This article is included in the series Lessons from the Field: Weaving Community-Engaged
Learning and Peer Mentoring into Developmental Education, Vol. I., No.1, January 2013.
The series is compiled by Campus Compact and the Community College National Center for
Community Engagement. The Campus Compact Connect2Complete program is funded by
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Providing Peer Mentors through a Service-Learning Teaching Assistants
Program
Erin Burke Brown, Lynn E. Pelco, and Sabrina Hise
Virginia Commonwealth University
Abstract
The Service-Learning Teaching Assistants program at Virginia Commonwealth
University is a unique, low-cost program that provides students with peer mentors in servicelearning classes while also providing these same students with opportunities for leadership
development. Service-Learning Teaching Assistants (SLTAs) receive training and supervision
through coursework. They provide three hours of work each week to instructors who teach
undergraduate-level service-learning classes. SLTAs mentor undergraduates enrolled in the
course, strengthen communication between the instructor and community partners, and promote
service-learning across campus. The presence of SLTAs provides students with peer mentors
who support their academic success by providing positive role models, facilitating service
experiences, and promoting reflection. These extra supports can be particularly beneficial to
underprepared students who may not be ready for the rigor of college-level academics.
Erin Burke Brown, Lynn E. Pelco and Sabrina Hise, VCU, 817 South Cathedral Place, Richmond, VA 23284. Email: embrown@vcu.edu
2
Introduction
The recent publication of A Crucible Moment by the National Task Force on Civic
Learning and Democratic Education has sparked a national call to action for institutions of
higher education (The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement,
2012). The document calls for stakeholders in higher education to begin the process of turning
lofty civic engagement discussions and goals into actions that will produce young citizens who
are capable of leading the United States into the future. According to the document, higher
education has focused primarily on academic results with little regard to the development of
civic engagement skills and values. As a result, we face a generation of young adults that is
largely ignorant of basic civic concepts and that fails to actively participate in the citizenry (The
National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012).
Service-learning is cited in A Crucible Moment as a teaching pedagogy that supports the
development of academic and civic participation skills (The National Task Force on Civic
Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). In high-quality service-learning classes, students
engage in organized community-based service activities that meet community-identified needs,
and they participate in guided reflection that helps them connect their service with their academic
learning.
Studies have shown that students engaged in service-learning courses demonstrate higher
academic achievement, increased cognitive development, and higher levels of civic engagement
(Cress et al., 2010). In addition, the emphasis on community-engaged learning in servicelearning courses promotes relationship-building and cross-cultural connections that have proven
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effective for retaining underprepared students, particularly those from lower socio-economic
backgrounds, minorities, and first generation students (Stahly, 2007; Calderon, 2007).
High-quality service-learning courses provide opportunities for students to serve as
leaders to their peers and to collaborate more closely with instructors. Both opportunities can
play critical roles in increasing retention, particularly among students who are at-risk for not
completing college (Astin and Sax, 1998). Service-learning courses offer underprepared and/or
struggling students an alternative to traditional college courses that promotes communityengaged learning and enhances academic content through real-world application. Through highquality service-learning opportunities, colleges and universities can increase their ability to
engage and retain students of varying levels.
Although service-learning courses help students grasp the course content better and
become more engaged in the learning process (Eyler, et al., 2001), some instructors are hesitant
to use service-learning pedagogy because of the increased workload that teaching a high-quality
service-learning course can entail (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996). As a result, college administrators
must find creative ways to provide low-cost incentives that engage instructors in developing and
teaching service-learning courses.
The Service-Learning Teaching Assistants Program
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a large urban research university that has
historically prioritized civic engagement in its institutional mission. This civic engagement
commitment continues through VCU’s most recent strategic plan, Quest for Distinction (Virginia
Commonwealth University, 2011). VCU’s Quest for Distinction focuses on increasing the
number of students enrolled in service-learning classes and building an infrastructure that will
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enable the university to become a national model for community engagement (Virginia
Commonwealth University, 2011). These institutional priorities benefit the large number of
students who enroll at VCU as either first-year or transfer students. VCU enrolls a total of
approximately 24,000 undergraduate students, of which 1,500 are transfer students from
community colleges. Of the undergraduate VCU population, 43% are nonwhite and 38% receive
need-based scholarships. Although VCU does not formally identify developmental education
students, it provides multiple supports for students entering college who may not be “college
ready” through its University College (www.vcu.edu/uc/). Specifically, all first-year students
receive small class instruction on college-readiness skills for their entire first year through the
Focused Inquiry Program (www.vcu.edu/uc/fi ), and the Campus Learning Center
(www.vcu.edu/uc/clc/) provides all students with a wide variety of free academic support
services.
In 2006, VCU launched the Service-Learning Teaching Assistants (SLTA) program as a
way to (a) support instructors to maintain the quality of service-learning course offerings as student
enrollment in those courses increased, and (b) provide undergraduates with opportunities for
leadership development. The VCU SLTA program is administered through the university’s ServiceLearning Office in the Division of Community Engagement (www.servicelearning.vcu.edu). It
began as a very small initiative that provided $500 stipends to five undergraduates each semester in
order to assist service-learning instructors. As the number of service-learning courses grew and the
budget to provide stipends shrank, the development of a new approach was required. In 2008,
Service-Learning Office staff restructured and expanded the SLTA program with goals to (a)
increase the number of well-qualified undergraduate SLTAs to support the rapid growth of servicelearning courses without additional funding, (b) provide leadership training and experience for a
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Providing Peer Mentors/SLTA
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wide variety of undergraduate students, and (c) support struggling students within service-learning
courses through interactions with SLTA peer mentors.
The revised Service-Learning Teaching Assistants program eliminated the stipend
altogether and now provides SLTAs with training and supervision through their enrollment in
two required 1.5 credit seminar courses. While it may seem counterintuitive that students would
jump at the opportunity to pay for college credit to serve as teaching assistants, the new creditbearing program has garnered far more success than the previous stipend program. SLTAs view
the courses as leadership development opportunities that will enable them to (a) mentor peers,
(b) develop close relationships with admired instructors, (c) build professional networks within
the community, (d) enhance their resumes, and (d) collaborate with other SLTA student leaders.
As a result, annual enrollment in the SLTA program has climbed from four students in 2008 to
36 in 2012. Participating students have spread the word about the program to their peers.
Instructors who have worked with SLTAs have urged other instructors who are on the fence to
delve into service-learning by using the SLTA program as a resource to ease the transition of
implementing a new teaching pedagogy.
How the Program Works
SLTAs are service-learning students selected by service-learning instructors to assist with
a course they have previously taken. SLTAs are provided free of charge to any instructor
teaching an approved service-learning course. Instructors with multiple or large service-learning
classes may select more than one SLTA. Students cannot serve as SLTAs unless they are
selected by a service-learning instructor. This stipulation helps to ensure that the studentinstructor match is successful and that the SLTA has prior knowledge of both the academic and
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service content of the service-learning course. When a service-learning class is being offered for
the very first time, the instructor may nominate a student s/he knows from a different class or one
who a colleague recommends. Quite often, students selected by their service-learning instructors
are not the students who earned the highest grades in the class, but rather the students who
worked well with both peers and community members. Quite often, these are students who
struggle in traditional courses that rely heavily on tests and research papers, but excel with
opportunities for creative expression, interactive activities, and collaborative learning.
Undergraduates who are selected to serve as SLTAs are required to complete a 7-week,
1.5 credit online SLTA orientation course. This course provides SLTA trainees with a
foundational knowledge of service-learning theories and tools, including knowledge related to
reflection, communication, and diversity. This online orientation class can be completed either
prior to or during the semester in which the student works as an SLTA. Because the course is
taught online, it is convenient for students with busy schedules.
During the semester, SLTAs are “on the job” assisting their service-learning instructors
while concurrently enrolled in a second 1.5 credit, face-to-face supervision seminar course that
meets monthly. This supervision class is facilitated by a service-learning staff member and is
designed to (a) assist SLTAs with issues they may face while mentoring students and interacting
in the community and (b) provide SLTAs with opportunities to learn from and collaborate with
fellow SLTAs. SLTAs may enroll in this face-to-face supervision seminar class for a maximum
of two semesters.
Throughout the semester, SLTAs are expected to assist their instructors for
approximately three hours each week. Responsibilities of SLTAs vary depending upon the
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course and instructor. The Service-Learning Office staff provides instructors with examples of
appropriate SLTA tasks. The flexibility instructors have to design jobs for their SLTA has
proved a successful strategy for decreasing the additional workload instructors take on when
teaching a service-learning class. Many instructors utilize SLTAs as liaisons to community
partners, train their SLTAs to facilitate classroom-based or online student reflections, and/or
have their SLTAs run tutoring sessions. A mid-semester and end-of-semester SLTA performance
evaluation is completed by each participating instructor via an online survey. These survey
results comprise a portion of the SLTA’s grade in the supervision seminar class and provide the
Service-Learning Office staff with insight into the kinds of activities SLTAs are completing and
the satisfaction level instructors have with their SLTAs.
Beyond their work with their service-learning instructor, SLTAs are also required to
collaborate as a group to complete projects that promote service-learning across the university.
SLTAs serve as the student face of service-learning on-campus. Within this leadership role, they
complete numerous activities including hosting recruitment tables, attending student events, and
giving presentations to classes about service-learning. They actively monitor and participate in
the VCU Service-Learning Facebook group by posting comments about service-learning
activities and events happening in the community. In addition, SLTAs assist community partners
with understanding the responsibilities and limitations of students taking service-learning courses
and the relationship of their service activities to college course content. These leadership
activities involve an average of one additional hour per week (e.g., 12 to 15 hours per semester),
although oftentimes SLTAs devote more than this number. Finally, the course instructor
encourages and mentors SLTAs to collaborate as co-authors and co-presenters on conference
presentations and journal articles related to their SLTA experiences.
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Stories of SLTA Success
The flexibility of the SLTA program allows instructors in many courses (from
preparatory to advanced) to utilize the students in ways that best meet the needs of their course.
There is no single model for demonstrating what the SLTAs do to assist service-learning
instructors.
Students who may face additional challenges are typically enrolled in small classes.
When they are enrolled in large courses, some can become lost in the mix of many students.
Multiple SLTAs provide more individualized attention and organization in larger classes,
allowing students who are struggling to feel supported during the semester. These students excel
due to the individual attention they receive from STLAs. In addition, the “shoulder-to-shoulder”
method of teaching and learning provides these students with relatable peer mentors. SLTAs play
the role of secondary advisors who become the instructor’s “eyes and ears in the field” providing
valuable observations of student progress throughout the year. Particularly for students who have
limited experience in service activities or who are unfamiliar with how to approach the
Richmond community, SLTAs help students understand the broader context of their educational
experience and how it shapes the communities they live in.
In yet another scenario, instructors teaching courses that may not appear to lend
themselves to a service-learning pedagogy, such as science and engineering, may face challenges
when introducing students to service. One instructor who teaches an elective for pre-health
students found that many of them were unprepared to work in the community and had difficulty
understanding the connection between their service and the course content. He used SLTAs to
serve as mentors to the students in the course. The SLTAs provided students with training and
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support prior to going out into the community in addition to observing their service and
providing feedback on their performance. Most importantly, SLTAs facilitated the reflection
process for students demonstrating the need to connect their service (what) to the course content
(so what) and their own plans for the future (now what). SLTAs helped students understand the
broader context of their educational experience and how it shapes the communities in which they
live.
Service Project Examples
The multidisciplinary approach to service-learning is one that attracts instructors from
various fields. In recent years, the program has found great success with the sciences as the
nation places more emphasis on the environment and its preservation. This approach works well
for many students in various skill levels, especially struggling students who may enter college
with significant volunteer experience. Service learning projects tend to move in two directions –
public education and sustainability.
For the past several years, students in a service-learning geography course have been
cleaning up Reedy Creek, the only wetland in the city of Richmond. In an initiative to increase
education among Richmond residents and students, the course partnered with a local elementary
school to host the Reedy Creek Environmental Festival. During the annual event, servicelearning students from VCU take elementary students on tours of the area and provide them with
education on the ecological health of the area.
A similar public education initiative in a first-year seminar course offered servicelearning students the opportunity to partner with the James River Park System and make
historical interpretive signs. These signs enabled the more than 800,000 annual park visitors to
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have a more educational park experience. In yet another green project, a biology service-learning
course partnered with various metro-Richmond agencies to develop and maintain public bee
gardens and a corresponding educational display.
Several service-learning courses offer students the opportunity to mentor and work with
local youth. Courses in VCU’s School of Education have used service-learning as an opportunity
to provide students with experience working in the K-12 setting prior to beginning their required
teaching practicum. In addition to having their college courses on-site at the school where they
serve, they are also paired with a classroom teacher to assist in student lessons throughout the
semester. This partnership with Richmond schools has enhanced the educational experience for
service-learning students and given them an opportunity to change or solidify their own
academic paths based on an informed real-world experience early in their collegiate career.
Other courses in criminal justice, psychology, and world studies have also looked to
youth-oriented programs for service-learning projects. In particular, a local elementary school
only a few blocks away has provided a wealth of experiences for service-learning students
through their one-on-one mentoring program, Carver Promise. The program is designed so that
each child at Carver Elementary School has a year-long relationship with a local college student
that includes a weekly one hour mentoring session. Students from various courses have taken
advantage of the convenience of the project and have found that the rewards are great.
Oftentimes, service-learning students stay on as mentors for an additional semester to continue to
support their mentees. Some choose to remain mentors for the duration of their time at VCU.
VCU is known for having a nationally-acclaimed School of the Arts. Instructors have
taken the opportunity to use the talents and skills of students at VCU to expose the Richmond
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community to art as a form of expression. In particular, courses in the art education program
have found ways to provide K-12 students with opportunities to complete art projects that
otherwise may become sidelined in the midst of standardized testing requirements. Local middle
school students worked side-by-side with service-learning students to beautify their school
through painting a mural about the benefits of art in the community.
In another art education course, students travel to Guatemala as part of an international
service-learning experience. During the 3-week stay, service-learning students complete art
projects with students, work collaboratively with local women during their weaving circle, and
complete their own final art reflection. The project has occurred for the past several years and
has been a transformative experience for both service-learning students and the residents of the
Guatemalan village they serve.
Findings
Evidence to support the success of the VCU Service-Learning Teaching Assistants
Program is being collected from multiple sources. First, service-learning instructors
overwhelmingly award high scores (e.g., >4.5 on a 5 point scale) on the mid- and end-ofsemester SLTA performance evaluation surveys, indicating their high level of satisfaction with
the support they receive from their SLTA. Second, end-of-semester course evaluations from
students enrolled in service-learning courses consistently indicate a high degree of satisfaction.
The most recent (Spring 2012) course evaluation survey was completed by more than 340
students (41% minority, 44% first-generation, and 40% Pell grant recipients). On a 7-point scale
(1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree), students revealed positive outcomes when answering
the question, “As a result of this class I am better able to…” (a) apply theories or concepts to
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practical problems or in new situation (M = 5.68; SD = 1.41); (b) generate alternate solutions to a
problem (M = 5.66; SD = 1.38); (c) believe I can have a positive impact on social problems (M =
6.08; SD = 1.24); (d) work together with others (M = 6.13; SD = 1.24); and (e) be a role model
for people in my community (M = 6.04; SD = 1.26). Several of these items relate directly to the
civic engagement skills that are emphasized in A Crucible Moment. Finally, qualitative data
collected from former SLTAs indicate that they have used their SLTA experiences in graduate
school and job applications (including one successful Peace Corps application) and they have
presented their SLTA work as co-authors of papers at professional conferences.
Implications for the Future
The Service-Learning Teaching Assistants Program at VCU has grown at an exponential
rate during the past few years, which indicates both the need for such a program as well as its
effectiveness in meeting both instructor and student needs. The program goals for the upcoming
years include (a) developing an advanced SLTA supervision course for those students who desire
to continue in the program for longer than two semesters and (b) creating online, open-access
instructional videos that illustrate key service-learning concepts that can be used by SLTAs at
VCU and other colleges and universities.
The VCU SLTA model is easily adaptable to two-year colleges. For example, servicelearning instructors who teach first-year classes can enlist a second-year student as their SLTA.
Two-year colleges could partner with nearby four-year colleges or universities to develop shared
SLTA programs that could provide trained SLTAs to those instructors at two-year colleges who
teach second-year service-learning classes. These SLTAs would be enrolled as upper-level
students (i.e., juniors and seniors) at the four-year institution and earn credits at that institution
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for their SLTA orientation and supervision courses. These courses could be co-taught by staff
from both the two- and four-year institutions.
Conclusion
Our evaluation data provides evidence that all students, including struggling or
underprepared students, are benefiting from VCU service-learning courses and that the VCU
SLTA program has had immeasurable positive impacts on the participating students, many of
whom have found academic success through service-learning. Through their SLTA orientation
and supervision courses, SLTAs are encouraged to reflect on how their experiences in the
program have fostered competence in real-world contexts and have helped them to better
understand themselves and the world. The following reflection was written by a former SLTA
and developmental education student, Sabrina Hise, who worked as an SLTA for two different
instructors across multiple semesters:
As a Service-Learning Teaching Assistant, my main goal was to show my
classmates that they could truly do anything they set their mind to. My unique life
experiences fostered my ability to connect with the students and teach them techniques to
help them succeed. Each year that I was a teaching assistant, my professor had myself
and the other teaching assistants and me sit in a circle in the middle of the classroom and
answer questions from the students in the class. This time was crucial to being able to
connect with the students and share my own life lessons. As a non-traditional student, I
worked full-time throughout my four years at college and also raised my son. Being able
to share this with the students and show them the tools I have utilized to help me succeed
has been fulfilling both for me and the progression of the students.
The students I have encountered have come from all different backgrounds.
Many were first-generation college students. Many came from varied socioeconomic
backgrounds. Through our service opportunities the students were faced with eyeopening experiences that were both similar and different from their own. Being able to go
out into the community and work among the people you often only hear about in a
negative light allowed the students to feel uncomfortable, yet enlightened, on the status of
their society and the role they must play in order to make a change. Personal reflection
was important to the students’ understanding of the connection between the outside world
and within the classroom. Reflection, unity, and personal experiences allowed my
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students to succeed and flourish throughout their challenging first year of college. I am
not sure if this transformation would have happened without the presence of their peers
there to guide them in the process.
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References
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Cress, Christine, Burack, C. Giles, D., Elkins, J and Stevens, M. (2010). A Promising
Connection: Increasing College Access and Success through Civic Engagement. Boston:
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Eyler, Janet S., Giles, D., Stenson, C and Gray, C. (2001). At a Glance: What We Know about
the Effects of Service-Learning on College Students, Faculty, Institutions and
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Hatcher, Robert G. and Hatcher, J. (1996). Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education.
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Stahly, Geraldine (2007). Gender, Identity, Equity, and Violence: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
through Service Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. (2012). A Crucible
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American Colleges and Universities.
Virginia Commonwealth University (2011) Quest for Distinction. Retrieved from
http://www.future.vcu.edu
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