Service Course Planning Worksheet
Ready to dive into building a service course?
To assist your preparation, we offer a planning worksheet with 17 questions spanning from precursors to closing. The worksheet presented below is also available as a Microsoft Word document for those who prefer to type and a PDF with space for hand-written notes
Service Course Planning Worksheet
While you are not required to submit this form to the OSLCE (portions do appear on the Service Designation Application), we would be happy to review your responses in a real-time meeting or via email. Please email us at ServiceLearning@uscupstate.edu.
Precursors
- What are your reasons for incorporating service learning in your teaching?
- Will you be creating a new course to a service focus or converting an existing one?
All new courses (service or not) must be approved through traditional unit and Senate channels - What element(s) of your course (content, skill, etc.) might be enhanced by a service experience?
See “Curricular Need” on the Developing a Service Course page
Community Partners
- What authentic community need aligns with the pedagogical goals you’ve identified?
See “Community Need” on the Developing a Service Course page to review three basic origins for community partnerships
See also these types of service: direct, indirect, advocacy, research - Have you identified a community partner whose effectiveness could be enhanced through partnership?
See our Community Partners page for thoughts on choosing a partner and building a healthy relationship. - How will you and your community partner evaluate the success of the project?
- What service model will you use?
____ Placement Model
____ Project Model
____ Product Model
____ Presentation Model
____ Presentation Plus Model
____ Combined Approach (Describe)
Course Logistics
- And what type of service will you provide?
____ Direct
____ Indirect
____ Advocacy
____ Research for a cause - What instructional mode will you employ in structuring your course?
You can choose traditional face-to-face, hybrid, or online delivery as well as uniform or bi-modal division where you simultaneously offer traditional and service sections of the same course at the same time as a single course. This bi-modal division has both advantages and disadvantages. If you choose this approach, please email us to discuss how this should work.
See “Instructional Modes” on the Developing a Service Course page
Delivery
____ Traditional (F2F)
____ Hybrid (F2F + online)
____ Fully online
Sectional Division
____ Uniform (all students do service)
____ Bi-Modal (2 sections/1 course)
(Student choose service or traditional) - How intensive will your service component be?
Service Engagement: 4-14 hours of service (service roughly equates to homework)
Service Learning: 15-25 hours of service (service equates to instructional time)
See “Students’ Work Load” and “Service Learning vs. Service Engagement” on the Developing a Service Course page. Also check out the Service Designation Application Overview - What reflection model will guide your students’ service-content-life connections? Use of multiple methods is best!
____ What? So What? Now What? Model
____ DEAL Model
____ Kolb's Model
____ Gibb’s Model
____ Other (describe) - What service related Student Learning Outcomes will you target?
We have adopted our SLOs from the National Association of Colleges and Educators’ career competencies. Review our SLOs pages to select the most relevant SLOs and two assessment options - How will you design assignments to make sure there is a perceived balance in time and effort between service-learning and traditional learning? (consider both travel and service time in the calculations)
- What techniques/tools will you use to integrate service-learning into the classroom?
____ Discussions
____ Journals/Blogs
____ Wikis
____ Portfolios
____ Analytical Papers
____ Presentations
____ Reading Responses
____ Microcosm
On Blackboard, consider using: Assignments, Collaborate, Discussion Board, OneNote, VoiceThread, &/or Wikis - How will you evaluate your students’ performance relative to service in your course? What demonstrations of learning will you have service learners produce? (journals, paper, oral reports, etc.), and what percentage of total grade will be based on Service
See “Sample Service Contract” on the Developing a Service Course page - Will you have students sign a Service Contract with you and/or your community partner?
See “Sample Service Contract” on the Developing a Service Course page
Closing
- Are you ready to get started?
See our Suggested Course Development Timeline, then complete the relevant Application
The timeline suggests 12 months from concept to implementation. If you would like to speed up the process, let’s talk! - The OSLCE is here to support you in any or all of the following ways: