Learning through community service

“When Prescillia Micollet started her PhD in education at Université Laval (ULaval), she thought she probably would be spending her time exploring ideas, reading, analyzing and theorizing. She never imagined she would be working in the field with community organizations or trying out lessons in the classroom on sensitive topics such as homelessness. “My doctoral supervisor wanted her undergraduate students who were training to be secondary-school teachers to create learning activities based on Dans la rue, a learning album for children about homelessness,” says Ms. Micollet. “As part of that process, they worked with the organization that created the book.” Her curiosity was piqued. She asked to get involved, and soon was creating learning activities for elementary school students in direct partnership with a local organization. “I thought it was a great idea.” This experiential pedagogical approach is called community service learning (CSL). It allows students to get involved with community organizations, often on a volunteer basis, and to collaborate with them on projects that meet community needs. Bridging the gap between academia and society Each university has its own approach to CSL. ULaval’s Accès savoirs program connects academics to organizations with the goal of supporting community needs in the Quebec City region. “The idea is to make academic knowledge accessible, not just through scientific articles, but by putting academics to service in the community,” explains Sivane Hirsch, a professor of education at ULaval and Ms. Micollet’s supervisor. By last year, the program had facilitated 545 projects in collaboration with 361 community groups since its founding in 2013. These initiatives are integrated into regular coursework in the form of term papers or research projects. Giving research new meaning Ms. Micollet worked with Engrenage St-Roch, a community organization in the Quebec City neighbourhood of St-Roch, to create learning activities about homelessness. She interviewed Annie Mathieu, the editor of Dans la rue , to understand the realities of homelessness and determine what messages were most important for a young audience. “She and I tested my activities in two classrooms,” Ms. Micollet explains. “With my supervisor’s guidance, I incorporated the comments I received from students and teachers to improve the activities and meet the organization’s needs.” This experience had a big impact on her. “Academics are sometimes disconnected from the real world. I liked working in the field. Talking with the community organization, teachers and students helped me identify their needs. It was tangible.” Engrenage St-Roch also found immense value in this collaboration. “We have complementary expertise, so the project allowed us to exchange knowledge,” notes Ms. Mathieu. “We set out to create a psychoeducational resource to teach children and families about homelessness. Now it’s also being used to train new teachers. That makes it all the more useful.” A democratic approach The University of Ottawa (UOttawa) also offers community service learning through its CSL program , which was established in 2004. The program gives students the option of volunteering around 30 hours of their time to a community organization each semester in lieu of completing a final project. UOttawa works with a network of more than 1,000 community partners, including non-profit organizations, civil society groups, governments and arms-length government agencies, on an ever-growing roster of projects. In 2025-26, 3,451 students in 122 courses participated in CSL projects. For Christian Tremblay, Associate Director of Career Services and Community Engagement at UOttawa, one of the main advantages of the CSL program is that it’s very accessible for students. “Unlike internships, there is no GPA threshold or interview requirement,” he explains. “Students who want to participate can do so on a first-come, first-served basis.” A stepping stone into the workforce In addition to providing academic and community experience, CSL programs also offer valuable workforce experience. Feven Assefa reaped the benefits herself during her last term studying biomedical sciences at UOttawa. She volunteered at Bruyère Health Saint-Vincent Hospital, where she spent time with elderly patients for a few hours per week. For her coursework, she was tasked with presenting an innovative idea for the hospital based on her experience. “I proposed creating a nature room with plants and a light therapy lamp to bring a bit of nature indoors for patients who can’t go outside,” she explains. This project, directly inspired by her experience in the field, reaffirmed her desire to work in a hospital setting. Although her semester is now over, she continues to volunteer at Saint-Vincent Hospital to bring her project to fruition. Community benefits For partner organizations, these collaborations create opportunities to implement projects that are otherwise shelved due to a lack of resources, says Christian Tremblay. But it’s important for universities to find balance and make sure they don’t overwhelm their community partners. “We want the CSL program to help them rather than adding to their workload,” explains Sivane Hirsch. She also believes these initiatives reshape academic work. “As professors, we tend to advance our academic careers through research and teaching. Community engagement projects remind us that we’re not just working for ourselves.” Seeing new tools developed by students being applied in the community gives new meaning to her own work. “I like to help make knowledge accessible.” The post Learning through community service appeared first on University Affairs .

Summary generated from the RSS feed of University Affairs CA. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.universityaffairs.ca.