The Service-Learning Symposium is held at the end of each semester and for reflection and recognition of community impact and student learning for students, faculty, and community members. 

The Symposium is an important opportunity to highlight the unique learning experience your students have has and to draw attention to the varied ways that GW is engaged in the community. The SL Faculty community indicates that integrating the Symposium into your course is the most effective way to ensure your students experience it as a powerful part of their learning experience - rather than an "extra requirement."  Additionally, we encourage you to invite community partners as either audience members or panel presenters along with the students they worked with. So please share the Symposium date with community partners as soon as you are able.

Fall 2015:  Wednesday, December 9th, 2015.

Note that this is the last day of Fall semester classes.  While we do have faculty who require participation in this event (by including it on the syllabus the first day of class), others offer Symposium participation as a final reflection assignment option/alternative assignment (for example, students may choose to either write a reflection paper or give a brief presentation at the Symposium).

Models of Symposium Participation

The focus of the day is the students’ critical reflections on the impact of the service-learning experience on a) their own learning and b) the community partner’s ability to meet their goals. You are free to guide the direction of students’ reflection presentations in order to meet your course learning goals. In some courses, students can use the Symposium as a forum to display their work or projects. In other cases, the final drafts of these projects are not yet complete, but students are still able to describe their goals and approach, and focus their reflections on what they learned about their roles in the community.

For examples of reflection prompts that can foster critical thinking and meaning-making, see our Wiki page on Reflection Assignments. Participation format varies by course and your innovative ideas are most welcome. Below are two examples of typical Symposium involvement by students and community partners from GW courses.

Posters/Poster Presentations

In this model, individual students or student teams create a poster describing the project and their reflective thinking and lessons learned. In some courses the students are assigned a time to do a poster presentation at the symposium as well displaying the poster throughout the day. Work with the Symposium organizers on which you prefer and to schedule a time. Note it is helpful for symposium participants if the instructor also creates a poster with an overview of the community impact goals and learning objectives of the project.

Poster Template

The Symposium organizers can work with you on any type of poster display materials you would like to use. The most convenient option is typically a computer-generated poster that can be printed poster size. This link provides a template that you can adjust to meet your project and reflection goals and share with students.

Class or Panel Presentations

The Symposium features 30-minute sessions throughout the day, during which you can schedule student presentations. Again, while a description of the project goals and approach will be needed, final versions of those project isn't necessary for the presentation to be successful. Rather, the presentation should focus on the students' reflections on their learning, critical thinking about community impact, and their reactions to this unique learning experience. 

It is particularly compelling to invite community partners involved in the project(s) to join students for these discussions. Both students and community partners should be prepared for their session with your guiding questions or prompts. 

We would like to encourage as much participation in this year’s Symposium as possible, so please contact us (gwsl@gwu.edu) if you need any clarification or assistance thinking about how your students might share their experiences with the GW community. 

Note: Those faculty who regularly participate in the Symposium are invited to make additions to this page. How do you describe Symposium participation in your syllabus? Does evaluating/grading this assignment pose any unique challenges? Do you require Symposium attendance, include it as an option, or offer extra credit?