THE VALUE OF INCORPORATING A SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT INTO COURSE CONTENT: A PRESENTATION AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 25, 1998 THE VALUE OF INCORPORATING A SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT INTO COURSE CONTENT: A PRESENTATION AND ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Nancy H. Leonard, University of Evansville Larry Burkum, University of Evansville Diana Page, University of West Florida Mary Jo Vaughan, Mercer University Delaney J. Kirk, Drake University ABSTRACT This session will be a roundtable discussion on the topic of service learning. The session will begin with a brief presentation by the authors in which a videotaped anthology of one service learning project (Building a Habitat House) will be shown and a number of other service learning projects (i.e. Paint Your Heart Out) will be discussed. The presentation will be followed by an open discussion of how and when service learning can best be utilized. We encourage others who are using service learning to share their ideas and suggestions with the group. INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE The primary emphasis in many courses is on the application of theory through experiential learning. One concept which has been particularly difficult to demonstrate through classroom experiential exercises is the concept of social responsibility. In many university business administration courses, students are taught that a corporation’s first responsibility is to shareholders and specifically to increasing shareholder wealth. This perspective is often seen as in conflict with the concept of social responsibility. In today’s business environment the demand for social responsibility placed on contemporary organizations by an increasingly sophisticated and educated public are stronger than ever. It is therefore important for organizations to fashion an approach to social responsibility the same way that they develop any other business strategy. Social responsibility is a major challenge to managers, and requires careful planning, decision making, implementation, and evaluation. We believe that we have the opportunity to transmit the values and skills required to be a good corporate citizen through our educational system. We feel that by incorporating a service learning component into course content, we will demonstrate to students the importance of corporate responsibility by adherence to personal responsibility, a sense of obligation to the common good, the well-being of employees, their families, their communities and their future, and to our nation and our world. By providing students with the opportunity to become involved in the community and participate in helping to personally address a social issue, it is our hope that students will become individually socially responsible and carry these practices into the corporate setting. By doing so, we can enhance and strengthen corporate responsibility in relation to social issues. SESSION OVERVIEW This session/roundtable discussion will consist of three parts. First, we will give a brief overview of the concept of service learning. Second, we will show a videotaped anthology of one project (Building a Habitat House) and discuss a number of other service learning projects which have been undertaken by the authors. Some of these projects include painting houses for low income families (Paint Your Heart Out), developing selections systems, performance appraisals and opinion surveys for non-profit organizations such as Goodwill Industries and incorporating a social responsibility variable into business policy simulations. The third part of the session will be an open discussion. The discussion will be led by the presenters and focus on how service learning can be incorporated into almost any course. Session participants who have utilized service learning or would like to incorporate service learning into their courses will be invited to share their ideas and/or ask for suggestions and advice. 150 Table of Contents Volume 25, 1998 Marketing Goes to the Movies Bringing Experiential Learning to a Principles of Marketing Course Investment Analysis Application Using In-house Spreadsheet Models SugarCoated Statistics: An Exercise for the First Day of Class Improving Undergraduate Student Involvement in Management Science and Business Writing Courses Using the Seven Principles in Action Establishment and Funding for Interuniversity / Multidisciplinary Student experiences The Prospects of Creative Teaching: A Discussion with Patricia Sanders The Simulation and Classroom Assessment Techniques Developments of Management Skill Assessment Games as Instruments of Assessment: A Framework for Evaluation The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Business Curricula Threshold Solo Competitor: A Management Simulation (V1.0) a Windows-Based. Play Alone, Total Enterprise Simulation and Assessment Instrument Toward An Understanding of One's self-concept Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Improving Student Perceptions and Simplifying Administrative Workloads The Expatriate an Assignment Orientation Game An Expatriate's Nightmare: An Experiential Exercise in Coping with Overseas Assignments Analyzing Experiential Exercise: Using the Scientific Method for Problem Solving The Second Component to Experiential Learning: A Look Back at How ABSEL has handled the Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Learning Predictive Models of Learning: Participant Satisfaction of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Accelerating Moral Development through Use of Experiential Ethical Dilemmas Ethical Dilemmas to use with Business Simulations to Teach Ethics The Class Approach in Behavioral Simulation in a Business Policy/Strategic Management course: A Progression toward Greater Realism An Exploration of the Emergence of Process Prototypes in a Management Course Utilizing a Total Enterprise Simulation How Organizations Are Improving Their Performance Utilizing Electronic Commerce: Examples From The Internet The Market Access Planning System (Maps): A Computer-Based Decision Support System For Facilitating Experiential Learning In International Business An Excel Workbook For Student Planning And Interface With A Simulation Game Design Of Multi-Media Based Pedagogy For Leadership Training Panel Discussion On Using The Internet For Courses Valuing And Enhancing Teaching: Sharing Tips Via The Web The Buddy Project: A Semester Long Project Aimed At Developing An Appreciation For Diversity Enhancing The Excitement And Learning Retention In The Classroom: The Power Of Magic The Supervised Management Internship: A Job Or Learning Experience Team Ware™ An Online Moderated Class Discussion Facility And Beyond A Neophyte Distance Educator's Experience Learning Management By Practicing Management: A Report Of Significant Student Service In 1997 Integration Of Academic And Service Learning: Students' Perceptions About Its Effects And Outcomes The Value Of Incorporating A Service Learning Component Into Course Content: A Presentation And Roundtable Discussion Business Games Teach: Thoughts on the Sources of Conflicting Conclusions on their Effectiveness Antecedents Of Learning In The Simulation: A Replication Using Student Journals To Enhance Learning From Simulations Technological Change And Intertemporal Movements In Consumer Preferences In The Design Of Computerized Business Simulations With Market Segmentation Integrating The Marketing Curriculum Using Collaborative Learning Teaching Time Management In A Sales Program: The Application Of A Computer Simulation Game Adapting Interactive Computer Simulations For Content Based Esl Instruction Multimedia And Student Expectations Synthesizing Data For Media Simulations Composing A Team Health Promoting Behaviors-A Decision Making Exercise Does it really Work? An Application of the Group Interaction Framework Administering the MIT Beer Game: Lessons Learned A Paperless Economy? Instructing Students on the Aspects of Successful Electronic Commerce Maximizing Learning Gains in Simulations: Lessons from the Training Literature Observing General Ability in a Total Enterprise Gaming Simulation FReach Teach: A Computer-Based System for Teaching Advertising Media Planning An Integrated Business Instruction System An Experiential Exercise you can Tinker With Experiential Exercises or Computer Simulations? Cash Flow Statements: Are They Important in Business Simulations? Holistic Cognitive Strategy in a Computer-Based Marketing Simulation Game: An Investigation of Attitudes Towards the Decision-Making Process Barnga: A Game on Cultural Clashes The Many Faces of Culture: Understanding Country and Corporate Culture Students' View of the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Assessing General Management Interest What is the Future of Business Gaming? Starting a Small Music Trivia Business Exercise and Other Innovative Icebreakers An Integrated Approach to Behavioral Skill Development Career Focus: A Student and Business Learning Experience The Use of Concept Mapping in Teaching Strategic Management An Experiential Approach to Developing Mission Statements Business Games in Brazil-Learning or Satisfaction A Simulation within a Simulation: Job Layoff's and Emotional Reactions