Hope College's Pine Ridge May Term will be featured in a service-learning workshop during the 14th annual Institute of the Michigan Campus Compact taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 9-10, in Traverse City.

 Hope College's Pine Ridge May Term will be featured in a service-learning workshop during the 14th annual Institute of the Michigan Campus Compact taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 9-10, in Traverse City.

The workshop is titled "Learning and Serving Among the Oglala Lakota:  Development and Challenges of an Integrated On-site Service-Learning Course."  It will be presented by Dr. Steven Hoogerwerf, associate professor of religion; senior Sara Toledo of Wilmette, Ill.; and sophomore Rebekah Bush of Muskegon.

The Pine Ridge May Term is an off-campus course that places students directly in the context of their service, in an attempt to move toward a more seamless connection between service and learning.  In the workshop, the course will be used as a model to help identify important components of course development and ways to address challenges that arise "in the field" while doing service learning.

Academic service learning is a teaching methodology that utilizes community service to help students gain a deeper understanding of course content, acquire new knowledge, and engage in civic activity. Unlike volunteering, service learning is linked to curricular goals and integrated with course content.  Academic service-learning:

° Allows students to learn through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences.

° Provides structured time for students to think, talk, and write about what they have observed and learned through their service activity.

° Lets students use newly acquired skills or knowledge in real-life situations.

° Extends learning beyond the classroom into the community.

° Fosters a sense of caring for others.

Michigan Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact member presidents are joined together in their commitment to the development of personal and social responsibility as integral to the educational mission of their campuses. Currently MCC has 42 member campuses, and Michigan members are part of national Campus Compact, a coalition of nearly 1,100 college and university presidents, representing some six million students.

As the only national organization committed to fulfilling the public purpose of higher education, Campus Compact is a leader in building civic engagement into campus and academic life. Michigan Campus Compact is a state office of the national organization and our membership unites public, private, two-and four-year institutions across the spectrum of higher education. MCC is located in Lansing.