What+to+tell+your+provost+when+she+asks+-++Are+service-learning+courses+intellectually+demanding+and+academically+rigorous?

David Malone, Associate Professor, Duke University dmalone@duke.edu] Amy Anderson, Instructor and Service Learning Consultant, Duke University amy.anderson@duke.edu] Matt Serra, Director, Office of Assessment, Duke University [ serram@duke.edu] Kathy Sikes, Service Learning Consultant, Duke University [ kathy.sikes@duke.edu]
 * What to tell your provost when she asks: Are service-learning courses intellectually demanding and academically rigorous?**



** Keywords: **Rigor, getting an ‘A,’ epistemological beliefs, student engagement

** Track: **Student development and learning

** Format: **Team presentation

**Date & time:** Thursday 2:00-3:10 **Location:** Salon 5

**Summary:** Publications such as Academically Adrift call into question the degree of academic rigor within the undergraduate experience. Critics argue that undergraduates exhibit intellectual disengagement and frequently choose non-demanding classes. College administrators are scrutinizing the levels of academic rigor and intellectual demand. We analyzed approximately 36,000 course evaluations, measures of epistemological beliefs, interviews, surveys, and written reflections to understand the relationships between service-learning classes, academic rigor, and intellectual engagement. A proxy for academic rigor was created based on course evaluation items “amount of effort/ work,” “difficulty of subject matter,” and “degree of intellectual stimulation.”

When compared to the mean level of academic rigor of all undergraduate courses, students perceived service-learning courses to require less work and effort, to have a lower level difficulty of subject matter, and to be slightly less intellectually demanding. When the size of class was statistically controlled for and SL classes were compared to courses that enrolled a similar number of students, undergraduate’s perceived SL courses to be approximately equal in academic rigor to non-service learning courses. Further analysis revealed that students perceived math/science classes, particularly those of large size, to be exceptionally difficult and to require a high level of effort and work. Analysis of data derived from a standardized measure of epistemological beliefs revealed that many undergraduates bring low level epistemological beliefs to SL courses wherein they exhibit a low tolerance for uncertainty and shades of meaning, a rigid belief in knowledge derived from expert authorities, and a preference for content mastery over process learning. Analysis of surveys and written reflections indicated that undergraduates often think of academic rigor and intellectual demand in terms of how difficult it is to earn an A, how much rote memorization is required, and how inaccessible the subject matter is perceived to be.

We conclude that service-learning faculty should provide opportunities for students to think critically about epistemological beliefs, often unrecognized, that shape students’ views of concepts such as intellectual demand and academic rigor.

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Arum, R. & Roksa, J. (2011). //Academically adrift: limited learning on college campuses//. Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press.

Eyler, J.S., Giles, D.E., Stenson, C.M., & Gray, C.J. (2001). //At a glance: What we know about the effects of service-learning on college students, faculty, institutions, and communities, 1993-2000//. Washington, DC: National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

Kuh, G.D. (2008). //High-impact educational practices: What they are, who as access to them, and why they matter//. Washington, DC: AAC&U.

Ormrod, J.E. (2008). //Essentials of educational psychology (2nd edition)//. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Schommer, M. (1993). Epistemological development and academic performance among secondary students. //Journal of Educational Psychology, 85// (3). 406-411.

Schraw, G., Bendixen L., & Dunkle, M. E. (2002) Development and validation of the Epistemic Belief Inventory. In B.K. Hofer & P.R. Pintrich (Eds.) //Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing// (pp. 261-276). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Swaner, L. E. (2007). Linking Engaged Learning, Student Mental Health and Well-Being, and Civic Development: A Review of the Literature. //Liberal Education, Winter//, 16-25.

Thompson, R.J., & Serra, M. (2005). Use of course evaluations to assess the contributions of curricular and pedagogical initiatives to undergraduate general education learning objectives. //Education//, 125. 693-701.

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