As class registration draws near, UW-Madison is again offering courses that allow students an alternative to the traditional classroom setting.
Service learning courses teach students practical experience in their field of study as well as involvement in the community, said Ann Dingman, UW-Madison graduate assistant to service learning program.
According to Dingman, some instructors developed the program to integrate volunteerism into their class curriculum.
\A faculty member finds volunteer opportunities for their students that they think will complement course content, and then the students have a requirement of how much service they do,"" Dingman said.
There are currently about 60 service learning classes per semester. However, as the popularity of the courses spread, the number of service learning classes is increasing, Dingman said.
One service learning class, which is part of a freshman program, places students in three courses with others in their residence hall.
Temra Costa, a UW-Madison senior and peer mentor to the Environmental Freshman Interest Group, said each group is getting involved in different activities and issues in the community.
""They're doing research about the effects of hazardous materials on low-income population,"" Costa said. ""There are other students who are volunteering at a hospital ... and another group that's going out in the community and pamphleteering about different issues that may be affecting different communities.""
According to Dingman, these classes create an opportunity for students to meet members of the community.
""Students ... are more multi-culturally competent, because they are typically working with populations different than themselves,"" she said. ""They have a deeper understanding of what they're reading in the textbooks and course material. They get a better understanding of social issues in general and specifically what's going on in their local community.""
These classes increase awareness and community solidarity because students and community members educate each other, Costa said.
The organizations which utilize student volunteers also benefit from service learning.
""A lot of agencies like getting service learning students because they bring a higher level of expertise as well as commitment,"" Dingman said. ""For instance, if a student is in a marketing class and they're working with an agency to produce a marketing plan, because they have that background knowledge, they can bring things to the agency that some staff members don't have.""
Emily Eggebrecht, a UW-Madison freshman and member of a FIG said service learning courses offer better education than the conventional ways of learning at this school.
""We've been reading about who's affected by hazardous waste and saw how the community was affected,"" Eggebrecht said. ""These [service projects] are beneficial to your life; you take away so much. ... It [also] beats writing a 10-page paper. You do more, but you're getting more involved on campus.\
