EXPERIENTIAL SERVICE-BASED LEARNING: AN INTEGRATED HIV/AIDS EDUCATION MODEL FOR COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

The article describes an innovative approach to teaching the sociology of AIDS combining coursework with weekly volunteer work in an AIDS agency. Students were required to volunteer one half-day a week every week during the semester. The two HIV/AIDS agencies that cooperated with the course represent the spectrum of HIV/AIDS cases in the city. One of the agencies was founded initially to provide health-related services to the gay and lesbian community. The second agency is part of a larger minority community-based organization and serves primarily communities of color. Enormous benefits can be gained from regular weekly volunteer service in conjunction with a formal course. Unlike the situation in an internship, the students were academically prepared and could regularly share their experiences with other students. Another benefit of their volunteer experience was that the students learned to test hypotheses and to critique theories with insight. In addition, the agencies provided valuable resources to the faculty member in regard to literature and recent developments in prevention and care. Cautions and concerns about this type of learning are also in order. For the academic component, the professor involved must be very familiar with the agencies and preferably must volunteer himself or herself. Another caution is that this model of experiential service-based learning is extremely time-consuming for the professor. Legal liability is another area of caution. Experiential service-based learning also involves cautions for the agencies. The agency must be willing to commit the time to organize appropriate tasks and projects, to provide a coordinator who supervises students and mediates potential conflicts within the agency and to be familiar with the objectives of the course. The agency also should provide a staff member to process the students' emotional reactions.