Societal challenges are rarely solved by one discipline alone. A thematic approach to Commun ity Service Learning brings together multiple courses, programmes, an d community partners around a shared issue that originates in society itself. In this Learning Lab, we explore what this looks like and wh at it takes to make it work.
Designing a CSL course around a s ingle theme asks something fundamentally different from both educator s and students. The theme does not start in the curriculum. It starts in the community. A neighbourhood signals a need, a city district id entifies a challenge, and the university responds by organising its e ducational offering around that issue.
This is the core idea be hind the thematic approach to CSL, as described by Tijsma, Urias and Zweekhorst (2021). Rather than indivi dual courses working in isolation, multiple courses and internships f rom different programmes contribute to addressing one complex societa l problem over a longer period of time. The result benefits all parti es involved: students develop a deeper sense of ownership and motivat ion, community partners experience greater continuity, and knowledge built up in one course can carry over into the next.
In this Le arning Lab, we use ICSL 2 as a central example to make this concrete. ICSL 2 is organised around different themes that reflect real and cu rrent societal questions. Students do not choose a theme based on per sonal preference alone. The themes are derived from what is actually at play in society, which changes the dynamic of the course considera bly. It asks students to engage with issues that are not neatly defin ed, and to do so alongside partners who have a genuine stake in the o utcome.
Together, we will look at how the thematic approach wor ks in practice: how themes are selected, how partners are involved, a nd what this means for course design. We will also reflect on the con ditions that make this approach viable, and the questions it raises f or educators who want to explore it in their own context.
Geertje Tijsma is a postdoctoral researche r at the Athena Institute, VU Amsterdam, where her work focuses on br idging science and society through co-created knowledge. Her PhD diss ertation, "Embedding Engaged Education; Creating Knowledge Together," explores how to institutionalise engagement in higher education. She is one of the authors of the research that forms the foundation of t his Learning Lab and has been involved in the development of CSL at V U from the very beginning.
Frederique Demeijer is an Assistant Professor of Transformative Learning for Inter- and Transdisciplinary Education at the Athena Institute, VU Amsterda m. Her research and teaching centre around complex societal issues su ch as belonging, institutional racism, and community engagement, and she investigates how to cultivate transdisciplinary competencies in s tudents, educators, and societal stakeholders. She teaches in the iCS L1 and iCSL2 courses, bringing direct firsthand experience with the t hematic approach to this session.
The research behind t his session: Tijsma G, Urias E and Zweekhorst M (2021) A Thematic Approach to Realize Multidisciplinary Community Service-Le arning Education to Address Complex Societal Problems: A-Win-Win-Win Situation?. Front. Educ. 5:617380. doi: 10.3389/fe duc.2020.617380. Read it h ere
DESCRIPTION: Designing a CSL course around a single theme asks somethi ng fundamentally different from both educators and students. The them e does not start in the curriculum. It starts in the community. A nei ghbourhood signals a need, a city district identifies a challenge, an d the university responds by organising its educational offering arou nd that issue. This is the core idea behind the thematic approach to CSL, as described by Tijsma, Urias and Zw eekhorst (2021). Rather than individual courses working in isolat ion, multiple courses and internships from different programmes contr ibute to addressing one complex societal problem over a longer period of time. The result benefits all parties involved: students develop a deeper sense of ownership and motivation, community partners experi ence greater continuity, and knowledge built up in one course can car ry over into the next. In this Learning Lab, we use ICSL 2 as a centr al example to make this concrete. ICSL 2 is organised around differen t themes that reflect real and current societal questions. Students d o not choose a theme based on personal preference alone. The themes a re derived from what is actually at play in society, which changes th e dynamic of the course considerably. It asks students to engage with issues that are not neatly defined, and to do so alongside partners who have a genuine stake in the outcome. Together, we will look at ho w the thematic approach works in practice: how themes are selected, h ow partners are involved, and what this means for course design. We w ill also reflect on the conditions that make this approach viable, an d the questions it raises for educators who want to explore it in the ir own context.