Service-Learning Center

Mission

The Service-Learning Center-through faculty professional opportunities and community partnerships (and the Civic Engagement Certificate)- supports developing and implementing service-learning courses to enhance student learning; promote personal growth, and encourage students to be active citizens in the local, national, and international community. We support the mission of the University by preparing students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex, culturally diverse society. Through instruction, faculty and student research, and public service, the TAMIU Service-Learning Center aims to improve the quality of life for citizens of the border region, the State of Texas, and national and international communities.

Defined as an experiential learning pedagogy used in credit-bearing courses that engage students in relevant community service to advance public purposes, Service-Learning helps students create meaningful connections by engaging in critical reflections encouraging academic, personal, and civic growth.

For example, students in a Science Principles Course achieve the service-learning goals by:

1. Providing relevant service through science demonstrations, called discrepant events, to children in local schools.
2. Engaging in academic study while learning best practices in teaching science.
3. Becoming civically engaged as they create awareness about the importance of science to the youth in the community.

Faculty Support:

Service-Learning Center can help you with:

• Recommendations on community organizations to develop partnerships
• Feedback and ideas on integrating service-learning into a course
• Logistics, such as monitoring student hours through an online system
• In-class presentations to introduce service-learning requirements and processing required forms
• End-of-the-semester course evaluation(s)

student support:

Service-Learning Expo

The Service-Learning Center works with students during the Service-Learning Expo taking place in the Fall and Spring semesters. During the Expo, students showcase their service in the community and develop their presentation skills. To learn more about the Service-Learning Expo, visit the Service-Learning Expo Webpage.

We also offer:

Civic Engagement Certificate

The Service-Learning Center is proud to offer the Civic Engagement Certificate for students interested in engaging in their community and applying their academic skills. If you are interested in engaging with the local non-profit organizations and want to learn skills to be an empowered agent of change, call us at 956.326.3132 or send an email to servicelearning@tamiu.edu.