MTSU Courses with Service-Learning Component

The following MTSU courses incorporate service-learning. If you are an MTSU faculty member and would like to include a course in this listing, please complete a service-learning course form.

ENGL 3520
Professional Writing
In English 3520 (Professional Writing) students practice writing and designing skills for professional and technical genres by working with a variety of organizations with ties to the MTSU campus and community. Students have created flyers to advertise a Greenway cleanup with the Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department, as well as creating brochures for their community centers. They have produced informational labels for Recycle Rutherford (see image 1 and image 2) and have helped develop information packets for the New Modern Public School program (see image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, and image 5), a non-profit organization that builds schools in rural India. Other partners for brochure and web-design projects have included the Center for Economic Education, the Tennessee Environmental Educator’s Association (see image 1 and image 2), the Solar Bike Rayce Team (see image 1 and image 2), and the Tennessee Amphibian Monitoring Program (see image 1 and image 2), as well as the departments of Nursing, Communication Studies, Aerospace, English, and Biology.

Community Health and Obstetrics
In the Community Health and Obstetrics courses, students meet course objectives for caring for the ‘community’ through several venues. They have participated in organized health screenings and preventative health measures with underserved populations such as elders and indigent pregnant females.

Often our nursing students partner with students in medicine programs (Meharry), student health service for our university community, and MTSU Human Science students, to care for the underserved, non-insured in our society. Here are examples of places where students have practiced nursing and health care and the types of projects and services that they have provided:

• Diabetes education, screening for depression and other health-related events – elder residential facilities in Rutherford and Davidson counties
• Blood pressure screenings in many places in the community, including the homeless under bridges in Nashville (students work in pairs)
• “Healthy Eating – Healthy Snacks” at the Boys and Girls Club
• Blood pressure screenings, smoking cessation programs, safety in the home setting – Salvation Army, Homeless Shelters, Room at the Inn
• Partner with MTMC for Parent/Child Festival each fall – health promotion and disease prevention
• Partner with Human Science students for physical exams, scoliosis screenings in middle schools, nutrition tips in local high schools
• Health Education Updates – partner with MTSU health services to keep their bulletin board filled with current health information specific to the college age population
• High Schools – Teacher Education on fetal alcohol syndrome, CPR; student hygiene, hand washing, bicycle safety, Halloween safety.

WMST 2100
Introduction to Women's Studies
In Women's Studies 2100, students were assigned as tutors in the mentoring program for women pursuing their GED at the Family Resource Centers. Not only did they provide tutoring, but they were also tasked with finding out the kinds of problems the women faced day to day so that we could develop an advocacy project based on those findings. From that experience, they learned that many of those women became pregnant as teenagers and subsequently had been in poverty, dropped out of school, etc. The students decided to advocate for better programs to prevent teen pregnancy, researched state programs from around the country, and ultimately proposed to Representative Bart Gordon their ideas for federal teen pregnancy prevention programs.

SW 4650
Social Work Practice II
In Social Work Practice II, students partnered with the South Maney Avenue Community Development Coalition to develop an organizational assessment, a strategic plan for the organization, and a strategic plan for dealing with the various changes being implemented by the city. These assignments reflect the course goals of understanding and applying organizational theories and management techniques, conducting community needs assessments and planning on a community level, etc.

CDFS 4391
Aging, Health and Development
In Child Development and Family Studies 4391, (Aging, Health and Development, AHeAD is a fully integrated service-learning course. The purpose of the program is to affect positively the sense of well-being, physical fitness, and health status of older individuals. It also allows students to learn about aging, old age, history, and the different cultures present in our particular environment. AHeAD serves as a catalyst for the integration of various age, racial, and ethnic groups, the University, and the community. Community partners include local senior centers and long-term care facilities. Students may earn three credits per semester as they devote hours to activities and workshops for active and institutionalized elders.

CDFS 4310
Adolescent Development
CDFS 4310 (Adolescent Development) is a fully integrated service-learning course. CDFS 4310 students serve as mentors to adolescents participating in the Gear Up College Preparatory Institute for inner city adolescents. Students have one week of intensive lectures and training in adolescent development, cultural diversity, and mentoring skills. They then spend three weeks in one-to-one interaction with the Gear Up participants. During this time they keep guided journals to encourage reflection and critical thinking. Their final project is an analytical paper in which they integrate the lectures with their individual experiences.

HSC 4060/SOC 4150
Family Centered Community Building
HSC 4060/SOC 4150 (Family Centered Community Building) is a two semester sequential class. The first semester is an on-line course covering a variety of topics that demonstrate the relationship of individuals, families, and communities. The second semester students are involved in a service-learning experience in which they apply the concepts covered in the first semester. The projects are identified by community members as meeting a need of the community. Students plan and implement the project along with reflective journaling.

PSCI 4030
Experimental Physical Science
In selected sections of Experimental Physical Science, PSCI 4030, 15% of the course requirement is to spend 6 hours in a classroom with a mentoring teacher. The students are required to keep a reflective journal of the experience, which includes interviewing the teacher on his/her educational background, teaching philosophy, teaching career, resources used to teach science, and what content they will teach. Two hours of classroom observation of science or science integration is required. Three hours of teaching, preferably, two hours team-teaching and one hour solo. They must teach at least one science lesson. It must be student-centered, with hands-on/minds-on activities. The final field experience journal must provide a reflection section on what they learned about teaching and what they learned about themselves. The mentoring teacher must fill out an evaluation form, which is one third of the grade. Since this was tested in Spring 2000, more than 500 students have worked in over 20 counties in Tennessee and in several other states. During the summer of 2000 and 2001, some of the students were required to work with the Boys & Girls Club to fulfill this requirement.

UH 3500
Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar
In selected UH 3500 (Honors Interdisciplinary Seminar), students participate in a variety of service-learning initiatives designed to augment their classroom experience. Some students taking UH 3500, "Revisiting and Re-visioning the Hometown" this coming semester will partner with selected students from Central Middle School and Oakland High School to help the Bradley Academy Museum begin a large-scale community oral history project. Other UH 3500 students will help to develop a community artistic exchange between Oakland and a Metro high school that will culminate in the high school students collaborating on mural projects in Murfreesboro and in Nashville. Still other UH 3500 students will create and implement service-learning initiatives specifically related to their classroom and overall academic and intellectual experiences. Service-learning has also played a role in other previous Honors Interdisciplinary Seminars. Last year, students taking the "Hometown" class assisted a group of LaVergne High School AP students in creating a guide-book for the City of LaVergne, and also worked with selected Campus School classes to help create and implement the school's 75th anniversary celebration. In 2000, students taking UH 4600, "The Jefferson Springs Project" participated in a variety of service-learning activities as they worked on a community-based collaborative project: a novella depicting life in 1920s Jefferson Springs and Rutherford County. In Fall 2004, UH3500 students enrolled in “Revisiting and Re-visioning the Hometown” will also take UH3001, the Honors Service-Learning Practicum, a one-credit course designed to promote service-learning initiatives as learning laboratories.

UNIV 3001
Service-Learning Practicum
UNIV 3001 (Service-Learning Practicum) will provide students an opportunity to enrich their classroom experience by taking part in projects designed to promote community service and self-discovery. Students will participate in a project-based, interactive partnership with a community entity and gain valuable experience as mentors and leaders in an atmosphere where their presence and efforts can fill a community need.

Such enrichment ultimately will enable participating students to function as leaders and citizens with experience in how to integrate civic awareness and engagement into their academic and professional pursuits. In addition to offering students the opportunity to reflect on themselves as thinkers, learners, and citizens, Service-Learning practicum will emphasize the importance of synthesizing academic and community worlds. The subject of the course will vary according to the instructor, but all projects will promote community service and discovery learning. As a multi-discipline endeavor, faculty from all colleges and departments will be encouraged to develop both discipline-specific and broad-based initiatives.

SPSE 4100
Leadership Seminar in Student Affairs
In SPSE 4100, students are taught that volunteering is an essential and rewarding responsibility of being a leader. Students participate in service-learning projects outside the classroom individually, with classmates or another group outside of class. The purpose of participating in service-learning is to enrich the classroom experiences, promote civic responsibility, enhance personal growth, foster concern for social problems, and encourage a commitment to improving the human condition. Earning 2 points per hour for service-learning activities, student keep a journal of their participation.

UNIV 1010
Lightning Leadership Learning Community
UNIV 1010 is designed to make the student's college career successful. It is designed to assist students to achieve a successful transition to college life. This section offers students perspectives and experiences of leadership that can be valuable to their success at MTSU and the community beyond. Participants attend lectures on leadership and community service. A group community service project is due at the end of the semester and is presented as a PowerPoint slide show to the entire class.

LIBS 6200
School Library Media Skills and Issues
In School Library Media Skills and Issues, students develop and demonstrate competency, creativity, and artistry in the oral presentation of literature to school communities. Booktalks are required on assigned books. They are recorded and used on a cooperative project with Williamson County school libraries.

PHED 4240
Principles of Exercise Prescription and Assessment
PHED 4240 provides students with practical and theoretical experiences in exercise prescription and health/fitness assessment techniques, primarily for healthy population. Upon completion, pursuit of ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor Certification is recommended.

CDIS 4600/5600
Practicum in Speech - Language Pathology II
Practicum in Speech- Language Pathology II is a clinical course in which students apply, in an off-campus clinical setting, principles of speech-language and hearing therapy gained through courses offered in the Communication Disorders concentration, Speech and Theatre Department. Readings applicable to the particular setting and client(s) are guided by the off-campus cooperating supervisor, who meets with the student weekly to provide individualized instruction about the clients.

Psy 4650/5650
Health Psychology
Students in Dr. Crooks’ health psychology class develop and present a series of health promotion workshops at St. Clair Street Senior Center. This allows students the opportunity to apply the principles and theories of health psychology to a “real life” situation. Students reflect on their experience throughout the semester through class discussions and write a reflection paper at the end of the semester detailing their experiences with the project. Service learning not only benefits the students but benefits the program participants as well. Click here to learn more.