Faculty and students from the School of Communications and ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ College, the College of Arts & Sciences presented original research at the annual conference of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Sept. 23-25 in Baltimore.
Alexa Darby, associate professor of psychology, presented her work, “Meeting Clients’ Needs in Academic Service-Learning: Motivation for Collaboration,” which was co-authored by Frances Ward-Johnson, associate department chair in the School of Communications, and Tammy Cobb, assistant director for community partnerships.
Darby also presented two projects completed as part of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s undergraduate research program. “Motivation to Collaborate: Community Organizations and Universities Working Together” was co-authored by Ward-Johnson and Cobb, as well as undergraduate students Gabriella Newman, Janna Chenault and Margot Haglund.
Undergraduate honors student Elise Noyes was the co-author with Darby on “The Impact of Emotions on Learning in Academic Service-Learning.”
Communications associate professor Amanda Sturgill and Communications assistant professor Phillip Motley also presented work, including “Preparation for International Service-Learning: Evaluating Pre-Trip Cultural Training,” which is based on experiences in ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Interactive Media master’s program. Motley and Sturgill were joined by colleague Ananda Mitra from Wake Forest University in a symposium session titled “International Service-Learning: The Need for Cultural Preparation.”
Support for Sturgill and Motley’s work was provided by the Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences.