were essential to their learning.

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References Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States. Wellesley, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and The Sloan Consortium. Andrews, C. P. (2007). Service learning: Applications and research in business. Journal of Education for Business, 83(1), 19–26. Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom does service learning really serve? Community-based organizations’ perspectives on service learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120–135. Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164–181. Conway, J. M., Amel, E. L., & Gerwien, D. P. (2009). Teaching and learning in the social context: A meta-analysis of service learning’s effects on academic, personal, social, and citizenship outcomes. Teaching of Psychology, 36(4), 233–245. Hussar, W. J., & Bailey, T. (2013). Projections of education statistics to 2021 (NCES 2013-008). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office: US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/projections/projections2021/ sec5a.asp. Novak, J. M., Markey, V., & Allen, M. (2007). Evaluating cognitive outcomes of service learning in higher education: A meta-analysis. Communication Research Reports, 24(2), 149–157. Strait, J., & Sauer, T. (2004). Constructing experiential learning for online courses: The birth of e-Service. Educause Quarterly, 27(1), 62–65. Warren, J. L. (2012). Does service-learning increase student learning? A meta-analysis. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 18(2), 56–61. Yorio, P. L., & Ye, F. (2012). A meta-analysis on the effects of service-learning on the social, personal, and cognitive outcomes of learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(1), 9–27.

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