Faculty Voices

Andrew Liles, Architecture:

"The CPS Faculty Seminar greatest strength is its method of attack - parsing service learning through multiple lenses: scholarly articles, successful case studies, and the personal syllabi of fellow faculty. We gleaned the full spectrum of service learning, from its national reputation to its local implementation in the rich, living laboratory that is New Orleans. And the food was delicious!"

Jeff Agnew, Earth & Environmental Sciences:

"I recommend this seminar to anyone interested in doing a service learning class. The opportunity to reflect upon and discuss service learning pedagogy with other faculty helped to motivate and guide the development of my own service learning course. I now see service learning as one of the most effective methods of teaching."

Donata Henry, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology:

"The CPS faculty seminar met my expectations by providing me with the tools I need to construct service learning courses, in addition to gaining a better understanding of the philosophy and pedagogy of Service Learning as a curricular experience. The unanticipated benefit of the seminar was the opportunity to regularly converse with a diverse group of faculty, most of whom I might never have met. We had incredible discussions that revealed the breadth of our common experience, despite the differences in our disciplines. I enjoyed the process of listening, questioning, debating and problem-solving in such a unique, relaxed group. Our collaborations seemed genuinely valued by everyone involved."

Brian Horowitz, Germanic & Slavic Studies:

The course provides the essential information to become a service-learning professional from start to finish. You learn how to create a service-learning syllabus and bring ideas about changing New Orleans to fruition. It's a handbook experience of how to do good in the world.”

Susann Lusnia, Classical Studies:

"I would recommend the CPS Faculty Seminar to anyone who is thinking of teaching service learning or may have just started a service learning course. I found the discussions nicely balanced between the theoretical and practical issues of service learning. Although I came to the seminar with one semester's experience in teaching a service course, the seminar helped me develop a better understanding of the goals and pedagogy of service learning. Probably the most valuable aspect of the seminar was meeting other faculty from across the university and seeing what approaches to service learning were being tried out in different disciplines.”

Thomas Bayer, Art:

"I took the Service Learning seminar several semesters ago to help me develop a syllabus for a service learning component to my regular course. I found the seminar exceptionally useful to that end. The atmosphere was very collegial, open and enjoyable. Rather than having to abide by a set syllabus, we were able to explore our own concerns and create our syllabi with the constructive input of other participants. I recommend the seminar highly to anyone interested in offering a Service Learning component. “

Kate Drabinski, Gender & Sexuality Studies:

"The faculty seminar gave me a rare chance to talk pedagogy--what we teach, how, and why--with an interdisciplinary group of fellow faculty members who helped me articulate for myself what service learning can be. It really was an invaluable opportunity to do some good learning about teaching, something we academics rarely have a chance to do. Thanks, CPS!"