Engaging Teachers in Teaching Service-Learning Subjects: Critical Issues and Strategies

Abstract

Our university faced a number of obstacles in the implementation of service-learning: the lack of experience in academic service-learning, the lack of a public service culture, and the perceived lack of appropriate recognition for good teaching. To tackle these obstacles, we designed carefully a financial and workload model to address the issues of motivation and recognition. We also set up an Office of Service-Learning to provide comprehensive operational support and staff development. These include the use of eLearning in blended learning environments. It includes workshops on all aspects such as subject development, project development, assessment, offshore project development, and perhaps most effectively, practical experiential learning. We aggressively develop our own research program on critical aspects of service-learning scholarship. We are also experimenting with innovative pedagogies such as an offshore base in Cambodia as a platform for international collaboration in service-learning.