SERVICE-LEARNING IN GERONTOLOGY: AN OUT-OF-CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE Educational Gerontology, 27:89 – 103, 2 001 Copyright Ó 2 001 Brunner-Routledge 0360-1277/01 $ 12.00 1 .00 SERVICE-LEARNING IN GERONTOLOGY: AN OUT-OF-CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE Laura Hess Brown Paul A. Rood in State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, New York, USA Service-learning is a useful means of helping students understand gerontology. It allows for the ideal integration of theory, research, and application of the study of aging. Students provide m eaningful service to the community, by engaging in direct contact with members of the populations they are studying while integrating course content with real-world experience. Students gain additional insight by participating in reýective activities in class discussions; through journal keeping and other writing assignments; and in m eetings with instructors, other students, and professional staff m em bers who provide support and services to the older adults at service-learning sites. In this study, qualitative data on service-learning were obtained from 104 students over two consecutive semesters. Content anal- ysis identiüed six them es: (a) insights about aging and older adults, including overcoming negative stereotypes; (b) enhanced feelings of pride, self-worth, and personal efücacy from being able to provide a valued and needed service to older adults in the community; (c) the value and importance of service and vounteering; (d) the realities, both positive and negative, of long-term care for older adults; (e) awareness of previously unrecognized skills and consolidation of future career goals; and (f) integration of course work on aging and service-learning experiences. Potential strategies to overcome students’ initial reservations regarding service- learning and to maximize students’ positive experiences with service-learning in gerontology are presented. Service-learning is a credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets A portion of this article was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 2000. The study reported was part of a larger, ongoing research project funded by the Foundation for Long Term Care, Albany, New York. Address correspondence to Laura Hess Brown, 403 Mahar Hall, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, New York 13126, USA. E-mail: LBrown1 @oswego.edu. 89 90 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin identiüed community needs and actively engages students in reýection to increase understanding of course content, provide broader appreciation of the discipline, and enhance students’ sense of civic responsibility (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Zlotkowski, 1998). Service-learning is far more than extracurricular voluntary service, but it is not the sam e as a practica or internships, both of which require preparatory skills and hierarchically linked classes that lead to student competence and developm ent of the greater skills and abilities necessary for success. Service-learning is a course-based community service experience that produces its best outcomes when meaningful volunteer service is related to course material (Zlotkowski, 1998). Eyler and Giles (1999) described the holistic nature of experiential education typiüed by service-learning program s: ‘‘Experience enhances understanding; understanding leads to more effective action. Both learning and service gain value and are transform ed when combined in the speciüc types of activities we call service-learning’’ (p. 8). Pedagogy in service-learning is designed to meet multiple educational goals (e.g., enhance student insights about citizenship in the community, the discipline they are studying, and the meaning of service) through reýective activities. (Rhoads, 1998). Such reýective activities include directed writings, small- group discussions, and class presentations. Unlike practica and internships, the experiential activity in a service-learning course is not necessarily skill based within the context of professional education (Bringle & Hatcher, 1996, as cited in Zlotk- owski, 1998, p. xiv). Students who have no previous experience working with older adults (or any population to which they have had lim ited exposure) may actually beneüt the most from service-learning in that they have the greatest potential for altering negative stereotypes and clarifying personal identity (Neururer & Rhoads, 1998). Rhoads (1998) highlighted the advantages of working with diverse others who at the beginning are total strangers to produce outcomes of mutual beneüt, understanding, and potential for greater social good. It is im portant to recognize that service-learning is a particularly salient feature of higher education as it exists today. In their mission statements, many colleges and universities claim to be committed to the processes of learning, searching, and serving. However, it has been only recently that institutions of higher education have become concerned with deüning and documenting the last dim ension (i.e., serving; Eyler & Giles, 1999). Service-learning has been said to be the ‘‘new mark of excellence’’ and a sign of ‘‘an engaged campus’’ (Boyer, 1994, p. A48). It has become a touchstone for institutions seeking to be recognized for their im pact on students and, ultim ately, for increasing students’ sensitivities to and awareness of the im portance of public service and Service-Learning in Gerontology 91 civic responsibility (Astin & Sax, 1998; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Neururer & Rhoads, 1998; Rhoads, 1998; Zlotkowski, 1998). Zlotkowski (1998) viewed service-learning as one of the most visible demonstrations of Boyer’s (1994, p. A 48) ‘‘new am erican college,’’ an institution that not only rewards excellence in teaching and schol- arship, but also successfully links thought to action and theory to practice. It may very well be through direct service that educational institutions leave their most enduring im print on their students and their communities; service-learning presents the college or university as a good citizen of the community in which it is located. The goal is that through Service-Learning students will, on their own, be both more willing to become involved in the lives of others and committed to making a difference in their community (Astin & Sax, 1998; Neururer & Rhoads, 1998; Rhoads, 1998). Recent analyses (Astin & Sax, 1998; Gray, Ondaatje, & Zakaras, 1999; Rhoads, 1998) have suggested that college students who engage in Service-Learning in fact do show an increase in civic responsibility, im prove the quality of community services through their volunteer efforts, help to bring needed services to a greater number of people, and enhance community – institution relations. Astin, Vogelgesang, Ikeda, and Yee (2000) noted signiücant im provem ents am ong students participating in service-learning in academic performance in writing skills, critical thinking, and grade point average as well as increases in leadership and self-efücacy. Students participating in service-learning also become more value conscious in that they are committed to prom oting racial understanding, activism , and service following college graduation. It is clear from the work of Astin and his associates that positive outcomes from service-learning depend greatly on students’ degree of interest in the course material, the degree to which instructors encourage classroom discussion, and the skill with which instructors link service experience to course content and vice versa (Astin & Sax, 1998; Astin et al., 2000). Reýection activities are the most widely used and highly recommended methods for providing this linkage between course content and service experiences. More than 80% of students involved in one study of service-learning responded positively to the statement that their service ‘‘made a difference’’ (Astin et al., 2000, p. 3). Research on student outcomes with service-learning is becoming more plentiful, but most studies have used structured interviews, participant observation, or survey form s (Astin & Sax, 1998; Neur- urer & Rhoads, 1998), which may have som ewhat lim ited students’ ability and freedom to express their views on their placements or on service-learning in general. Few studies have tapped students’ personal reactions to their service-learning experiences in their own words by 92 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin using students’ reýective journals or open-ended question form ats as data sources (Rhoads, 1998). The purpose of the study in this article was to compile students’ free-form reactions to service-learning within the context of gerontology course work to identify im portant and relevant themes. The State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) has been engaged in service-learning to address a speciüc community need: the social isolation of older adults in this rural community. Through grants from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education; Generations Together/University of Pittsburgh, and the Foundation for Long Term Care, students have been involved in Service-Learning activities beginning in 1997. Social isolation was identiüed as an unmet community need in surveys from the Area Agency on Aging and by service providers for older adults. Although many older adults in the region are isolated from neighbors or fam ily members during the winter months, health care providers and staff members at nursing hom es and assisted- living facilities reported that even during good weather more than 50% of older adults rarely or never receive even a single visitor during the year. The goal of SUNY Oswego’s service-learning program is to provide both positive beneüts to older adults in need of social contact and worthwhile educational and personal experiences to students. This study addressed the latter goal by assessing students’ percep- tions of their service-learning experiences using (a) inform al discus- sions of students’ reservations about service-learning at the beginning of their placement experiences and (b) qualitative analysis of students’ ünal summaries in their own words at the conclusion of their place- ments. The expectation was that although students’ initial reactions to the idea of participating in service-learning might have been nega- tive and task oriented, their postexperience comments would reýect more positive themes integrating theory and practice in their ‘‘out-of- classroom experiences.’’ METHOD Student Participants This article summarizes the reactions of 104 undergraduate students (98 wom en, 6 men) to service-learning experiences with socially isolated older adults. Most students were enrolled in classes with a speciüc focus on aging or gerontology; 3 were enrolled in a basic course in Service-Learning in Gerontology 93 human services and public policy; and 2 were enrolled in an introduc- tory composition course. More than 75% of the students were juniors or seniors. Procedure The type of service activity most often completed by students was friendly visiting with older adults in private hom es or apartm ents, assisted- living facilities, and nursing homes through program s and agencies such as the YMCA, the Department of Social Services, Meals on Wheels, Senior Nutrition Centers, and an Osteoporosis Prevention Program. Students also did friendly visiting through such volunteer positions as transportation aides and assistants in a variety of struc- tured program s such as recreation, arts and crafts, pet therapy, movem ent and singing activities, and therapeutic interventions for groups of older adults who were clinically depressed, had experienced a stroke, or had Alzheim er’s disease. A total of 43 different placements throughout the community were made available to students. Brief descriptions of each placement and student role were distributed in target classes during the ürst week of the spring and fall 1999 semesters. Students were invited to call to set up a meeting with a contact person at a facility or agency to deter- mine whether a particular placement would match his or her interests, schedule and preferences for activities and service-learning. Students were responsible for establishing their visiting schedule, documenting their participation frequency and duration, and obtaining veriüca- tion of service-learning hours from site contact persons. In addition, students were allowed to ünd their own placements if none of the prearranged placements were appealing or convenient. For example, a student could visit an isolated elderly neighbor or acquaintance for his or her service-learning as long as that individual was not a relative. The minim um requirement for service-learning was 20 hours of friendly visiting with socially isolated older adults. This is consistent with recent practices (Gray et al., 1999). However, service-learning was credited in one of three ways, and speciüc requirements were associated with each option (see Table 1). Students participated in service-learning as (a) a three-credit stand- alone service-learning course; a (b) one-credit add- on linked to a traditional three-credit course; or (c) a required component of a regular three-credit course. All students who engaged in service-learning participated in a series of planned reýective activities, which included (a) discussion of their experiences as a regular part of class; (b) classroom lectures and read- ings that encouraged them to highlight issues and concepts from their 94 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin TABLE 1 Academic Credit Options for Service-Learning Course Service hr Class m eetings Papers Journals Stand-alone course (3 credits) 40 1 8 8 10 Linked to traditional course 20 1 30 1 5 (1 credit add-on) Required component of regular course 20 1 30 1 10 (no extra credit for service-learning) service with older adults; (c) directed small- group discussions during class tim e throughout the semester or in addition to regular class meet- ings; (d) weekly journal-writing assignm ents; and (e) assigned short papers dealing with issues pertinent to their placement experiences (e.g., quality of life, economic and social costs of long-term care, public policy and aging). In addition to these planned reýective activities, students were encouraged to discuss issues that arose in their place- ments both during class tim e and in individual meetings with faculty members. In the spring 1999 semester, service-learning was available to students in three courses: a Psychology of Aging class, from which 15 of 25 students elected to participate in a one-credit service-learning expe- rience; a three-credit stand-alone seminar (6 students) that required service-learning with older adults; and a Sociology of Aging class, from which 4 of 23 students chose to participate in a one-credit add-on service-learning experience. Most of these 25 students were human developm ent majors. During the fall 1999 semester, students from six different classes chose service-learning. These included 3 students from a section of ürst-year English Com position and 45 sophom ores and juniors from Fundamentals of Gerontology. The remaining students also were juniors and seniors: 23 from Com munications and Aging, 2 from a Human Services and Policy class, 1 from Women’s Studies, and 5 from a stand- alone three-credit service-learning seminar. Three students did not complete the ünal evaluation and were excluded from the sam ple totals. Students’ reactions service-learning were obtained at both the begin- ning and end of each of the two semesters. Students were surveyed about their initial feelings toward service-learning at the beginning of the semester. They were asked to share their perceptions of and reac- tions to the service-learning requirement during inform al class discus- sions with the investigators. At the end of each semester, students were asked as part of their ünal written course evaluations to identify ‘‘three things which you learned from your service-learning experience Service-Learning in Gerontology 95 this semester.’’ Not all students identiüed three things learned; som e lim ited their responses to one overall summary statement. RESULTS Students’ Initial Reactions to Service-Learning Students’ to service-learning initial reactions were predictable: Stud- ents were less than enthusiastic when service-learning was offered as an option and even som ewhat angry when it was required as part of a course. Several issues were identiüed by students as troublesom e: (a) tim e committm ent (b) im plem entation, (c) developing relationships with older adults, (d) reluctance because of previous negative experi- ences, and (e) fears of negative reactions and other emotional issues. Although som e students appreciated the opportunity to become more involved in experiential learning and participate in service activities with older adults, the majority did not welcome any additional course requirements. Som e students grumbled about their heavy commit- ments to school, work, fam ily, and others, with many voicing strong concern about how they could üt service-learning into their already overloaded schedules. A second concern expressed by students focused on issues of im ple- mentation. Student comments centered on transportation problem s, difüculties making contact with professional staff members and worries regarding establishing relationships with staff members and being accepted as helping volunteers. Som e students had questions about whether they possessed the requisite skills to be effective, supportive adjuncts to professional staff members. A third area of concern centered around students’ concerns that they would have difüculty developing relationships with unrelated older adults. They worried about what to say, what they would have in common with older adults, and what kinds of assistance would be needed. They questioned whether they had the personal competence and self-efücacy necessary to be successful and effective in meeting their responsibilities. The fourth and üfth areas of concern for students entering the service-learning program were (a) reluctance due to previous negative experiences with nursing homes (e.g., ‘‘I used to visit my grandm other in a nursing hom e; I always hated going and the smells.’’) and (b) fears about managing their emotional reactions to seeing older adults in wheelchairs or in the ünal stages of Alzheim er’s disease. Som e students were uncomfortable with the idea that the persons with whom they 96 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin would work might die during the semester, whereas others expressed difüculty with dealing cognitively and emotionally with both their own futures and the adults older who would be facing the challenges, vulnerability, and mortality. In response to these initial negative reactions to service-learning, faculty members engaged in several class discussions with students, letting students know that their misgivings were very common and quite natural given that many of them had had lim ited experience interacting with elderly adults. Instructors outlined myths, misconcep- tions, and negative societal stereotypes about aging and care facilities and asked students to reýect in writing how their personal stereotypes about aging may have inýuenced their approach to service-learning. These class discussions ended with ‘‘pep talks’’ for students to assure them that they were competent, caring individuals who would be making a very positive difference in the lives of the older adults they would be visiting. Students also were encouraged to get started with their placements right away so that they would not be scrambling to complete their placement hours at the end of the semester. Students’ Final Reactions to Service-Learning: Themes Qualitative content analysis of students’ written responses to the request for the identiücation of three things learned from the service- learning experience involved multiple steps of coding for emergent themes. First, the principal investigator read through the 151 student responses several tim es to gain an overall sense of their content. Preliminary themes separated comments into three categories: (a) inc- reased knowledge about course content through ürsthand experience, (b) the service-learning experience itself, and (c) students’ increased knowledge about themselves as service-learning volunteers. Subse- quent codings separated each prelim inary category into two emergent themes, for a total of six categories. All responses were compared with each theme and grouped under the category deemed to be the best match. The data then were given to the second investigator for sorting the six theme categories and unsorted student responses, with a resulting interrater agreement of 97% on assignm ent of statements to theme categories. The theme categories are discussed below in order of frequency of response types, from most to least common. Insig hts About Aging The ürst theme, Insights About Aging (40 statements), included realization of the diversity in aging and am ong older adults as well as a sense of surprise at how sim ilar older adults are to students and an Service-Learning in Gerontology 97 acknowledgm ent of the im portance of support to and respect for older adults. Som e students confessed that they had previously held many of the negative stereotypes about aging discussed in class, but that their placement experiences had not only changed their minds, they now felt the need to educate others regarding such misconceptions about older adults. The following are typical responses: ‘‘Individual differences exist among the elderly in (a) health, (b) interests, (c) personalities.’’ ‘‘I can see just how important social and family support is for the elderly.’’ ‘‘Elderly people do not deserve pity, but our respect and admiration.’’ ‘‘The elderly are no different from anyone else— they still need love, support and companionship.’’ ‘‘Not everything that they do or say is because they are old.’’ ‘‘Older people enjoy doing many of the same things they used to do when they were younger, but they m ay not do them as well or as quickly.’’ ‘‘Growing old is not that bad.’’ ‘‘[I] learned that the elderly are not weak or cognitively confused and deücient.’’ P ersonal Growth a nd U ndersta nding The second most common theme expressed by students, Personal Growth and Understanding (34 statements), summarized students’ revelations about themselves, including their personal strengths and lim itations. Many expressed great pride in having made a difference in the lives of others, and they were touched that just a small effort on their part made such a positive im pact: ‘‘I learned that I really did m ake a difference.’’ ‘‘[I] saw how important it was to show an interest in them and their lives. It made them feel special, and in turn I felt special.’’ ‘‘Service-learning helped m e initiate conversations with my own grand- mother; I know that [otherwise] these conversations would never have taken place.’’ ‘‘[I] felt pride in my successful accomplishments through service-learning.’’ ‘‘[I] learned that I am a good listener, how to come to grips with death and the process of grief, and how to be more patient.’’ ‘‘I am not so frightened about aging after my experience.’’ ‘‘I was able to touch someone who loved the attention I gave her.’’ ‘‘I have learned that just as a person’s presence can help another person, you don’t have to do much to help an older person. . . just being with them and sharing time helps.’’ Service a nd Volunteering The third most common theme for students, Service and Volun- teering (27 statements), involved their thoughts on the signiücant 98 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin value of even minim al efforts to reach out to older adults in the commu- nity and the im portance of community support for older adults who may not have fam ily nearby. Som e students vowed to continue their volunteer efforts after the end of the course, during school vacations, and following graduation. Student responses included the following: ‘‘Elderly adults need a sense of the outside world through volunteers and staff [connections].’’ ‘‘Without volunteers, m any activities in nursing homes and m any personal contacts with the elderly would be nonexistent.’’ ‘‘[I learned] how to get started as a volunteer with the elderly in any agency, in any comm unity.’’ ‘‘[I] learned that volunteer work is more im portant than just a grade.’’ ‘‘Working with the elderly can be difücult but rewarding; through my service/volunteering I was able to enhance the life of an elderly person and his family.’’ ‘‘Anyone can make a difference in the lives of the elderly if they volunteer.’’ ‘‘The community should play a bigger role in m eeting the needs of the elderly.’’ Long-Term Care The fourth theme category, Long-Term Care (23 responses), reýected students’ im pressions of the varying types and quality of long- term care facilities, the strengths and weaknesses of nursing home environm ents and managem ent, and an appreciation for the difücult jobs performed by those who care for elderly adults. Student reýections included the following: ‘‘[I] learned how different nursing homes, assisted-care, and other long- term care are from one another.’’ ‘‘There are different styles and qualities in nursing homes; they are not all alike.’’ ‘‘Certain kinds of facilitated living outweigh the downside of older people living alone.’’ ‘‘I was happy that the place I was in was very nice and comfortable for these people; it changed my views of old age hom es greatly.’’ ‘‘Even the nicest-looking homes have their problems.’’ ‘‘People who work with the elderly are underappreciated.’’ ‘‘There needs to be more time built into the day-to-day schedule for staff to interact with the elderly residents.’’ ‘‘I learned a lot about nursing hom e life in general; I didn’t know much about what it was living in one. . . it seems like a small community within a larger one.’’ ‘‘I learned that the resident’s attitude makes a big difference in their experiences in the nursing home.’’ Service-Learning in Gerontology 99 Career Skills a nd Consolid ation The üfth theme category, Career Skills and Consolidation (17 responses), reýected the signiücant introspection of students as they considered future career options and the increases they had made in skill acquisition. Som e students discovered talents and preferences for working with older adult that they had not known they had. Others realized that careers in gerontology were not right for them. For example: ‘‘I am now interested in a career as a recreational therapist with the elderly.’’ ‘‘[I] developed skills and conüdence in working with the elderly.’’ ‘‘This made me decide that I do not want to go into this üeld.’’ ‘‘[I] learned ürst-hand what the position of Activities Director/Recreation Director is like.’’ ‘‘[I] learned many new skills to help manage Alzheimer’s patients.’’ ‘‘I increased my abilities to relate to and understand the elderly.’’ ‘‘I would like to continue; surprise! I enjoyed service-learning and working with the elderly.’’ ‘‘I am a pretty good candidate to work with the elderly.’’ Integra tion of Course Work with Service-Learning Experiences The ünal theme category for students’ responses, Integration of Coursework with Service-Learning Experiences (10 statements), dem- onstrated synthesis between what was discussed in texts and lectures with students’ placements. As illustrated in the following comments, connections were made between theory and application: ‘‘I discovered I had more knowledge about aging and issues related to the elderly than I thought.’’ ‘‘[I found] direct support for the facts of aging I was learning in class.’’ ‘‘I got to learn a lot both ways about getting old.’’ ‘‘I could relate what the professor said in class to [what was happening with] my elderly service-learning placement.’’ ‘‘I saw directly what we learned about the effects of Alzheimer’s disease on family caregivers.’’ ‘‘Alzheimer’s disease, as we talked about [in class] is very individual; hard to form generalizations.’’ ‘‘I learned more ürsthand about the medical diseases and issues from class.’’ DISCUSSION Students’ qualitative responses to their involvem ent in service-learning showed new insights about older adults and the process of aging, and 100 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin greater understanding of a range of long-term care issues. They were able to overcome their initial misgivings about participation in service- learning. Many even expressed som ewhat embarrassed gratitude for being encouraged to stay in the program . Students were able to shed som e of the traditional cultural stereotypes about older adults and see them as unique individuals with special abilities, talents, experiences, and sensitivities rather than sim ply part of an age group. Hegeman and Pillemer (1999) noted a sim ilar theme in their analysis of student reactions to service-learning: ‘‘(students) had a greater appreciation for the experiences and history of elderly people, more respect for them, a greater understanding of the problem s they face, and a greater enjoym ent in being with them’’ (p. 6). Students also showed heightened sensitivity to the im portance of service on behalf of and volunteering with older adults. They seemed shocked at the degree of isolation faced by many older adults, even in those in heavily populated urban and suburban communities. Students were more disturbed by encountering older adults who received no regular visitors than by any other part of their service-learning expe- rience, and this observation was often mentioned in their reýections. Finally, students recognized their own emerging competence in successfully meeting the challenges of working with older adults. They were som ewhat surprised to ünd that they could make a signiü- cant difference in som eone’s life using skills and abilities previously unknown to them; interpersonal communication skills, patience, and empathy often were mentioned as newly acquired outcomes of service- learning experiences. Many students became aware of the complexity of the problem s faced by older adults, the difüculty of developing solu- tions, and the im portance of their contributions. Som e also reýected on their enjoym ent in the service activity itself and their willingness to explore gerontology as a career option, whereas others found that they would feel more comfortable working with individuals in younger age groups. These results were consistent with the course objectives, indicating, at least from the students’ anecdotal perspectives, that service-learning experiences helped students academically in that they better under- stood the concepts of gerontology being presented through texts and lectures and were able to apply them in real-world, personal contexts. This echoes the work of Eyler and Giles (1999), who broadened the deünition of academic learning beyond the factual knowledge demonstrated on exams to include a ‘‘greater depth of understanding and greater ability to apply what they have learned’’ (p. 68). By semester’s end, it was common for students to ask why Service- Learning was not a regular part of the curriculum and integrated into Service-Learning in Gerontology 101 more courses and why service-learning was not made available to them earlier in their college experience. Thus, although students initially grumbled about the workload and expressed concern regarding ünding the tim e needed for service-learning, most students indicated by the end of the semester that they valued the experience greatly. A typical response was, ‘‘I’m so glad I did service-learning. . . . I learned so much I never would have gotten in the classroom !’’ Nevertheless, when students were asked whether they would have chosen to do service- learning on their own, without som e pressure from a faculty member or a course requirement to do so, most confessed that they probably would not have elected to participate in this form of experiential learning if left to their own devices. STRATEGIES TO OVER COME RESISTANCE There are several strategies that be appropriate to help overcome students’ initial reluctance to participate in service-learning. For example, mentioned earlier was the practice of having faculty members provide students with a pep talk and encouragement before they chose their placements. This may be expanded to include fellow students as mentors who initiate newcomers into the service-learning experi- ence. Because service-learning is relatively new, it may be that it has not yet received enough word- of-m outh validation from students who have participated in it to encourage those who have not. One practice just recently tried at SUNY Oswego that seems to have helped in this regard is having students from the previous semester’s service-learning class come as guest speakers to small- group meetings before placement sites are selected to provide incoming students with pointers, reassur- ance, and encouragement. These service-learning veterans exuded so much enthusiasm for the program that there was an alm ost tangible reduction in the tension level in the classroom . Another strategy that may be helpful in reducing students’ resent- ment of what they view as additional course work is the availability of a variety of placements from which students have complete freedom to choose the placement with which they feel most comfortable. Stukas, Clary, and Snyder (1999) noted that ‘‘providing greater freedom to students to choose their service activities and related program features might attenuate som e of the negative im pact of requiring participa- tion’’ (p. 7). Putting students in charge of ünding and following through with their placements could im part a sense of collegial treatment from faculty members, which could increase students’ desires to live up to their responsibilities (Eyler Giles, 1999). 102 L. H. Brown and P. A. Roodin For students who are especially nervous about going into a facility unknown and alone, it may be helpful to have a fellow student go along on team visits. For example, in one group hom e for older wom en, students visiting in pairs became regular members of afternoon card parties. The students reported that although they seldom won, they were very popular for completing the table and providing the older wom en with an opportunity to teach the gam es they loved so much. Additionally, Stukas et al. (1999) reported that students who worked in pairs on service-learning projects were more likely to show increases in social responsibility and indicate future plans to continue service to others than students who served alone. Another factor that can affect students’ overall reactions to service- learning is the level of safety they feel in sharing their thoughts and emotions about service-learning and aging issues. Ideas and emotional responses in students’ reýective journals and class discussions need to be safe from criticism, ridicule, and emotional responses from both faculty members and fellow students. According to Eyler and Giles (1999), ‘‘Students need considerable emotional support when they work in settings that are new to them; there needs to be a safe space where they know that their feelings and insights will be respected and appreciated. As their service develops and their questions become more sophisticated, they need intellectual support to think in new ways, develop alterna- tive explanations for experiences and observations, and question their original interpretation of issues and events.’’ (p. 185) In conclusion, service-learning is an im portant trend in curricular developm ent connecting theory to practice and linking individuals, colleges, universities, and communities as partners for the betterment of all. It can enhance the curricular goals of gerontology courses and program s while encouraging students’ developm ent of civic respon- sibility. After initial misgivings and feelings of apprehension are overcome, service-learning can be one of the most rewarding and mean- ingful academic experiences students have in their college careers. REFERENCES Astin, A. W., & Sax, L. J. (1998). How undergraduates are affected by service participa- tion. Journal of College Student Development, 39, 251 – 263. Astin, A. W., Vogelgesang, L. J., Ikeda, E. K., & Yee, J. A. (2000). Executive summ ary: How service-learning affects students. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute. Boyer, E. (1994, March 9). Creating the new American college. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A48 Service-Learning in Gerontology 103 Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (1996). Im plementing service-learning in higher educa- tion. Journal of Higher Education, 67, 221 – 239. Eyler, J., & Giles, D. E. (1999). 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