Presentation developed by Kelly Hamshaw,CDAE;
based upon Hamshaw & Baker, forthcoming
Kelly.Hamshaw@uvm.edu
CUPS Office
MISSION
To connect the university and community as partners
in addressing real-world challenges through
engaged scholarship and transformative learning
experiences.
www.uvm.edu/partnerships
What is Service-Learning?
“Service-Learning is a form of experiential education
in which students engage in activities that address
human and community needs together with
structured opportunities intentionally designed to
promote student learning and development”
(Jacoby, 1996).
What does that mean?
You will be doing a service-learning project that:
 Is
integrated into your coursework as an
essential learning tool;
 Will
help you think about what you are
learning on a different level: complexity of the
issues;
 Will
help address a need in the community.

Project: Create a School
Garden in Honduras

Partner: Rural Elementary
School

Original Project Team:
4 students

Timeframe: One semester
prep + five field days
 While
S-L projects come in a variety of
shapes and sizes, they all feature:
 Faculty
 Students
 Community
partners
 Identified community need
 Requires coordination and
collaboration
 Group
Brainstorm:
What are some challenges that you either
have or think you might encounter?
 Communication—Internal
and External
 Logistics—How ARE we getting there?
 Time Management—One semester goes
by quickly
 Accountability—I thought YOU were
going to do that!
 Challenges
aside, there are benefits to
S-L projects, right?
 Ideally




S-L projects:
Allow you to apply theory to practice
Are accomplishable within a semester
timeframe
Encourage students to develop civic and
professional skills
Mutual learning and benefits for all
 Students
have difficulty understanding exactly what
they are doing this semester…After all, how
complicated is a school garden?
 Group
members were not completing tasks on time
or attending meetings
 Frustrations
and anxiety growing as time goes by…
 Many
different project tools and strategies
(See Baker, forthcoming)
 We’ll
focus on four simple yet effective
tools today:




Scoping Report
Work Breakdown Structure
Gantt Chart
Responsibility Matrix

What is it: Short explanation written by students
in response to the following questions:





Why is the project being done?
What are the primary objectives?
What are the boundaries of the project?
Special considerations (history, sensitivities)
What will be the final product (deliverable)?

Why use it: Encourages students to think
through the project process by explicitly stating
their current understanding of the project

How to use it: Assign the scoping document
early, Can be individual or group assignment,
and share with community partners
(Baker, Forthcoming)
What is it: A detailed rendering of the tasks
needed to complete the project in logical
order. Identifies the work that must be
performed to meet project objectives and
 Why use it: Breaks project apart to enable
scheduling and budget estimating; and
identifies necessary logistics


How to use it: With students at the
beginning of the project. Ideally leads to a
Gantt Chart or Responsibility Matrix, which is
used to track progress & revise as
necessary. tasks that need to be
(Baker, Forthcoming)
 What
is it: Visual representation of WBS
with a timeline
 Why
use it: Helps students stay on track
within the tight semester timeframe
 How
to use it: Builds on the tasks identified
in the WBS; needs to be revisited and
revised as needed in order to be effective
(Baker, Forthcoming)
 What
is it: Simple chart that outlines who
is doing what
 Why
use it: Accountability
 How
to use it: Builds on WBS and assign a
person to responsible for completing
each task.; should revisited and revised as
necessary.
(Baker, Forthcoming)
 Project
Accomplished!
3
Garden Beds were
made with 80+ students
and 6 teachers in
partnership with a local
farmer
 Project
concluded with
recommendations for
next year’s group