The faculty members of CPACS have always been strong advocates and practitioners of service learning.
Service Learning is a method of teaching that combines classroom instruction with meaningful community service. This form of learning emphasizes critical thinking and personal reflection while encouraging a heightened sense of community, civic engagement, and personal responsibility.
Examples of CPACS service learning activities | AY 2021-2022
EMGT 4050 | Contemporary Issues in Tribal Management | Spring 2022 | Edouardo Zendejas
Students collaborated with Native Indigenous Centered Education students from Benson and North High School to learn through hands-on use of drone technology and scholarship about Tribal sovereignty, food security, public health, and emergency management. The students took a trip to the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska to identify and map food plots; public health and emergency management infrastructure; and resources on the reservation using drones. Students then analyzed the findings and developed ways to present the experience to different audiences with the purpose of illuminating the critical role of Tribal sovereignty in managing disasters.
GERO 4480/GERO 8486 | Global Aging | Fall 2021 | Lyn Holley
Students met with a same-country elder and together carry out a systematic brief life review interview which is the foundation for writing a brief life story for the elder and their family. The student and elder surveyed the elder's neighborhood and assessed its age friendliness. The student developed recommendations for improvements and developed a presentation about the project that describes improvements needed and justifies the recommendations made.
GERO 4670/GERO 8676/PA 8676 | Programs and Services | Fall 2021 | Amy Hanson
Students choose an agency to interview and asked what challenges or problems the agency is currently facing. Students then conducted research on the best practices to address the challenges and wrote a report with these findings. The report was shared with the agency.
SOWK 1500 | Social Work and Civic Engagement | Fall 2021/Spring 2020 | Kersten Borer, Lisa Smith
Students interacted with staff and clients of a variety of nonprofit and community service programs. The students participated in programming and projects and created products to assist the programs. Examples include: developing a cookbook for participants of a food pantry; designing a workshop to support and encourage the staff of a disengaged youth center; reimaging a guide for high school seniors that are preparing for college; working with an after-school program that focuses on leadership skill building for youth; reading to children in an after-school program; participating in days of service by handing out food and diapers; collecting advocacy letters about the important of mental health policy to assist with a mental health program's grant writing and social media needs; and creating activities for children staying at a shelter.
SOWK 8940 | Evaluation of Social Programs | Fall 2021/Spring 2022 | Jeanette Harder, Yiwei Zhang
Students worked with a community partner to provide free program evaluation services. The final product included a logic model, process evaluation, and an outcome evaluation proposal. At the end of the semester, students presented these materials to staff of the agency.
UBNS 8000 | Seminar in Urban Studies | Fall 2021 | Daniel Scheller
Graduate students worked with Spark CDI to develop ideas for the use of public space in North Omaha. The students toured the 24th and Lake neighborhood to observe and learn about the community before creating posters about potential improvements. The posters were presented to the community and displayed in Spark CDI's Fabric Lab.