"Service-learning is a pedagogical practice in which students participate, provide meaningful work, and reflect upon activities that meet community needs (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996). Service-learning is associated with an array of cognitive, psychological, and social benefits. Service-learning also increases student retention and student engagement. As a result, service-learning has classified as a high-impact practice in higher education (Kuh, 2008).
Unfortunately, a number of service-learning practitioners view the online environment as a barrier to service-learning (Waldner, McGorry, & Widener, 2012). The growth of the online student body has exceeded the growth of on-site students (Allen & Seaman, 2010). As more students pursue online education, service-learning must adapt in order to remain viable. E-service-learning is “an integrative pedagogy that engages learners through technology in civic inquiry, service, reflection and action” (Dailey-Hebert, Donelli-Salle & DiPadova-Stocks, 2008, p. 1). The online environment may be a facilitator of e-service-learning. E-service-learning removes geographical constraints and provides online learning with a tool to promote engagement.
During the Fall 2019 semester, students in my Atypical Development course completed an e-service-learning project. Our community partner consisted of youths with developmental disabilities enrolled in afterschool programing at the Sam Field Center of Commonpoint Queens. Students worked in small groups and created resources for youths with developmental disabilities. The resources were designed to address challenges for youths with developmental disabilities as they transition from school-based to adult-based services. The focus of this project was determined as a result of a gap in the community partner’s current programmatic offerings. The resources consisted of seven modules: Icebreakers, Social Skills, Fostering Resilience, Bullying, Navigating Public Transit, Job Search, and Interviewing. Students met with youths with developmental disabilities biweekly via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Sessions. Additionally, students created a Google Site which youths with developmental disabilities could reference in the future.
At the conclusion of the semester, students completed a questionnaire assessing their e-service-learning experience. Additionally, students completed course evaluations assessing the course as a whole. Students reported that the e-service-learning experience was related to course content, increased their understanding of individuals with disabilities, increased student engagement, helped them relate the subject matter to everyday life, positively impacted their future academic and career choices, and overall had a positive experience. Additionally, 100% of students indicated in course evaluations that they strongly agree that the instructor attempted to make the course relevant to students and that the assignments helped me (the student) learn the subject.
In order to examine the efficacy of e-service-learning, the results from a distance learning section of Atypical Development was compared with a face-to-face section of Atypical Development. Students in the face-to-face section of Atypical Development completed an in-person service-learning project. Students painted a mural with youths with developmental disabilities at the Sam Field Center of Commonpoint Queens. At the end of the semester, students also completed a service-learning questionnaire and course evaluations. Students reported that the e-service-learning experience was related to course content, increased their understanding of individuals with disabilities, increased student engagement, helped them relate the subject matter to everyday life, positively impacted their future academic and career choices, and overall had a positive experience. Additionally, 50% of students indicated in course evaluations that they strongly agree that the instructor attempted to make the course relevant to students and that the assignments helped me (the student) learn the subject. Since the questionnaire and course evaluations consisted of Likert scale data, Mann-Whitney U tests were employed to examine differences between students’ perceptions of service-learning and e-service-learning. Students in the e-service-learning section did not statistically differ in their responses on the service-learning questionnaire from students in the face-to-face service-learning section. Interestingly, students in the e-service-learning section reported that the instructor attempted to make the course relevant to the students significantly greater than students in the face-to-face service-learning section (U = 49.50, p = .011, r = 2.00). Students in the e-service-learning section also reported that the assignments helped me (the student) to learn the subject matter significantly greater than students in the face-to-face service-learning section (U = 49.50, p = .011, r = 2.00). Lastly, students in the e-service-learning section reported that I (the student) enjoyed this class significantly greater than students in the face-to-face service-learning section (U = 56.50, p = .034, r = 1.00).
These results indicate that e-service-learning is an effective pedagogical technique that can be employed in the distance learning environment. Service-learning has been shown to produce an array of cognitive, psychological, and social benefits, while increasing student engagement and retention (Kilgo, C. A., Sheets, J. K. E., & Pascarella, 2015). A major criticism of distance learning courses is that students experience a lack of interaction with their peers and their instructor (Cole, Shelley, & Swartz, 2014). E-service-learning maintains the benefits of face-to-face service-learning, while also promoting interaction in the online environment.

References

Allen, E. I., & Seaman, J. (2010). Class differences: Online education in the United States, 2010. Retrieved from Sloan Consortium website: http:// sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/class_differences

Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Implementing service learning in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education, 67(2), 221-239.

Cole, M. T., Shelley, D. J., & Swartz, L. B. (2014). Online instruction, e-learning, and student satisfaction: A three year study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 15(6), 111-131.

Dailey-Hebert, A., Donnelli-Sallee, E., & DiPadova-Stocks, L. (2008). Service-eLearning: Educating for citizenship. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Kilgo, C. A., Sheets, J. K. E., & Pascarella, E. T. (2015). The link between high-impact practices and student learning: some longitudinal evidence. Higher Education, 69(4), 509-525.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Waldner, L. S., McGorry, S. Y., & Widener, M. C. (2012). E-service learning: The evolution of service-learning to engage a growing online student population. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(2), 123-150.

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student course evaluations and service-learning questionnaire