Assistant Professor of Government Sharon Rivera published an article in the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies NewsNet. The article, titled "Out of the Ivory Tower :Integrating Service-Learning into Russian Studies," is about Rivera's experience with integrating a service-learning component into her "Politics of Russia" Class.
Rivera's students were offered the option of volunteering for Project SHINE, a national service-learning program that connects students with adults who are taking English as a Second Language or U.S. citizenship classes. Eleven of Rivera's 36 students volunteered for SHINE and worked at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees in Utica. Rivera wrote that, "I soon discovered that in order to enhance the pedagogical value of the course I needed to devote particular attention to three aspects of the project." These aspects were fostering quality coach-learner interactions, providing opportunities for reflection and building in accountability and feedback for student volunteers. "In sum," wrote Rivera, "the SHINE experience fulfilled many of the objectives of a service-learning project ... In total, the opportunity seemed to stretch the participants -- and many of the non-participants—in valuable ways that extended beyond simply the acquisition of knowledge."
