What does it mean to serve others? In contemplating this question regarding this class, I think to serve others would be to find out what they need and want to be successful and then ensuring I have the knowledge of resources and/or referral to resources to help them be successful. I also think serving others is where we find out a little about how they learn, what works for them as far as interactions, do we email, text, facebook, and how much support do they want and need. Availability to them and letting our groups know our purpose is to serve them is important too. If we appear too busy or bothered, that may hinder the learning process.
What is service learning? From what we have learned so far, service learning is supporting academic goals with a hands on interaction and experiential learning experience for both mentors and mentees. It's identifying a complex problem for a community or agency and working in community to find a solution to that problem. It's joining together a need and human resource to work together towards solutions in human interaction and community.
What experiences with research and writing have I had? I took a research class through the Human Services Department. I wanted to do a research project that would be helpful to where I work which is the Dean of Students, Student Activities and Viking Union-Facilities. My research was on the leadership experiences and training Associated Students Board of Directors bring with them when voted into their student government offices. I interviewed incoming AS Board members and outgoing AS Board members. I conducted a total of 12, 1 1/2 hour interviews and transcribed each one. I also looked at what available research there was on student leadership and development. I analysed what I learned and came up with suggestions of what students felt they needed to be successful in their roles as well as what they brought with them. Based on the research a student training for AS Board members was developed that first summer (my research was done in spring). One year later, I interviewed the AS Board members who were in office that year, and did an assessment of the training they received in the summer with suggestions for future trainings.
Writing experiences I have had are with APA in the Human Services program. We write lots of papers. I feel I have become more knowledgeable on APA and a better writer over the last three years.
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