Experiential Service-Based Learning

An Integrated HIV/Aids Education Model for College Campuses

Bibliographic Data

ID11062860
AuthorsJudith R Porter (0000-0003-0420-3414, corresponding author), Lisa Barrie Schwartz
Year1993
Volume21
Issue4
Pages409
Publication date1993-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTeaching Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-055X • E-ISSN: 1939-862X
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/1319093
OpenAlexW2010604246
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited13

In this paper we describe an innovative approach to teaching the sociology of AIDS, which combines coursework with weekly volunteer work in an AIDS agency. This is one of many new courses on the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic, many of which focus on the importance of the sociological perspective in understanding AIDS (Hunt 1990; Klein 1993). Most courses cover the basic issues of epidemiology, psychosocial response, risk behavior, response of the communities most heavily affected, and health care (Christensen 1991; Dommeyer et al. 1989; Goldman 1987; Hale 1989; Johnson et al. 1990; Klein 1993; Strauss et al. 1992; Weitz 1989). Some are taught specifically from the perspective of medical sociology (Campbell 1989; Hunt 1990). Most are aimed at general audiences that include both sociology majors and nonmajors. A few of these courses have incorporated a service-oriented, experiential component such as optional volunteering or observation at community agencies (Klein 1993; Weitz 1989); this approach to learning has been found to be more permanent, more functional, and more transferable than others (Greenberg 1989; Kolb 1984; Taub 1991). Although the goals of experiential and classroom learning differ somewhat because one operates in the realm of action and the other deals with ideas (DeMartini 1983), experiential learning and a rigorous academic curriculum can be mutually reinforcing (Miller 1990). Experiential learning has been incorporated into a variety of courses in various subfields of sociology (Chaichian 1989; Gondolf 1980; Grant et al. 1981; Greenberg 1989; Haney, Zahn, and Howard 1983; Hoppe and Barr 1990; Kotarba 1990; Taub 1991). Even so, few of the undergraduate sociology of AIDS courses reported in the literature include a

Experiential education · Experiential learning · Higher education · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Service (business · Service-learning · Sociology · Innovative Teaching Methodologies in Social Sciences · Medicine · Psychology · Service-Learning and Community Engagement · Virology

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