During the fall semester 2018, the office of Citizenship & Service-Learning partnered with the Springfield Dream Center, The Fairbanks/Northwest Project, and Dr. Alex Jean-Charles and Dr. Ann Marie Daehn's service-learning students to host a brand-new program called “Around the World in 80 Days.” “Around the World in 80 Days” developed out of Dr. Ann Marie Daehn’s service-learning courses MUS 293,393 and 493 and Dr. Alex Jean-Charles EDC 345 Multi-cultural Education and Diversity class and in partnership with the CASL office. In these classes, students discussed ideas for giving back to the community with culture. Service-learning director, Dr. Kathy Nordyke was more than happy to help build this vision of using multiple departments to create a community educational event. Ultimately, education students from CFD 560/660 Family Engagement course and Professor Sarah Murray’s BMS 340 Nutrition Education students, along with a host of students from French, Sociology, Biology, Management, Psychology, First-Year Programs and the Honor's College also joined in with Music and … [Read more...] about Departmental collaboration the key to community education event
For Amanda Drewel, what takes place outside of the classroom can be just as important as what happens at the desk. As a service-learning Bonner Leader, expectations were high. She was on the lookout for a program that would serve her needs as a young professional hoping to get kids excited about STEM fields. Not exactly the breeziest of tasks. But since her placement at Robberson Community School, Amanda has proven to excel in the community as an educator and coordinator with a little help from robots. Amanda describes the program idea as a recognizable need to empower young learners in the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Familiarity with these fields will likely help students find higher paying jobs. This can help mitigate the poverty cycle many of them are in. The robotics program uses LEGO education to encourage an interest in engineering and coding. The children design and build robots that they are then able connect to their Chromebooks. Then, they build a code capable of executing sequenced movement in the robot. Typically, a lesson begins with … [Read more...] about Student Spotlight: Amanda Drewel uses robots to teach kids about STEM
In May, at Missouri State University’s annual Faculty Awards ceremony, Citizenship and Service-Learning was pleased to announce Dr. Billie Follensbee as the recipient of the Faculty Excellence in Service-Learning Award. The award, represented by a beautiful, engraved glass trophy, was presented at the Faculty Awards event, honoring exemplary teachers at Missouri State University. Dr. Follensbee is the Art and Design department’s Museum Studies Program Coordinator and a specialist in art history and archeology. She teaches courses on non-Western art (African, Oceanic, Mesoamerican cultures) to art history and anthropology students seeking careers in museums, educational institutions or community organizations. In addition to her successes as an arts and culture educator, Dr. Follensbee has skillfully integrated service-learning into her courses, giving students valuable work experience in a competitive field and a passion for connecting the arts with community. “It makes my classes much more interesting,” said Dr. Follensbee of service-learning. “Instead of just studying things … [Read more...] about Billie Follensbee and the art of service-learning
By Kathy Nordyke Missouri State University service-learning students and Bonner Leaders/Program Assistants from the Citizenship and Service-Learning office are helping children at Robberson Elementary learn the sciences through the power of Robotics. This new program began Friday, November 2nd and was made possible thanks to service-learning students from John Turner's grant writing class. The grant writing students wrote a proposal and secured funding for the world-class LEGO Educational Robotics project. A special thanks to our Bonner Leader and Math/Science Education student Amanda Drewel for her hard work and dedication in coordinating this effort, writing curriculum, and working to encourage STEM before/after-school programs in our schools. Service-learning takes pride in our students and the great things they are doing in our communities to make a difference - they are shining examples of our MSU Public Affairs mission. Thank you Robberson Community School for being such a great partner and serving as a learning site for our service-learning students. … [Read more...] about Service-learning brings robotics to Robberson Elementary
By Shayla Vance The 2017-2018 academic year has been successful for the office of Citizenship and Service-Learning. Over 5,000 students have registered for service-learning courses in the fall, summer and spring, which is more than twice the enrollment rate of 2012-2013’s same semesters. More students are recognizing service-learning as a valuable career experience, and they are making a significant impact on the community. In a component course, each student completes 40 hours of service with a community partner for their service-learning project. Combining courses with integrated service-learning brings the total so far to 82,580 hours of service. The impact is already starting to show. CASL students have brought an estimated total dollar value of 1,781,250 to the Springfield area and outside communities through service-learning. So while students are gaining hands-on career experience, they are also making a measurable impact on the community. The higher enrollment is not only making a difference within Springfield, but also for CASL community partners. With a greater … [Read more...] about Service-Learning Enrollment has Doubled within the Last Five Years