Data of/by/for the People: A Look at Academic Service-Learning in Action

Brian Kokensparger, PhD, associate professor of computer science, design and journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences, faced a unique challenge as his class “Data of/by/for the People” (CSC 450) began this semester.  

The designated Academic Service-Learning course challenges students to focus on a need in the community each semester and then design projects to collect data, analyze it and report results in a manner that is beneficial to the community.  

“Involving community members in every phase of these projects is important to ensuring that we are benefiting the community,” Kokensparger said. “By participating in this research process, students also benefit as well, since the community members teach them a lot about the community and the lives of real people with whom they work.” 

But this semester, students wanted to focus their efforts on a virtual community, presenting a challenge Kokensparger had not yet experienced. 

“The Office of Global and Community-Engaged Learning has provided a great amount of support to me in that, moving Academic Service-Learning to a virtual environment,” he said. “The office has given me lots of encouragement and support to go for it and give it a try.” 

The class focus is on the construct of “hope” and how hope is inspired – or not – by words used in the virtual landscape. 

“Students in the class are using a virtual environment called Sansar to look for words of hope in those ‘landscapes,’ collect them and analyze them,” he said. Then, they will create 3-D virtual objects that bear those words of hope and place them in the Sansar environment to attempt to inspire hope for those who need it most in the community. 

Lizzy Curran, director of the Office of Global and Community-Engaged Learning, connects academic courses with local and global community partners to enhance academic learning, meet community-identified needs, and foster civic perspectives through engagement and reflection. The Office collaborates with the Center for Faculty Excellence in supporting faculty in obtaining the "Academic Service-Learning Designation" (ACSL) for their courses.  

To start a discussion about obtaining the designation for a course, contact Curran, at LizzyCurran@creighton.edu.  

Strategies for Engagement: Sustainability and Service-Learning in the Classroom

On May 8, join Curran and Andrew Baruth, PhD, Office of Sustainability Programs, for a program to kick-off a series of summer workshops for faculty and instructors interested in academic service- learning as a high-impact educational practice or for those hoping to integrate sustainability pedagogy into their course offerings. The kick-off is 4-5:30 p.m. CDT in Eppley Builing, Room 119. Light refreshments will be served. Register.

This workshop series will offer six opportunities to participate in various aspects of course design, reflection, partnership engagement, and more. Participants who update a syllabus as a result of this workshop series will be eligible to receive a stipend. 

During the kick-off event, faculty will learn more about each of the six workshops and have the opportunity to RSVP for the sessions they are interested in attending.  

Arrangements are pending for Phoenix.