SLS-3a2 The First 4YUG Cohort - Lessons from Piloting

In the mean time, the development and piloting of service-learning subjects continued.  By the end of 2012, 24 service-learning subject proposals have been approved, the result of very hard work by the OSL and the sub-committee on SL subjects.  However, many have not yet been offered. 

Some of these subjects have been piloted - offered as elective general education subjects for the students in the 3-year undergraduate programs.  This is to gain valuable experience in developing and offering SL subjects.  As explained earlier, service-learning was new to PolyU, and it is much more challenging to offer than most regular academic courses.  It involves a target community to serve, most likely an NGO as a partner, a project serving people in real need, certain risks that must be managed, possible travelling, possible equipment, material and consumables, etc.  We need to ensure that the proposals are practical before we offer them for real.  

The piloting process started in the summer of 2011, and stopped at the end of the 2012-13 academic year.  It was felt, by that point, that the SL Requirement for the 4-year programs had already started, and we should concentrate our efforts in running the requirement for the 4-year programs. The piloting had fulfilled its historical mission - to test the design of the Sl subjects.   Through the piloting, we had learned many valuable lessons, which helped us refine the relevant procedures and vetting criteria, training of teachers and quality control.  Some of the most important lessons include:

1. The SL program works - Based on the guidelines and procedures developed, many SL subjects have been developed, vetted and proved, and successfully piloted.  Even though students in the 3-year undergraduate programs are not required to take SL subjects, when the SL subjects are offered to them as elective general education subject, the students enrol enthusiastically.  Teaching was done according to the syllabus, partners were found, communities served, and the assessments were done fairly smoothly.  The successful piloting gave us the confidence to launch the  requirement formally in 2012.  
2. The importance of the teachers - their experience and attitude towards service-learning.  Perhaps more than many other regular academic subjects, SL is more about attitude than skills.  Hence the person who delivers the teaching carries much more weight in the process.  Imagine a self-absorbed professor trying to teach students to be empathetic. It just wouldn’t work.  Students see through the inconsistency very quickly.  On the other hand, a passionate, socially-engaged professor can make the same syllabus come alive, creating a life-changing experience for the students.  Hence the sub-committee vetting the proposals place a heavy emphasis on the experience and other indication of the teachers’ commitment to SL.  
3. The importance of risk management - SL tackles real world problems with real consequences for vulnerable people.  It is critical to anticipate possible risks to the vulnerable community as well as our students, consequences of failure to deliver the expected service, …  The experience gained through piloting helped us develop a check list and procedures to help the subject teachers manage risks.  The procedures are still continually reviewed and refined. 
4. Balancing between service and learning is a serious but manageable challenge - it is very easy to stress too much on the service or academic learning,  unbalancing the subject.  These two are the issues that come up most often in the process of subject development.  The piloting experience helped us understand how a written syllabus turns into practical teaching, service and learning.  Consequently, it helps us anticipate how a written syllabus might turn out.  It is not an exact science.  But the experience has at least help us predict what type of syllabus has a better chance of being successful.     

Our story will now focus on the first set of subjects offered to the 4-year undergraduate programs.  At a modest 6 subjects with 189 students, offered in the first year of operations.  In time, this modest beginning is going to grow into quite a distinguishing characteristic of education at PolyU that we are so proud of.