As service-learning becomes more prevalent in university courses, the relative proportion of courses in the scientific disciplines has not kept pace. An understandable challenge is simultaneously introducing a thorough, rigorous, canon of new material while working to provide opportunities for students to apply that material to issues in local communities. In some cases, the challenge for ecology courses becomes identifying the most fruitful collaborations that can be most effectively blended with the course material beyond caring for the environment in a general way. This action research aimed to test the viability and contributions of two types of service-learning incorporated into an undergraduate ecology course. The indirect model involved students providing data and research reports to community partners, but interactions with partners was limited to site visits. The direct model involved partnering with a local urban high school to guide high school student participation in research projects designed by the ecology students. By comparing fall and spring quarters, the effects of indirect and direct service-learning models were evaluated. Results/Conclusions
Overall, students increased ecological and research understanding and interests through both service-learning models, but increases were enhanced when the students participated in direct service-learning by guiding high school students through research on marsh restoration in a polluted local river. Based upon a post-course survey, students who participated in the direct model indicated greater understanding and interest in ecology and field research compared to students in the indirect model. Through comparing pre- and post-course surveys, responses reinforced the direct model students' greater understanding and interest. The most substantial difference between service-learning models was in field research understanding, with the direct model, where students had to guide high school students through all the aspects of ecological methods, strengthening that understanding.
