At Mount Mary University we require first-year students to take a course that orients them to college life through exploration of the mission and identity of the university. The course serves to embed creative pedagogical practices early into the university experience. Most students in the course are in their first semester at Mount Mary, and while many have volunteered in their younger years, few have experienced the synergy of intellectual study matched with community engagement that is the hallmark of service learning. We are in our fourth semester of delivering that experience through the lens of “human-centered design (HCD).”

HCD developed out of an interest in turning the skills of entrepreneurship and leadership toward serious and critical social problems. HCD serves as the key method we use to bring to life our vision of academically and practically preparing women to be leaders of social change. But what does this really mean for our classroom and our syllabus? – Dr. Woehrle

To learn more about the service learning model used at Mount Mary University, contact Dr. Wendy Weaver at weaverl {at} mtmary(.)edu.