Using Case-Based Service-Learning to Advance Equity in Graduate Education

The wave of service-learning identifies the necessary turn toward justice-oriented, community-led, and more radical approaches to teaching and learning. Still, there is a continuing need for strong examples of innovative ways to implement a critical approach with practical steps that ensure students—who have primarily not experienced learning outside of traditional teaching methods—are learning from their experiences. Through a partnership between a graduate school of public health and a local public high school, we describe our efforts to integrate critical service-learning and case-based learning to help graduate students better understand the social context of adolescent health. Coined case-based service-learning, this approach centers youth in an equitable partnership while acknowledging and providing the support graduate students need to engage in experiential learning.