Engaged learning models for civic engagement.

• Author: Lo Re, Mary L.
• Position: Report

1. INTRODUCTION

   Recently, institutions of higher education have received much disparagement in terms of what is being taught, or more importantly, what is not being taught. These views have been expressed in articles in the popular press, in peer-reviewed journal articles, and in books. The New York Times' (2010) article in, "Are business schools failing', the author asks the question, in "the aftermath of a historic financial crisis ... what are we teaching [our graduates] before they head off to the executive suite? In the Review of Business Research, the authors write: "Business education has faced criticism in recent years in both the narrowness of the curriculum and its failure to sufficiently expose students to the external working environment, specifically the social context within which business operates." (Buddensick & Lo Re, 2010) And, in Datar, et. al.'s book (2010), they question whether business schools "do a good job of alerting students to the imperfections and incompleteness of the models and frameworks they teach.''

   In response to these concerns and in addressing these challenges, schools are adopting diverse set of approaches such as: revamping their curricula, adding and/or removing courses/programs, and "linking knowledge to application through experiential learning" (Datar, Garvin, & Cullen, 2010). While there are many schools at all stages of transformation, one such example is Wagner College. In the fall of 1998, integrating real-world experience with classroom learning, Wagner College instituted a new curriculum called the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. Each year, over 2,000 students in more than 30 academic programs work with the Staten Island community in enacting the "Learning by Doing" model that has become woven into the Staten Island community's fabric. Since that time, many experiential modalities have taken place, such as: case studies, role-playing exercises, classroom visits to establishments, internships, service learning, civic engagement, departmental service learning/civic engagement initiatives and lastly, an incubator system.

   In a prior study, Buddensick & Lo Re (2010) showed that students enrolled in service learning courses have enhanced student awareness not only of themselves, but also of their communities, as well as promoted student inquiry of broader global and social issues. In addition, in their paper "Measuring the Effect of Service Learning on Civic Awareness", they argued that service learning models far surpass case studies, internships and other experiential activities in fulfillment of reflective practices. In this paper we propose two superior additional engaged learning modalities--the Civic Engagement and Incubator models--not only heighten the effect of civic awareness and responsibility, but also civically engage the students on an issue or issues of public concern.

   The Civic Realty Model describes how a traditional real estate investment course was pedagogically transformed to expand the students' practical knowledge of all facets and issues of the housing market, the Staten Island community, as well as assist our community partners with projects. The Incubator Model describes the development of a marketing incubator system to expose the students to issues of public concern and provide consultancy services to Staten Island and other local area communities.

   With each of the projects, this paper will demonstrate how the Department of Business Administration has embraced the civic engagement higher-education imperative to enhance student and faculty learning, to promote the College's image and deepen its role as well as make a positive impact in the community. Challenges, lessons learned, course outcomes and deliverables, and next steps for the incubator model are discussed.

2. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT (vs. SERVICE LEARNING) DEFINED

   Civic engagement and service-learning are common-place terms in today's educational system. Over one thousand institutions responded to a survey conducted by the National Resource Center (Tobolowsky, 2008) of which "more than 40% of responding institutions offer a service-learning component" (p. 98). Today, given the rise of academic journals, conferences, and organizations devoted to this type of pedagogy and learning, that percent is even higher.

   According to Imagining America, "A Resource on Promotion and Tenure in the Arts, Humanities, and Design", "one should recognize that research, teaching, and community outreach often overlap." As such, service-learning, civic engagement, or, publicly engaged academic work, can be defined as:

   "... scholarly or creative activity integral to a faculty member's academic area. It encompasses different forms of making knowledge about, for, and with diverse publics and communities. Through a coherent, purposeful sequence of activities, it contributes to the public good and yields artifacts of public and intellectual value." (Eatman, 2008)

   However, in the literature of higher education, a distinction is made between service-learning and civic engagement.

   Service-learning can be defined as an academic study closely tied to community service through structured reflection. This type of learning connects thought and feeling in an "intentional way", creating a framework in which students can explore how they feel about what they are thinking and what they think about how they feel. Through guided reflection, service-learning offers students opportunities to explore the relationship between their academic learning and their civic values and commitments. (Ehrlich T., 2000) Service-learning, "... ensure equal focus on both the service being provided and the learning that is occurring" (Furco, 1996). This combination of factors distinguishes service learning from internships, which are designed primarily to benefit the student, and volunteerism designed to primarily benefit the community. Thus, unlike internships and other practica, service-learning "instills in students a profound understanding of community responsibility." (Tucker, McCarthy, Hoxmeier & Lenk, 1998)

   Civic engagement is a broader motif encompassing but not limited to service-learning. It has been defined as "individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern." (Ehrlich, 2000, p. 403) Civic engagement can take many forms, from individual voluntarism to organizational involvement. It can include efforts to directly address an issue or work with others in a community to solve a problem, and it can encompass a range of specific activities. Thus, civic engagement goes beyond Bringle & Hatcher's (1996) service-learning model to deliver a course with an experiential component with the objectives to have: (1) a further understanding of course content; (2) a broader appreciation of the discipline; and (3) an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Civic engagement allows students to go beyond...