Kelly Brotzman, director of the Office of Service Learning, is one of many people on campus dedicated to making “service learning” part of the classroom curriculum.

Brotzman began working on Aug. 1 with two stated goals: to expand the number of course offerings that incorporate service learning across all colleges and all departments and to support people who are currently practicing this approach in their teaching.

According to the Office of Service Learning Web site, there are currently eight classes that incorporate service learning into the curriculum.

After Hurricane Katrina, Brotzman said there was no full-time director for the Office of Service Learning, and the availability of support on the administrative side wasn’t available.
“Faculty that wanted to do service learning had to take a do-it-yourself approach,”

Brotzman said. For faculty that continued service learning over the past two years, it shows “how devoted they really were” because there is “a lot of work that goes into (incorporating service learning),” she said.

Frank Jordan, biology professor, is also one of those devoted to keeping service learning in his curriculum. Jordan has been teaching at Loyola since the fall of 1997. He first introduced service learning into his classes about three years ago.

One of the classes Jordan teaches, Biology Service Learning, was created “right after we got back from Katrina.” He says that the class went out every other Saturday “doing work in the Greater New Orleans area.”

Jordan says that with his second class that incorporates service learning, Biology Freshman Seminar, he goes out into the community to find a biology-oriented organization that needs help.

The Biology Freshman Seminar class has done work at places around New Orleans such as Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana State Parks, the Audubon Zoo and their affiliate, the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species. Jordan said work at the center is important because after the storm, its staff was cut by about half.

The jobs students do include cleaning up debris, painting, digging ponds at Audubon Zoo or building enclosures. Some students are apprehensive at first, Jordan said, but, “at the end of the day, they have a much better feeling.” Students usually also get a tour or behind-the scenes look at the organization they are helping.

Brotzman said the faculty has been very receptive to service learning as numbers of faculty interested in pursuing it have already gone up in the two months she has been on the job.

The student response, Brotzman said, has also been “wonderful.” There have been a lot of student organizations that have also utilized Brotzman’s office.

The Office of Service Learning has a growing list of organizations with which it has already established working relationships.  Some of the service programs include gardening, tutoring, working with people with developmental disabilities, crisis hotlines and more.
Jordan said Brotzman participated at his class’ service learning site two weeks ago, even “getting her hands dirty.”

Jordan said he hopes the Office of Service Learning will be able to help him include service learning in his classes by subsidizing costs and by helping with transportation, but said he wants to continue to approach service learning with a hands-on approach.

Jessica Erwin can be reached at [email protected].