A Scaffolding-based Approach for Addressing Challenges of Service Learning Adoption
Pages 1511 - 1512
Abstract
Recent publications strongly support refocusing undergraduate CS education toward competency-based learning. This shift places increased responsibility on departments to prepare responsible computing practitioners who appreciate how computing is inextricably intertwined with society. It emphasizes that content coverage is less important than authentic experiences that develop both ethical decision-making and industry-desired technical skills. One timetested successful strategy that helps meet these goals is communitybased service learning (CBSL). However, while CBSL has a strong track record, service learning can be challenging to implement and may not always guarantee successful student experiences.
A key factor associated with CBSL's success or failure is the management of the community partner relationship. This includes initial project vetting, setting partner expectations, the role of the partner as a participant in the students' education, and final project hand-off. We introduce Scaffolded Projects for the Social Good (SPSG), a framework based on the software studio model that guides CBSL adopters through all stages of a CBSL experience. The SPSG framework pays particular attention to what are considered the most vexing aspects of CBSL: project scoping and skill matching, managing project timelines that extend beyond a single term, community partner engagement and relationship management, and project handoff and maintenance.
Preliminary results from the adoption of the SPSG framework demonstrate that students were able to iteratively improve their competencies throughout the semester as a result of the regular formative feedback enabled by the SPSG framework.
References
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Alexander W Astin, Lori J Vogelgesang, Elaine K Ikeda, and Jennifer A Yee. 2000. How service learning affects students. Higher Education (2000).
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Christopher N. Bull and Jon Whittle. 2014. Supporting Reflective Practice in Software Engineering Education through a Studio-Based Approach. IEEE Software, Vol. 31, 4 (2014), 44--50. https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2014.52
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Randy W Connolly. 2012. Is there service in computing service learning?. In Proceedings of the 43rd ACM technical symposium on Computer Science Education. 337--342.
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Natalie Kiesler, Amruth N. Kumar, Bonnie K. MacKellar, Renée McCauley, Mihaela Sabin, and John Impagliazzo. 2024. Students' Perceptions of Behaviors Associated with Professional Dispositions in Computing Education. In Proceedings of the 2024 on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 1 (Milan, Italy) (ITiCSE 2024). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 353--359. https://doi.org/10.1145/3649217.3653566
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Barbara E Moely and Vincent Ilustre. 2014. The Impact of Service-Learning Course Characteristics on University Students' Learning Outcomes. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, Vol. 21, 1 (2014), 5--16.
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Lori Postner, Darci Burdge, Stoney Jackson, Heidi Ellis, George Hislop, and Sean Goggins. 2015. Using Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) to Introduce Computing for the Social Good. SIGCAS Comput. Soc., Vol. 45, 2 (July 2015), 35--35. https://doi.org/10.1145/2809957.2809967
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Daniel S Schiff, Emma Logevall, Jason Borenstein, Wendy Newstetter, Colin Potts, and Ellen Zegura. 2021. Linking personal and professional social responsibility development to microethics and macroethics: Observations from early undergraduate education. Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 110, 1 (2021), 70--91.
Index Terms
- A Scaffolding-based Approach for Addressing Challenges of Service Learning Adoption
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Published In
February 2025
493 pages
ISBN:9798400705328
DOI:10.1145/3641555
- General Chairs:
- Jeffrey A. Stone,
- Timothy Yuen,
- Program Chairs:
- Libby Shoop,
- Samuel A. Rebelsky,
- James Prather
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Published: 18 February 2025
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SIGCSE TS 2025: The 56th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education
February 26 - March 1, 2025
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