Do Students Value Service Learning? Community Kitchens Design Case Study
Kathleen Parrott
Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management, Virginia Tech
Abstract: Service learning, also called community learning, includes educational experiences in
and beyond the university classroom as a critical means for achieving course objectives (What is
Community Learning? 2015). The strategic plan for Virginia Tech has a principle strategy to
increase “experiential learning opportunities”… connecting real-life experience with academic
concepts” (Envisioning Virginia Tech, 2012). Two student teams in a senior design class (n=8)
completed service learning projects designing kitchens. Team One’s project redesigned a church
kitchen for a congregation’s growing social outreach ministry and expanding on-site child care
program seeking licensure. Team Two’s project, for a county Extension Service, redesigned a
former private school dining hall kitchen into a teaching/demonstration space and incubator
facility for food-based businesses.
Common project themes were:
 Meet state and county health department and building codes.
 Include spaces frequently used by volunteers and educational programs.
 Accommodate clients with limited budgets and lacking knowledge of kitchen design.
Clients were contacted five months after receiving the students’ designs. Neither project was built,
but the clients praised the quality of the students’ work and the value of the designs in securing
grants and funding toward implementation of the projects. A post-project survey of students
addressed service learning and project evaluation. Most students (6 of 8) believed the projects
were of value to their résumés, but only one student tied that value to the service aspect. The
majority of the students (6 of 8) indicated they would include the service aspect of the projects on
their résumés or portfolios. However, clarifying comments indicated that the importance of the
service aspect was equated with the opportunity to work with a “real” client. Mastering
commercial codes and products (5 of 8) and communicating with real world clients (3 of 8) were
the students’ most valued learning experiences.
References
A Plan for a New Horizon: Envisioning Virginia Tech 2012-2018. (2012). Retrieved from:
www.president.vt.edu/strategic-plan/2012-plan
What is Community Learning? (2015). Community Learning: VT Engage. Retrieved from:
http://www.engage.vt.edu/community-learning/