Arts & Culture

Community & Economic Development

Youth Education & Development - Early to Middle

The department of education includes several courses that involved direct interaction with the Anchorage School District as a component in the teaching and learning of students studying to be future teachers. Each individual is required to complete a series of method courses that involve hands on learning, as well as a yearlong internship in which they are paired with a mentor teacher at a school in the Anchorage School District.

Method Courses Include:

EDEL A425               Teaching Reading in Elementary Schools
EDEL A426               Teaching Mathematics in Elementary Schools
EDEL A427               Teaching Social Studies in Elementary Schools
EDEL A428               Teaching Science in Elementary Schools
EDEL A429               Teaching Health Education in Elementary Schools
EDEL A430               Teaching Language Arts In Elementary Schools

Internship Courses Include:

EDEL 495A               Internship I
EDEL 495B               Internship II

Youth Education & Transition to Young Adulthood

Environment & Sustainability

GEOG A101: Local Places/Global Regions: An Introduction to Geography
Taught by Dorn Van Dommelen

Students are split into groups through which the will share what they’ve learned about Heifer International to raise awareness about poverty alleviation and sustainable community growth in the developing world. Each group selects a case study focused on a Heifer International’s work in a specific region of the world and develops a creative activity to raise awareness about Heifer International’s work to reduce poverty and increase community health and self-sufficiency around the world. This class works with Heifer International as well as potential partnerships established by student groups conducting the project.

PHIL A303: Environmental Ethics
Taught by Raymond Anthony

The service project for this class is different each semester, but one example is the class helped to organize a sustainability fair on campus.

HNRS A192: Limits to Growth
Taught by Mary Logan

Students split into groups and identify and “write problem” statement for an environmental or sustainability issue in the Anchorage community. Each group then develops and implements an action plan to promote change on the issue identified in their problem statement. The project concludes with each group presenting its problem, action plan, and the results of their action plan. This class works with local, environmentally- or sustainably-related agencies determined by the student groups.

Food Security & Affordable Housing

Health & Mental Health

Health Sciences 220: Core Concepts in the Health Sciences

This course is offered every fall and spring and consists of a community engagement component. Each student is required to identify a community partner whose missions and operation addresses one or more of the determinants of health discussed in class. Students may choose a community partner identified by the instructor or may identify their own partner. Students participate in a project with the community partner, write a paper reflecting on the mission and operation of the community partner, and conclude the project with an in class presentation on the community partner and the student's project. This service learning component provides students with the expose to a range of community organizations that address health issues in Alaska and the people who they serve.

Dental Hygiene A324 & Dental Hygiene A424 - Community Dental Health I & II
Taught by: Elizabeth Barnett

These courses are offered in the spring and include the development and implementation of a basic community dental health care project that’s goal is to encourage/support the student as they discover advocacy for the underserved, to provide quality care to those individuals lacking access to dental care, to discover action research while they are learning as they teach. Students decide the topic of the project but in the past they have covered a wide range of interest from young teens facing pregnancy, unwed mothers, drug and alcohol additions, oncology, runaways, Title 1 students, refugee and immigrant populations, elderly, disabled, mentally challenged persons, and special needs. The students challenge their assumptions and tailor the intervention to meet what the stakeholder needs, not what the students thinks they need and usually the intervention is education of both participants and the leaders in the organization.

Psychology 665: Psychotherapy Practicum
Taught by: Dr. Patricia Sandberg

This course and practicum is offered every fall, spring, and summer semesters. Students working on their masters or doctorate degrees complete a practicum in the Psychological Services Center at UAA. During this time, the students provide counseling services to people in the community while receiving supervision from a licensed psychologist. Students gain supervised experience in the process of psychotherapy with particular focus placed on cultural diversity. The Psychological Services Center is one of the only clinics in Anchorage that offers a sliding scale fee to its clients.

Immigrants & Refugees

Nursing 411: Nursing Lab
Taught by Catherine Sullivan

Expanding upon previous projects, this class partnered with  Refugee Assistance and Immigration Services (RAIS) to bring together immigrant and refugee youth communicate between nationalities though music and dance.  These relationships allowed the students to learn about health, nutrition, and mental health needs of the youth. This project was the base upon which the RAIS Refugee Youth Music Group began.

Safe Families & Safe Communities

A listing of Service-Learning Courses related to Safe Families & Safe Communities can be found here. (.pdf)