Information tool for service-learning and volunteering opportunities
Sevice-learning combines learning with the community service in order to provide the meaningful learning experience while managing real-life problems and meeting societal needs. It must, however, be stressed that service learning is not simply academic credit for volunteer work and service to society – the emphasis is on learning and specific learning outcomes are to be achieved by students. In case of the ENHANCE’s universities, a well-designed service learning should include some non-trivial engineering or technology related component. Details about learning activities are available by clicking on the activity name below:
Technology support to schools (Politecnico di Milano)
Rat Relay hackathon (Warsaw University of Technology)
Smart City course (Warsaw University of Technology)
Adapting workstations for people with functional diversity (Universitat Politècnica de València)
Hosting in tandem (Universitat Politècnica de València)
APS Comic Asperger (Universitat Politècnica de València)
Mural painting: Sustainable Development Goals dissemination (Universitat Politècnica de València)
A walk through the orchard (Universitat Politècnica de València)
Architectural Heritage Documentation Techniques (Universitat Politècnica de València)
MEPO (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
The Vector Programme (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
INTIZE: Mathematic mentorship (Chalmers University of Technology)
Teddy Bear Hospital (RWTH Aachen)
Sustainable handprints (TU Berlin)
Greenhouse gas savings through do-it-yourself-cultures (UTIL) (TU Berlin)
Mapping Torhaus (TU Berlin)
Solar Heat for a House Project (TU Berlin)
Kreise Schließen (Close Circles)(TU Berlin)
Curricular or extracurricular activity
Service learning can be seen as either part of the curriculum or, more frequently, as an extracurricular activity. In the first case (an obligatory or elective component of the curriculum), this activity should be developed and implemented in a similar way as a typical course. The learning outcomes for the service-learning “course” comprise mostly of skills and social competences with the limited, if any, knowledge component.
Assessment
The assessment of learning outcomes would most likely differ from that used for typical courses. The written examination/test is unlikely to be useful. Instead of it, the review and evaluation of the portfolio submitted by the student might be requested and used as the means to assess (and grade, if necessary) the student’s performance. Such a portfolio can contain various materials documenting the student’s activity, including multimedia materials: photos, audio or video-recordings and the report of student’s self-assessment and the reflection on the educational experience gained.
The assessment of the learning outcomes achieved by the students may result in a grade. In particular, the grade must be given if the regulations adopted at the university require that each course must be graded “numerically”, i.e. the simple binary grading scale “pass/fail” cannot be applied.