Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

FSC teams with Polk County Schools
at service learning institute

LAKELAND, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2003) - A five-member team from Florida Southern College and Polk County Schools recently attended the Inaugural Florida Institute on Service Learning in Teacher Education at the University of South Florida. 

Team members included Dr. William Hatten, associate vice president for development, FSC; Drs. Kathleen Milburn and David Wood of the education department, FSC; Amy Kowalczyk, FSC student and community service volunteer coordinator; and Ginger Wiggins, community literacy liaison at West Area Adult School in Lakeland. 

During the conference, team members wrote a grant for the implementation of an introductory service learning program within the college's training program for special education teachers. The grant has since been funded for $2,500 by Campus Compact, a multi-state organization whose membership is composed of college presidents and which exists for the purpose of promoting service learning. 

The purpose of service learning is to infuse the curriculum into service to the community. The program differs from what is commonly thought of as community service in that it provides real-life experiences to students as part of their course requirements within the special education training sequence. Students have various service-learning options from which to choose, including working with adult exceptional students at the West Area Adult School or teaching out-of-field teachers of special education from the Polk County Schools.

"Research suggests that if pre-teachers are taught how to conduct service learning, that is, identify a real community need and gather research to fuel a plan, they will be much more likely to engage their own students in service once they are in their own classrooms," said Milburn. 

While the project is beginning within the special education major, team members continue to meet to explore ways the concept of service learning might expand to other areas of campus life. For more information, please contact Dr. Kathleen Milburn at 680-4176.

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

###