Matchless: Service Learning that Saves Lives

Editor's Notes

1. Welcome everyone Introduce the workshop and facilitators Looking to share an exciting experience that engages students, promote lifelong learning and create memorable experiences for faculty and students that actually saves lives. Thank participants for choosing to spend the next 60 minutes with us.
2. During our time together we will: Discuss what is service learning and what it looks like Figure out how if service learning can fit into your courses How to find community organizations and develop collaborative partnerships What should you think about when integrating a service learning assignment into your courses Reality check – before jumping in, what kind of investment is expected by faculty and students when implementing a service learning project
3. So what is service learning? Take a moment to read the slide….what jumps out at you? what are some key words? Research based – this isn’t a fly-by- night, isn’t this fun, new gimmicky pedagogy. There’s a lot of emerging research that service learning works. That is why it’s being adopted as early as kindergarten curricula Teaching method – Service learning is a pedagogy – we don’t use service learning to fulfill a personal need – this is student focused learning Guided / classroom learning – service learning must be structured in such a way that students can quickly make connections between the service and course content. Otherwise it doesn’t work. Authentic community need – students can see through “fake community service”. Developing a project with a real need in the community creates buy-in from students, building respect and taking the project seriously Student initiative – the learning happens when students have meaningful action and initiate the action by applying content they learn in your courses Structured time – time is the investment! You must give students ample time to perform the service, reflect upon their contribution and express it in a meaningful way that connects with course content they are learning Reflection – reflection allows each student to perform the service but create a different/unique experience. Reflection is critical for students and capturing their ideas when reflecting is a powerful tool in embedding the service experience as part of their memory, which provides meaning Service Experience - during the project the students must “experience” something. They need to be actively engaged. Service learning in an excellent action learning tool! Demonstration – Students learn how to apply concepts when they demonstrate. Demonstration allows students to connect or link concepts with experiences, thus reinforcing Acquired skills – students love demonstrating that they know. Service learning gives them an opportunity to show you what they are learning, that allows you to evaluate their competency Knowledge – the key is to merge service experience with content to create knowledge.
4. How would you incorporate service learning into a professional program? We did just that using our fall Clinical Hematology course Focused on senior students – graduating year Curriculum focused on bone marrow physiology and the production of different types of cells our bodies produce and the occurrence of diseases associated with these cells This was a campus wide initiative, so I needed to gain support for this project from many different stakeholders which included health science administration & program chairs. The office of student life plugged us in for creating marketing materials, office of service learning supported the contractual aspect, and student clubs ensured that we had a diverse swath of students informed and participating. Be the Match was our target NPO…what is BTM (next slide)
5. Beth will spend the next few minutes describing BTM. Questions we needed to answer as we considered our partnership are listed: <describe personal story of realizing that no match existed for me or my brother> The organization is looking to cure many of the diseases we discuss in class The collaboration is synergistic. Students raise awareness and enroll donors, BTM saves lives Some students fret that becoming an MLT means they are stuck in the lab. BTM allows them to experience different ways MLTs can work outside the typical hematology lab environment Program alumni have mentioned that they continue to recruit donors not only for stem cells but for blood donations because there’s always a need.
6. What does success look like? Having a stretch goal gives student focus. A project like may require funds. Student life and Service learning donated supplies and food; faculty donated team uniforms. As this was a semester long project, considerable instructional design was required to keep students engaged, focused and moving at a comfortable pace during the project Because most students are entering the job market upon graduation, as a program we felt it was important for them to focus on leadership, administration and soft skills, competencies they will need to be successful in the job market along with technical information You need to give students time in class – I dedicated 30 minutes of class time each session. Also, I built a couple of labs that incorporated assignments I was able to revisit/reinforce immunology and blood immunohematology principles – a good subject review We talked about jobs associated with stem cell donation and transplant – working on transplant team at WRAMC Allow them to develop additional skills in marketing ideas, project management and evaluating outcomes
7. Of course we want students to make connections between content and experience. Service learning encourages and motivates students to delve deeper, fostering collaborations, getting creative, advocating for themselves and for others in need of a transplant.. All while developing a toolkit of transferable skills they can use on day #1 after graduating from our program
8. In addition to planning, investing its important to be personally vested in your project. Students have a 6th sense and if you’re not excited – they aren’t excited either. Students know if this is a priority by how you structure the assignment and assign points. The entire cohort of students acted as a team and faculty provided T-shirts as uniforms <Explain each of the students roles and why it was needed/ required.> All students were required to participate in 3 activities that anchored the project and had an assignment related to each activity.
9. This project was equivalent to 100 points or 10% of their course grade. With the assignments, faculty were able to gauge progress, 1st alert to problems, group cohesiveness and progression toward the goal The cohort had to collaborate to create a marketing plan detailing with activities and sequential steps how they planned to recruit donors and the outcome assessment that detailed lessons learned. The project manager ultimately was responsible for uploading these reports Throughout the duration of the project, students submitted bi-weekly journal reports. The actual stem cell drive event, students completed a lab report and after all was said & done, students had an opportunity to evaluate their peers. After each assignment, students received faculty feedback on their level of involvement, application of content, and analysis.
10. This year was the 3rd year I offered this service learning opportunity and the 1st time we met our goal. What you see are some of the creative marketing fliers and activities students created As a result of our efforts, 7 patients found the transplants they needed. 2 students were called back and participated as donors!
11. Now, let’s put what you’ve learned to work. For the next_______minutes, let’s do the following : <read slide>