Geography 493: "Service Learning

GEOG 493, Service Learning, provides students with activities that integrate community service with academic study. The aim of service learning is to enrich traditional classroom-based education by getting students into a community, thereby engendering civic responsibility and simultaneously strengthening communities. GEOG 493 has five objectives: (1) to develop understanding of a set of issues; (2) to learn and apply skills associated with those issues; (3) to learn to interpret science issues for dissemination to the public; (4) to develop and apply communication skills by speaking, writing, and/or desktop publishing; and (5) to reflect on personal and career interests in science, the environment, public policy, or related areas. Thus, students will read, write, and talk about a set of issues of importance to a community and engage in a project in that community.

The specific service-learning projects will change each semester, although some projects will be ongoing. In addition, more than one GEOG 493 project will be available to students in most semesters and will have alphabetical designations (e.g., 493A or 493B). Students can take GEOG in more than one semester, to a maximum of 12 credits.

Depending on the topic of the service-learning project, GEOG 493 can complement courses in most colleges and their majors. The course is available to all Geography majors as elective credits; it is also available to all Geography Minors for credit toward the minor. It counts for credit as an Advanced Physical/Environmental Geography course in the Physical/Environmental Geography Option, and counts for credit as an Advanced Geography course in the General Geography Option.

Students will be evaluated on four of the five course objectives: (1) understanding of the issues, (2) learning and application of skills, (3) interpretation of issues for public dissemination, and (4) application of communication skills. Although exact procedures for determining grades will vary with the instructor and service-learning project, the basis for grades will include a combination of written work, oral presentations, in-class participation, and outside-class participation.

Professor: Brent Yarnal