Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Multi-week service learning project with a community-based partner organization or school arranged each semester. Related class work addresses community partnerships, health promotion, reciprocity, local control, sustainability, participatory research, and skills. Students with credit for HSCI 349 may not complete this course for credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

IMPORTANT:

Enrollment in this course requires a valid and current Criminal Record Check (CRC) to allow participation at the community setting. Please complete this step before you register in this course by following the instructions at this link here.

This course involves a multi-week service learning project with a community partner. Class work will be practice-based to apply knowledge previously acquired in health sciences undergraduate program. Students will have opportunity for dialogue and reflection addressing issues related to collaboration, health promotion practice, health equity, community engagement, reflective practice and more. How do these concepts show up in practice? What is the role of partnerships in community work and health service? What does it mean to work alongside equity deserving groups? Students will have an opportunity to delve deeper into these questions through experiential learning and gain the skills essential to transition into the field. The service learning project is an opportunity to be exposed to real-world environments and have an opportunity to work with community partners.

INSTRUCTOR LED CLASSES: Classes will be a mix of in-person, online and asynchronous learning. Approximately one-third to one-half of the lectures will be dialogue-based and will be held in person or online on Friday mornings at the Burnaby campus. The majority of required readings will be assigned in the early part of the semester. The remaining classes will be a mix of regular check-ins with the instructor, meetings with community partners, or time to work on your service learning project, all with the goal to support progress of the community projects. Attendance to all sessions is mandatory for all students.

SERVICE-LEARNING SCHEDULE FOR HSCI 449: Each week, students will work in small teams a minimum of 3 hours (per student) on community projects, at flexible hours that adapt to the student team and community partner schedule. Students are responsible for setting up the schedule with the community partner. One member of each team is chosen to be the ‘community liaison’ to ensure that there is reliable and consistent and clear communication with the community partner.

OVERVIEW OF SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT FOR HSCI 449 The service learning portion of this course will include working with community partners. Students will have an opportunity to gain skills related to health promotion practice, while also contributing to specific projects and initiatives aimed at enhancing community well-being. Please note you may require a Criminal Record Check (CRC) to work directly with individuals served by the community organization – please ensure you have a valid and current CRC available to provide to SFU.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of this course, students who participate and fulfill the course requirements will be prepared to:

a) Describe how theoretical underpinnings of health promotion can be applied at the community level
b) Work collaboratively in a team and apply course learnings into practice.
c) Understand the role of partner involvement, design and implementation of proposals, interventions or research to address a community and wider health inequities.
d) Apply community engagement principles in real-life setting to mobilize knowledge.
e) Reflect upon personal and professional skills (e.g. collaboration, critical thinking, self awareness, team building) in relation to practicing community-based service.

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Circle of Health Kit: Interactive Health Promotion Framework. Prince Edward Island: Health and Community Services Agency (1996). Available at http://www.circleofhealth.net/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Minkler & Wakimoto (2021). Community Organizing and Community Building for Heath and Social Equity. Fourth Edition. Online book version available through SFU Library.

All additional readings will be made available in class.

REQUIRED READING NOTES: