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Center for Engaged Learning

Service-learning.

Service-learning was one of the ten experiences listed as a high-impact practice (HIP) when such practices were first identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) in 2007. Given the many benefits that service-learning experiences offer students (Jacoby, 2015), it is not surprising that it was one of the ten identified as a HIP in the AACU’s report, College Learning for a New Global Century. Before discussing what makes service-learning a HIP, it is important to define service-learning and describe aspects of the definition in detail.

Every course has a list of objectives that students are expected to reach, and all instructors have to consider how students will achieve those objectives. When course objectives can be reached by doing work for and with community partners, service-learning pedagogy is an option. Bringle and Hatcher (1995) define service-learning as

a credit-bearing, educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. (p. 112)

Each part of this definition is significant and will be described in more depth.

Several students in hard hats work on a construction site, carrying the wooden frame of a wall.

Service-learning is Credit-Bearing

Service-learning is part of a course – a “credit-bearing educational experience” (Bringle & Hatch, 1995, p. 112). This distinguishes service-learning from volunteerism. While volunteers offer service in the community, the service is generally not associated with a course, nor are the volunteers asked to reflect on the service activity. Service-learning is designed as a means for students to learn the content of a course through the process of carrying out service. The service and the learning are intertwined.

An example is helpful here. Volunteers can help hand out blankets to homeless people and drive them to shelters on cold evenings. This act contributes to the public good, yet the volunteers may or may not learn much from the experience. Students in a service-learning sociology course about social issues and local problems can also hand out blankets and drive homeless individuals to shelters, but to meet the objectives of the course, they will do more. The students could help a city to determine if there are enough beds in shelters for the number of homeless individuals in the city. They could gather information on the conditions in shelters as they are handing out blankets. An assignment in the course could be to write a report that city officials use to help determine funding for homeless individuals. The students in this sociology course would have a meaningful educational experience as they provide important and needed work in the community that contributes to the public good.

Meeting an Identified Community Need

Service-learning is intended to meet “identified community needs” (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995, p. 112). Sometimes the learning that university students accomplish in the community is not associated with a service-learning course and is not necessarily focused on a need that community members have stated. For example, schools of education generally have education majors spend time learning and teaching in public elementary, middle, and high schools. These practicum and student teaching experiences are designed for education majors to meet national and state standards as they work toward obtaining teaching licenses. In this instance, the public schools in the community are partnering with the university, but not to meet an identified community need. Rather, the public schools are helping the university to meet the needs of the schools of education for educating teacher candidates. This is the distinction between service-learning and community engagement.

To qualify as an identified community need, a community member must state the particular service that is needed. Service-learning honors the wisdom of individuals who run community organizations and work daily in the community. These are the people who know what type of service is needed and how it should be carried out. Should a college professor approach a leader of a community organization by telling her the work that her students will accomplish for the organization, without understanding the particular needs of the community organization, this would not qualify as service-learning. The college instructor needs to approach the organization by asking the leader to share the particular needs for service the organization has identified. The instructor can then see if any of these needs are related to objectives in her course. When there is a close match between a service need stated by a community member and one or more course objectives, the prospects for service-learning are greatly improved.

There are basically three ways that the service component of a service-learning course can be conducted. The first is by providing community-based service, generally in partnership with a community organization. Again, a leader in the organization would stipulate the specific service need that students would help fulfill on-site in the community. The second way is with a class-based service. Working in the college classroom, students provide a product or service that the community partner has requested. Examples of class-based service include website development, video production, or research for a non-profit organization. Generally with class-based service, the community partner visits the class and explains the service or product needed. Often students are encouraged or even required to visit the community organization at least once during the semester. At the end of the semester, the leader of the community organization might visit the class to see the final product or to discuss the result of the students’ service. The final way that service can be incorporated into a course is a combination of community- and class-based service. Regardless of which of the three types are used, it is critical that the community partner identify the need to be met through service.

A table showing the three types of effective service learning: community-based service, class-based service, and combination class- and community-based service

Service-learning can also take place in study abroad courses. Instructors make arrangements before arriving at the destination abroad to determine which identified community need the students will be addressing. Often the service-learning experiences are the most meaningful part of the study abroad course because of the interactions students will experience while conducting the service. One professor said of her service-learning course in Africa, “Without the service work, we are simply staring out the bus windows and trying to interpret from our Western lens. The sunsets are magnificent, the elephants awe-inspiring, but it is the interactions in working with the people that are transformative.”

Reflection on Service

Students in service-learning courses are asked to reflect on their service and how it integrates with course content. Frequently students write reflections on their service in the community and participate in class discussions that make connections between course readings and the service activities. Again, this is different from volunteering. Concerns can arise when service is conducted without a reflective component. Negative stereotypes may be reinforced, complex problems may be viewed in superficial ways, and analysis of underlying structural inequalities in society left unconsidered (Jones, 2002). Instructors of service-learning courses work to include thoughtful reflection in class discussions and written assignments. Depending on course content and the particular service-experience, negative stereotypes can be examined and discredited, layers of complexity related to the societal problem can be uncovered, or larger societal issues related to inequality can be studied. Reflection is a central and essential component of service-learning courses.

Understanding of Course Content

Since service-learning is arranged to simultaneously meet an identified community need and one or more course objectives, students’ service experiences will relate to the content of the course they are taking. As students read texts for the course, participate in class discussions and carry out written assignments, they can make connections with their service-learning experiences. Students will sometimes say that their service experiences “bring the course to life.” By this they mean that at least some of the concepts, theories, and principles being taught in the course are learned in a dynamic way with the service. Students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in service-learning courses.

Consider two options for how an instructor of a computer course might design her pedagogy. The first option is to teach the course without service-learning. Students will have required readings and written assignments and, as a culminating activity, design a website for an imaginary client. The students will likely enjoy this experience and learn from it, but it is very different in nature from the instructor’s second option for how to teach the course.

The computer course instructor who chooses to use service-learning has required readings and written assignments and also arranges a service project with the director of a local non-profit agency who is requesting a new website for the agency. The director attends a class session to describe the mission of the agency, its clients, and how the new website should function. Prior to designing the website, the students are asked to spend a few hours at the agency to learn more about it. As students work on constructing the website, they keep in contact with the agency director and people employed there to ensure that expectations for the final product are met. Students are highly motivated to create a website that meets with the agency director’s specifications, and they work diligently to produce a high quality product. They know that people who work at the non-profit agency are depending on them and that the clients need an up-to-date website with new and important functions. Focusing on every detail, the students put a significant amount of thought and energy into creating the best possible product possible.

While students in the computer course without service-learning learn how to design a website through the exercise of making one for an imaginary client, the students in the service-learning course have the experience of creating a website for an actual client. They know what it means to meet, and perhaps, even exceed the client’s expectations. They understand the significance of their work and the value of listening carefully to clients in a way that students in the course without service-learning have yet to experience. The students in the service-learning course develop a deep understanding of the course content as they carry out the service associated with the course.

Two students work in a vegetable garden, planting young plants.

A Broader Appreciation of the Discipline

While not all students in a service-learning course are going to gain a broader appreciation of the discipline, some students will take away deep learning and a greater understanding of the discipline. In a multi-institutional study conducted with 261 engineering students, a survey was used to learn how the students perceived service as a source of learning technical and professional skills relative to traditional course work. Students’ responses indicated that 45% of what they learned about technical skills and 62% of what they learned about professional skills was through service (Carberry, Lee & Swan, 2013). Clearly, these engineering students’ gain a greater understanding of their discipline through their service experiences.

In another study, with a smaller sample of 37 students across sections of a non-profit marketing course, the students compared their learning from a variety of pedagogical tools, including case studies, lectures, reading assignments, guest speakers, exams, textbooks, and service-learning experiences in local chapters of national organizations and non-profit organizations. Students responded with a 5-point Likert scale indicating the degree to which each pedagogical tool helped them to meet the specific objectives of the course. Students rated the service-learning project higher than all of the other pedagogical tools as contributing to their learning in all course objectives (Mottner, 2010). Additionally, the course instructor saw that service-learning was not only effective for supporting students’ learning of the course objectives, but also proved helpful for students in determining their future careers, gaining confidence in interacting with clients, and understanding people from another culture (p. 243).

With the opportunity to apply newly learned skills in a service-learning project, students learn more about the discipline they are studying, and depending on the service-learning setting, they may learn about the lives of people in the community who have fewer resources than they do while also learning about the underlying and systemic reasons for particular circumstances.

Students in hard hats work on a construction site, raising a wooden frame.

Enhanced Sense of Civic Responsibility

The final aspect of Bringle and Hatcher’s (1995) definition of service-learning maintains that students can gain an enhanced sense of civic responsibility by conducting and reflecting on service. Through the process of conducting meaningful service in the community, students can learn the importance of engaging in the community to make positive contributions; that is, they can learn to be civic-minded.

Cress (2013) explains that being civic-minded involves both knowing and doing. College students and graduates may know about and even analyze community problems yet feel overwhelmed and do little or nothing to remedy them. This is knowing without doing. Just as harmful, are individuals who carry out service without substantial knowledge about the issue. This is doing without knowing. Cress calls for community-based educational experiences that increase knowledge and skills to address civic issues. In other words, combining knowing and doing in such a way that civic action is carried out responsibly.

Service-learning offers the initial opportunity for college students to learn how to be civic-minded by combining knowledge gained in the university classroom with skills acquired in community settings so that responsible and respectful service is provided. “Civic-minded graduates will make important contributions to their communities through their capacity to generate citizen-driven solutions” (Moore & Mendez, 2014, p. 33).

Bringle and Hatcher’s (1995) definition of service-learning, quoted and described in detail here, illustrates the multifaceted aspects of this pedagogy. Just tacking on service to an existing course does not make it a service-learning course. The service experience and reflection upon it is integrated with the course. Successes, frustrations, and troubleshooting are discussed in the classroom. Instructors support students in making links between their service experience and the curriculum of the course. Instructors may also support students in analyzing the specific circumstances experienced in service-learning so they develop an understanding of the underlying structural inequalities in the broader society that impact those circumstances. Service-learning pedagogy, when conducted in a thorough and thoughtful manner, has the potential for deepening students’ learning and even offering the prospect of transformative learning (Felten & Clayton, 2011).

With such impressive outcomes, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007) rightly included service-learning on the list of high-impact practices. The next section addresses the question, “What makes service-learning a high-impact practice?”

What makes it a high-impact practice?

Calling for “implementation quality,” in high-impact practices, Kuh (2013, p. 7) outlined eight key elements of high-impact practices. According to Kuh, these elements can be useful in determining the quality of a practice for advancing student accomplishment. The eight key elements are listed below.

Performance expectations set at appropriately high levels
Significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time
Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters
Experiences with diversity wherein students are exposed to and must contend with people and circumstances that differ from those with which students are familiar
Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback
Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning
Opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real-world applications
Public demonstration of competence (p. 10)

In this section, service-learning will be discussed as it relates to each of the key elements of high-impact practices.

High Performance Expectations

From the first day of class, it is important for instructors of service-learning courses to communicate the high expectations they have for students’ service. The quality of the service should influence grading, as this is a way to immediately communicate the centrality of service to students. The leader of the community organization where the service will be performed should be invited to speak to the class about their expectations for service. This leader can share how both high- and low-quality service impact the organization and people in the community. Generally, service does come with some challenges as Cress (2013) points out service-learning involves relationships, and these can go awry. “Personality conflicts can arise, students may lack the ability to deal with others who are different from themselves, community partners may not follow through on their commitments, and group members may not meet their responsibilities” (p. 16). Students who are working to meet high performance expectations will likely need to overcome obstacles that can interfere with performing the service at a peak level. How the students cope with and overcome obstacles is part of the learning in service-learning, and it is a significant aspect of how students demonstrate a high level of performance in the course.

Investment of Significant Time and Effort

When students carry out service, they will likely learn that careful planning, a thoughtful approach, and meaningful analysis of the circumstances takes time, energy, and effort on their part. The old adage that “You only get out of something what you put into it,” most certainly applies to service-learning. Often students arrive at college having learned to focus on academic achievement and to view community service as less important or secondary. With service-learning pedagogy, the service is woven into students’ academic achievement, and, accordingly, students need to focus a significant amount of their time and efforts on providing high quality service in order to meet expectations.

Interactions with Faculty and Peers about Substantive Matters

In order to plan and carry out meaningful service-learning, students will need to work closely with the faculty member teaching the course and their peers who are taking the course alongside them. Consider the example presented earlier of the instructor of a computer course who had the option of having students design a website for an imaginary client or an actual client of a non-profit agency. Students who are designing the website for an imaginary client, even if working in groups, will not have the same types of interactions with faculty and peers as those who are creating a website for an agency in the community. Simply put, more is at stake when designing a product for an actual client. When that client is meeting a specific need in the community, the website must communicate that clearly and allow for clients and donors to have easy access to various parts of the site. Students carrying out this type of service-learning will find that substantive interactions with faculty, peers, and the community leader become necessary in order to successfully complete the project.

Experiences with Diversity

While college campuses can offer students some experience with a range of diversity for race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, and age, it is likely that the differences between college students and people living in the local community are greater. Life can look quite different for people living as close as a couple of miles from a university as compared to life on campus.

Students performing service in the community or during study abroad courses can learn about individuals who are living in poverty, struggling to meet basic needs, and who often do without. Students can learn about the impact of discrimination from individuals who have experienced it first-hand. For some students, the disparity between the life experiences of people they meet during service-learning and their own life circumstances makes them realize the privilege they have lived with all of their lives.

Jacoby (2015) explains that when students conduct service without multicultural education, negative stereotypes can be reinforced and perpetuated (p. 232). Jacoby notes that by integrating multicultural education with service-learning, students are helped to “expand their emotional comfort zones in dealing with difference, gain an increasing ability to view the world from multiple perspectives, and reflect on their own social positions in relations to others” (p. 233). Often these goals are among those that faculty hope to achieve when choosing to use service-learning pedagogy.

A student in an apron and heavy gloves works at the Habitat Re-Store, moving building materials on a cart.

Frequent, Timely, and Constructive Feedback

Meeting frequently with the faculty member teaching a service-learning course to receive suggestions, learn how to make progress, solve problems, and increase the quality of service will greatly benefit the students who are carrying out the service. The faculty member can provide the timely and constructive feedback that allows students to make improvements in how they conduct the service and develop a more profound understanding of the circumstances that give rise to the need for the services.

Although the leaders of community organizations hosting students for their service-learning courses are generally incredibly busy people, they may be able to arrange brief meetings with students to provide feedback on the service they are conducting. With support from both faculty and leaders in the community, students can refine their service and deepen their understanding. Students often have a greater appreciation of the complexity involved in providing service to meet an identified need as they spend more time within an organization. Frequent and timely feedback affords students the guidance needed to meet the high expectations for service-learning experiences.

Opportunities to Reflect

As noted earlier, reflection is integral to service-learning. In fact, without reflection, a service experience becomes volunteering. The instructor of a service-learning course is responsible for providing periodic, structured opportunities to reflect on the service and integrate the learning from service with course content.

Campus Compact, a source of support for universities implementing service-learning, outlines four ways to structure the reflection process (“Structuring”). The first is that reflection should connect service with other coursework. Second, faculty need to coach students on how to reflect. Third, the reflection process should offer both challenge and support to students. Fourth, the reflection should be continuous; reflection needs to happen before, during and after service-learning experiences. Faculty utilizing this framework will help students to gain insights through the reflection process.

Real-World Applications

Service-learning by definition provides opportunities for students to discover relevance of disciplinary knowledge through real-world application. Students in an educational psychology course will provide service in high-poverty schools; students in human service study course will provide service in a domestic violence shelter; students in a research course will provide service in the form of program assessment for a non-profit organization; students in a marketing course will provide service supporting women in a developing country who are starting a cooperative to sell handmade goods. The needs in most communities outweigh the resources, which makes service-learning a welcome addition in the community, while also providing the chance for university students to make connections between their studies and real-world applications.

Public Demonstration of Competence

Kuh’s (2013) final key element of HIP is for students to publicly demonstrate the competency they gained, in this case, during the service-learning course. While the work of community organizations is ongoing, students’ service is often completed as the semester ends. A culminating project that is presented to stakeholders offers students the opportunity to consider the outcomes of their learning, make connections between course content and the service they provided, and to contemplate on the larger societal issues related to inequality. The culminating project may be an oral presentation or a report given to the community partner. In some cases the culminating project is one of the main goals of the service. Students who exhibit a high level of competence with their culminating project can articulate how the service-learning experience was a HIP for them.

Service-learning is a HIP, and, as such, has the power to impact students’ lives in meaningful, perhaps even transformative ways (Felten & Clayton, 2011). Every key element of HIP, as outlined by Kuh (2013) for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, are met in service-learning. Those students who excel in service-learning have the potential to become civic-minded graduates who bring good to their communities, a goal universities surely find worthy.

Research-Informed Practices

The following best practices in service-learning are adapted from Reitenaure, Spring, Kecskes, Kerrigan, Cress, and Collier (2005) and Howard (1993), who focus on two different sides of service-learning. Reitenaure et al. (2005) focus on the community partnership side of service-learning results in a list centered on establishing strong and productive relationships among the parties involved in service-learning: students, faculty, and community members. Howard’s (1993) focus on the academic side of service-learning results in a list centered on maintaining academic rigor and making space for deep student learning through community praxis. Collectively, their work leads to the following practices for high-quality service-learning:

Establish shared goals and values
Focus on academic learning through service
Provide supports for student learning and reflection
Be prepared for uncertainty and variation in student learning outcomes
Build mutual trust, respect, authenticity, and commitment between the student and community partner
Identify existing strengths and areas for improvement among all partners
Work to balance power and share resources
Communicate openly and accessibly
Commit to the time it will require
Seek feedback for improvement

(adapted from Reitenaure et al., 2005, and Howard, 1993)

Overall, these recommendations focus on two broad goals of service-learning: establish a strong and reciprocal relationship, and structure and support student learning. These goals happen through frequent and open communication among all involved and facilitated space in and out of the classroom for student reflection and integration of their learning. Each of the model programs described below enact these good practices in similar ways.

Embedded and Emerging Questions for Research, Practice, and Theory

While service-learning is one of the more heavily researched high impact practices, additional areas of study remain. For example, the distinction between service-learning and community engagement warrants additional focus and research. Does this variation in framing equate to differential impacts on student learning? Service-learning also varies in length and intensity, and research is needed to parse out the differential impacts on student learning of short term versus long term service-learning experiences. Recent research has begun to examine the differential impacts on service-learning for underrepresented minority (URM) students and suggests service-learning has strong academic success impacts for URMs, but service-learning is less closely linked to retention and four-year graduation for URMs than it is for highly represented students (Song, Furco, Lopez, & Maruyama, 2017). Additional research is needed to understand why this may be the case and how service-learning experiences might be facilitated to support more equitable student impacts.

Two women squat next to a young child who holds a snack in her hands. The snake's tank is visible on a table behind them.

Finally, perhaps the greatest avenues for effective community partnerships in the coming years exist in community colleges and distinctive two-year institutions. Community colleges have a great opportunity to contribute to social research surrounding challenges, missions and strengths of community partnerships. Since students are usually still embedded within the surrounding community, the opportunity to develop community partnerships is promising (Brukhardt et al., 2004). Two-year institutions are also on the front-line of accepting students from diverse financial, racial, and experiential backgrounds. These expansions and alterations to the ‘typical’ college student population will continue to present themselves in the coming years. Community colleges have the opportunity to create policies and service-learning opportunities that engage and enrich the lives of diverse student populations, which places two-year institutions above other, more traditional, colleges that may be more delayed in response to such changes. As Butin (2006) describes, current service-learning and engagement is only focused towards “full-time single, non-indebted, and childless students pursuing a liberal arts degree” (p.482). As a result, colleges and universities who adapt to the future trends that break out of such barriers will be more successful with engaged learning in the years to come.

Key Scholarship

Ash, Sarah L., and Patti H. Clayton. 2004. “The Articulated Learning: An approach to Guided Reflection and Assessment.” Innovative Higher Education 29 (2): 137-154.

About this Journal Article:

Reflection is an integral aspect of service-learning, but it does not simply happen by telling students to reflect. This paper describes the risks involved in poor quality reflection and explains the results of rigorous reflection. A rigorous reflection framework is introduced that involves objectively describing an experience, analyzing the experience, and then articulating learning outcomes according to guiding questions.

Celio, Christine I., Joseph Durlak, and Allison Dymnicki. 2011. “A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Service-Learning on Students.” Journal of Experiential Education 34 (2): 164-181.

For those seeking empirical data regarding the value of service-learning, this meta-analysis provides considerable evidence. Representing data from 11,837 students, this meta-analysis of 62 studies identified five areas of gain for students who took service-learning courses as compared to control groups who did not. The students in service-learning courses demonstrated significant gains in their self-esteem and self-efficacy, educational engagement, altruism, cultural proficiency, and academic achievement. Studies of service-learning courses that implemented best practices (e.g., supporting students in connecting curriculum with the service, incorporating the voice of students in the service-learning project, welcoming community involvement in the project, and requiring reflection) had higher effect sizes.

Cress, Christine M., Peter J. Collier, Vicki L. Reitenauer, and Associates, eds. 2013. Learning through Service: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement across Academic Disciplines and Cultural Communities, 2nd ed. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

About this Edited Book:

Although written for students to promote an understanding of their community service through reflection and their personal development as citizens who share expertise with compassion, this text is also useful for faculty. Among the many topics addressed, it provides descriptions of service-learning and civic engagement, explains how to establish and deepen community partnerships, and challenges students to navigate difference in ways that unpack privilege and analyze power dynamics that often surface in service-learning and civic engagement. Written in an accessible style, it is good first text for learning about service-learning and civic engagement.

Delano-Oriaran, Omobolade, Marguerite W Penick-Parks, and Suzanne Fondrie, eds. 2015. The SAGE Sourcebook of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

This tome contains 58 chapters on a variety of aspects related to service-learning and civic engagement. The intended audience is faculty in higher education and faculty in P-12 schools, as well as directors of service-learning or civic engagement centers in universities or school districts. The SAGE Sourcebook of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement outlines several theoretical models on the themes of service-learning and civic engagement, provides guides that faculty can employ when developing service-learning projects, shares ideas for program development, and offers numerous resources that faculty can use. Parts I – IV of the sourcebook are directed toward general information about service-learning and civic engagement, including aspects of implementation; parts V – VIII describe programs and issues related to the use of service-learning or civic engagement within disciplines or divisions; part IX addresses international service-learning; and part X discusses sustainability.

Felten, Peter, and Patti H. Clayton. 2011. “Service-Learning.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 128: 75-84. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tl.470 .

Felten and Clayton define service-learning, describe its essential aspects, and review the empirical evidence supporting this pedagogy. Both affective and cognitive aspects of growth are examined in their review. The authors conclude that effectively designed service-learning has considerable potential to promote transformation for all involved, including those who mentor students during the service-learning experience.

Jacoby, Barbara. 2015. Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers and lessons learned. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

About this Book:

Arranged as a series of questions and answers about service-learning, this text shares research and the author’s personal wisdom gathered over decades of experience in service-learning. Faculty members who are new to service-learning will learn the basics of this pedagogy. Those with experience will discover ways to refine and improve their implementation of service-learning. All aspects of service-learning are clearly explained in this accessible text, including advise for overcoming obstacles.

Jones, Susan R. 2002. “The Underside of Service-Learning.” About Campus 7 (4): 10-15.

Although an older publication, this article is not outdated. Jones describes how some students resist examining assumptions and refuse to see how their beliefs perpetuate negative stereotypes. These students challenge both the faculty member teaching the service-learning course and classmates. Jones discusses the need for faculty to anticipate how to respond to students’ racist or homophobic comments in a way that acknowledges where the students are developmentally, while also honoring the complexity involved. Additionally, the author recommends that faculty examine their own background and level of development relative to issues of privilege and power that can arise in service-learning pedagogy.

McDonald, James, and Lynn Dominguez. 2015. “Developing University and Community Partnerships: A Critical Piece of Successful Service Learning.” Journal of College Science Teaching 44 (3): 52-56.

Developing a positive partnership with a community organization is a critical aspect service-learning. McDonald and Dominguez discuss best practice for service-learning and explain a framework for developing a successful partnership in the community. Faculty need to

Identify the objectives of the course that will be met through service,
Identify the community organization whose mission or self-identified need can be address with service-learning,
Define the purpose of the project, the roles, responsibilities and benefits of individuals involved,
Maintain regular communication with the community partner, and
Invite the community partner to the culminating student presentation on their service-learning.

Two service-learning projects, one for an environmental course and another for an elementary methods science course, are described along with the positive outcomes for students and community partners.

Warner, Beth, and Judy Esposito. 2009. “What’s Not in the Syllabus: Faculty Transformation, Role Modeling and Role Conflict in Immersion Service-Learning Courses.” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 20 (3): 510-517.

This article describes immersive learning in the context of international service learning (or domestic service learning that happens away from the local community surrounding an institution) where students and faculty live and work together in a deeply immersive environment. The article is careful to articulate the difference in international or away service learning, where the immersion is constant, with localized experiences where the service learning experience is socketed into a student’s day. The article also discusses the value and need of the instructor working in close proximity to students as a facilitative guide to the learning experience.

See all Service-Learning entries

Model Programs

The following model programs are drawn from recommendations by service-learning professionals across the United States. All of these selected programs also meet the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement. Carnegie defines community engagement as:

The partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good. (“Defining Community Engagement,” 2018, para. 2)

This voluntary classification requires schools to collect data and provide evidence of alignment across mission and commitments; this evidence is then reviewed by a national review panel before an institution is selected for inclusion on the list. While community engagement is not always service-learning, the two are closely related and many campus centers offer more expansive definitions to include both service learning and community engagement.

Drake University’s Office of Community Engaged Learning and Service emphasizes models of service learning focused on project completion rather than hours served. They have seven models for service-learning: project or problem based, multiple course projects, placement based, community education and advocacy, action research, one-time group service project, and service internships. Descriptions of each model can be found here . All of these models must meet their four main attributes for community engaged learning. They must have 1) learning outcomes, 2) application and integration, 3) reciprocity, and 4) reflection and assessment.

Elon University’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement has existed since 1995 and aims, “in partnership with local and global communities, to advance student learning, leadership, and citizenship to prepare students for lives of active community engagement within a complex and changing world.” Elon University has several interdisciplinary minors which include service learning as an explicit component of their educative goals. The University also includes service learning as a way students may fulfill one of their experiential learning requirements (ELR) through enrollment in an associated service learning course or through 15 days of service along with mentored research and reflection experiences.

James Madison University’s Center for Community Service-Learning offers a range of service options for students, but is especially intentional about facilitating course-based service-learning. They support student placement with community partners as is relevant to the course, offer one-on-one faculty consultations, and share reflection resources to support students’ integration of their service-learning with course goals and broader learning goals. JMU’s focus on reflection as a core component of service-learning is evident throughout their center, including their definition of service-learning: “[Service-learning] cultivates positive social change through mutually beneficial service partnerships, critical reflection, and the development of engaged citizens.” Their seven tenets of service-learning (humility, intentionality, equity, accountability, service, relationships, and learning) can help guide faculty development of mutually supportive goals with community partners.

Marquette University’s Service Learning Program is housed within their Center for Teaching and Learning separate from their Center for Community Service. The program is intentional about distinguishing between community service, internships, and service-learning, and focuses their work around five models of service-learning: placement model, presentation model, presentation-plus model, product model, and project model. They offer descriptions and examples of each model here . Marquette structures service-learning as a “philosophy of education.” Their program also offers numerous resources around service-learning course design.

Rollins College’s Center for Leadership and Community Service uses the language of community engagement, but is firm in the standard that for a course to be considered a community engagement course, it must meet a community-identified need. Community partners at Rollins are considered co-educators, and Rollins’ course guidelines emphasize reciprocity in the community-course partnership. The culture surrounding these ideals is so strong that “over 74% of all Rollins faculty have been involved in at least one aspect of community engagement through service-learning, community-based research, professional development, immersion, or campus/community partnership. In addition, over the last seven years every major at Rollins has offered at least one academic course with a community experience” (“ Faculty Resources “).

Integrating ePortfolios in Work-Integrated Learning Experiences

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) refers to the integration of practical work experiences with academic learning. Experiences falling under this umbrella provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge to professional work environments, research, and service learning. There are many benefits of…

Critical Service Learning: Letters with Incarcerated People

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Featured Resources

Teaching service-learning online or in hybrid/flex models.

In response to shifts to online learning due to COVID-19 in spring 2020 and in anticipation of alternate models for higher education in fall 2020 and beyond, we have curated publications and online resources that can help inform programmatic and…

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007) College learning for a new global century , Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington, DC. http://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
Bringle, R., & Hatcher, J. (1995). A service learning curriculum for faculty. The Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning, 2 (1), 112-122.
Brukardt, M. H., Holland, B., Percy, S. L., Simpher, N., on behalf of Wingspread Conference Participants. (2004). Wingspread Statement: Calling the question: Is higher education ready to commit to community engagement. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Butin, D. W. (2006). The limits of service-learning in higher education. The Review of Higher Education, 29 (4), 473-498.
Campus Compact (n.d.), Structuring the reflection process . Retrieved August 2017 from http://compact.org/disciplines/reflection/structuring/
Carberry, A., Lee, H., & Swan, C. (2013). Student perceptions of engineering service experiences as a source of learning technical and professional skills, International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, 8 (1), 1-17.
Cress, C. M. (2013). What are service-learning and community engagement? In Cress, C. M., Collier, P. J., Reitenauer, V. L., and Associates, Learning through serving 2 nd ed. , pp. 9-18. Richmond, VA: Stylus Publishing LLC.
Felten, P., & Clayton, P. H. (2011). Service-learning. Evidence-based teaching. New Directions for Teaching and Learning , 128, 75-84.
Howard, J. (1993). Praxis I: A faculty casebook on community service learning. Ann Arbor, MI: Office of Community Service Learning Press, University of Michigan.
Jacoby, B. (2015). Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers, and lessons learned . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Jones, S. R. (2002). The underside of service-learning, About Campus , 7(4), 10-15.
Kuh, G. D. (2013). Taking HIPs to the next level. In G. D. Kuh & K. O’Donnell (Eds.) pp. 1-14, Ensuring quality and taking high-impact practices to scale . Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Moore, T. L., & Mendez, J. P. (2014). Civic engagement and organizational learning strategies for student success. In P. L. Eddy (Ed.), Connecting learning across the institution (New Directions in Higher Education No. 165 , pp. 31-40). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Mottner, S. (2010). Service-learning in a nonprofit marketing course: A comparative case of pedagogical tools. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 22 (3), 231-245.
Reitenaure, V. L., Spring, A., Kecskes, K., Kerrigan, S.A., Cress, C. M., & Collier, P. J. (2005). Chapter 2: Building and maintaining community partnerships. In Cress, C. M., Collier, P. J., Reitenaure, V. L., & Associates (Eds.) Learning through service: A student guidebook for service-learning and civic engagement across academic disciplines and cultural communities (17-31). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
Song, W., Furco, A., Lopez, I., & Maruyama, G. (2017). Examining the relationship between service-learning participation and the educational success of underrepresented students. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 24 (1) 23-37.

The Center thanks Mary Knight-McKenna for contributing the initial content for this resource. The Center’s 2018-2020 graduate apprentice, Sophia Abbot, extended the content, with additional contributions from Elon Masters of Higher Education students Caroline Dean, Jillian Epperson, Tobin Finizio, Sierra Smith, and Taylor Swan.

Service Learning: A Complete Guide

Many new ways of learning have been developed over the last few years. However, of all those, service learning is among the most intriguing. Service learning is a form of learning that occurs when students learn through experience. However, service learning should not be confused with hands on learning or active learning .

Although it does include elements of those types of learning, service learning is distinguished by the fact that it is conducted during service in the community while still helping students to learn.

At its core, service learning is about getting students out of the classroom and into the community. There, a student can learn about a subject not only from teachers, but from people who have experience working in areas as diverse as park maintenance to small business growth.

These kinds of experiences are beneficial because they get students engaged wither real world figures who can connect their learning to practice. At the same time, students give back to their communities in real ways that can be beneficial.

Six Qualities of Service Learning

There are six qualities to service learning that characterize it. These include the following:

Integrative Learning
Reflective Learning
Contextualized Learning
Strength-based Learning
Reciprocal Learning
Lifelong Learning

The integrative aspect of service learning refers to the fact that learning cannot only occur in the classroom. Instead, learning also occurs when integrated into the real world. Service learning works on this basis by integrating classroom objectives into the community.

Under the guidance of instructors as well as other community leaders, students learn as they serve in the public. This approach makes students not only learners, but also positive members of the community and success is gauged not only when the student meets academic goals, but also as they succeed as members of the community.

The reflective elements of service learning is characterized by the fact that learners learn best when they have a chance to reflect on what they have done. In service learning, there is a great emphasis on learners critically reflecting upon their experience out in the community. This allows learners to identify not only what they learned, but also the value they gained as community members. They have to review their beliefs and values and challenge preexisting assumptions and judgments on the basis of their new experiences serving the community.

The third aspect of service learning is the contextualized aspect of learning. This means that service learning offers a unique chance to learn by contextualizing within the context of the larger community, which has not typically been an element of education. By placing learning out in the public, it helps to connect classroom learned knowledge to actual practice.

Students can actually see how their work plays out in the real world and impacts the surrounding community. Book knowledge does not communicate the fact that, in practice, much of what a person learned is impacted by unforeseen events. When a person puts into practice their learning, they quickly realize that the real world is full of events that can impact outcomes.

The strength-based aspect of service learning is a reference to the fact that in every community, there are certain strengths and resources. Community members themselves are a resource who serve as co-educators to students. In any given society, each individual brings their own set of strengths to the building of the community.

In service based learning, students are encouraged to draw on the strengths of many different types of community members. This approach helps students to learn the value of partnering with others in helping achieve community goals.

The reciprocal aspect of service based learning acknowledges the fact that all members of a community benefit when people make contributions into that community. Students invest their time, talent, and intellect to helping the community. In return, they receive the wisdom and experience of community members as well as come to a better understanding of the materials they’ve learned.

All of society is a give and take, with each member contributing. Students come to a better understanding of this fact as they engage with the pubic.

Finally, one of the greatest lessons that service based learning communicates is the fact that learning is lifelong. Knowledge is retained for longer because it is actually put into practice in a real world context. This context also has the benefit of being meaningful, since it involves engaging with other members of the community and creating positive outcomes for all members.

Students become more aware of the important role they can play while at the same time reinforcing their learning. As a result, not only is learning retained for longer, but students also learn the important role they can play in the community over their lifetimes as well.

Examples of Service Learning

It’s easy to conceive of the idea of learning while working in the community, but examples can help reinforce what service learning can look like. There are many ways that students can become engaged in the community, such as adopting a highway, cleaning up a local park, or working on a Habitat for Humanity building site. Each of these experiences can be used as an educational experience so long as a teacher plans in advance to use the experience to educate.

To go into these examples a little bit more in-depth, students working in a park can plant trees or grass. They might also do this in a wetlands parts of their community. Through this planting process, not only do students help to improve the environment, but they also learn more about biodiversity, plat life cycles, and environmental degradation.

Yet another example of service learning can be found when students help other students prepare chemistry demonstrations. In this example, more advanced students can help design age appropriate chemistry demonstrations. This can be part of a science fair, for example. In doing so, students help younger students to learn and grow as scientists themselves. At the same time, the teaching students can reinforce their own knowledge of STEM content and learn how to creatively approach scientific topics.

A third example of service learning is a particularly creative approach to service learning. In this example, English writing students volunteer time at a homeless shelter, serving food and socializing with guests.

Following the experience, students can then write an essay arguing their perspective on homelessness, social safety nets, and wealth in the country. This approach to service learning helps those who are less fortunate while giving students a very real topic on which to write.

Even a class like accounting classes can make room for service learning. Accounting students can develop presentations on business credit and deliver those presentations to members of the community or those clients attending local, small business incubators. This kind of approach to service learning helps students solidify their own knowledge of the business environment, accounting, and financial processes. At the same time, the student also contributes to local small businesses and, perhaps, helps them contribute to job creation in the community.

As one final example, students in a marketing class could be asked to devise a marketing strategy meant to popularize a local housing organization. In this example, students can get to know the brand better, identify ways of making the brand more widely known, and develop strategies that area based around both traditional and social media. This strategy helps not only to improve the marketing skills of these students but helps connect them to a local organization committed to benefiting those without affordable housing. This is a particularly timely topic in communities where the cost of living has become an increasingly sharp point of debate.

The Service Learning Unit

Critical to making service learning an actual learning experience is the importance of developing a well thought out lesson. Fortunately, educator Heather Wolpert-Gawron lists a simple four step process that can help teachers to effectively teach using a service learning model. This approach is largely distinct from the actual service learning experience and occurs largely in the classroom, before and after the community experience.

The first of these steps is the pre-reflection phase. During this phase, students must think about the ways in which they can help their communities. If the teacher has a specific organization in mind that they want to partner with, then students can begin by thinking about how their work with that organization will benefit others.

The second step to learning includes research. Students should research materials related to the organization they will be helping with, such as statistics related to homelessness, pollution, or other issues that are important to the community.

The third stage of the service learning unit, the presentation, involves presenting these findings. Presentation can take on many forms. It can occur after the class has participated with an organization or before. Presentations made after the event can include materials and media taken from the service learning experience. Some presentations may need to occur before the event and justify, using research and evidence, why the class should be working with an organization. This should all be presented using images, graphs, and other multimedia elements that help illustrate the urgency of the problem.

Finally, after the lesson has been completed and the event finished, students should have a time to reflect. They should think back upon their experiences and consider what they’ve learned about the subject, how their own views have changed, and how they intend to address the topic in the future.

The Benefits of Service Learning

One of the most frequently cited problems that educators have with service learning is their concern regarding whether students will really benefit from this approach. However, research seems to indicate that this approach to learning is helpful to students. In one study, 80% of students indicated that they found their service learning projects to be very beneficial. They felt that, because of their experience, they became better communicators and became more aware of needs that the surrounding community faced.

A second study suggested that students who participated in these kinds of community projects saw their grade point average rise. These students felt more engaged with their materials are were more interested in their course content.

Service learning is beneficial because, with a little creative thinking, teachers can find ways of aligning it with student learning outcomes. However, it’s also beneficial for a number of other reasons. It helps increase student engagement while improving communication skills, and important soft skill that students will need in the workplace.

More highly engaged students are also students who generally perform better in school. Not only are they academically more successful, but they also tend to persist to graduation and have better attendance rates. Beyond all of these school based benefits, service learning also has the potential to benefit society in the long term.

Students who more frequently connect with the community and are more highly aware of community issues will carry those lessons on with them into adulthood and make them more aware of the importance of addressing community issues.

Case Study in Service Learning

To truly see how service learning occurs, you don’t have to look farther than “ Of the Student, by the Student “, a program hosted by the Journey National Heritage Area. In one example of service learning, students were taken to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

These students analyzed primary source documents from the park then took place in the creation of six mini-documentaries which told the history of the park and struggles of slavery leading to the John Brown Raid at Harpers Ferry. These students put together real, viable mini-documentaries on the basis of what they learned while also sharpening their critical thinking skills and critical reading skills at the same time. Students had to evaluate sources and make judgments about which document to include.

Yet another case study in service learning, “ A Forest for Every Classroom ,” was hosted by the National Park Service. In this program, teachers partnered with various organizations committed to the environment. “A Forest for Every Classroom” helped teachers better instruct students regarding the conservation of public lands by taking students to real locations. During their time, students came toa better understanding of the natural resources in their community and the importance of preserving those resources.

It’s clear from the existing case studies that service learning is naturally best suited for classrooms that can align their lessons with on location learning in areas that are of value for the community. However, with some creative thinking, even classes that don’t seem naturally oriented toward service learning, such as math classrooms, can be adjusted to accommodate some service learning lessons throughout the year.

Even including one or two such lessons during the school year may help to promote higher engagement and excitement among students, leading to better outcomes for those students in the long-term.

Service Learning

This guide provides insight into service learning including the benefits of using it in the classroom, ideas for implementation, and sample assignments.

An academic course that involves community engagement — more widely known as service learning or community-based learning — is “an approach to teaching and learning in which students use academic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs.” This type of civic engagement aligns closely with Boston University’s core institutional values. As the BU Mission Statement emphasizes, “We remain dedicated to our founding principles: that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community — local and international.”

Note: In its focus on addressing real-world issues, service learning is often seen as a kind of experiential learning. Consult CTL’s guide on experiential learning to learn more.

What are the benefits?

Multiple researchers have found that engaging in service learning helps students develop leadership skills, strengthen their sense of belonging at their home institution, cultivate personal values, and embrace self-efficacy (Eyler & Giles, 1999). Furthermore, such experiences increase student commitment to promoting racial understanding, commitment to activism, and the likelihood of pursuing a career in medicine, education, or another service-related profession (Astin et. al, 2000).

In order to harness these benefits, students must engage in meaningful reflection to help them process and make sense of their service learning experience. Reflection prompts students to assume an active role in the meaning-making process by “direc[ting] the student’s attention to new interpretations of events” (Eyler & Giles, 1999) as well as inviting them to consider how their beliefs and identities (as well as others’) are informed by social, economic, and other structural forces.

How do I structure service learning in my course?

Dr. Sheila Cordner, Lecturer of Humanities at BU, recommends the following steps for incorporating service learning into your course:

Decide on the role of service learning in the course : Service learning can be a central focus of a course in its theme and content — requiring students to participate in the community organization throughout the semester — or it can simply be incorporated into the course as part of one specific assignment. For instance, in Dr. Cordner’s introductory Humanities course at BU, the service-learning component is part of one assignment that serves as a capstone to the course, requiring a one-time site visit (with preparation beforehand and reflection afterwards). It can be helpful to explain the extent of service learning in the course syllabus, especially in terms of learning outcomes, assignments, and grading requirements.
Identify community partners : Many organizations in Boston regularly welcome college students. The BU Community Service Center also offers a number of volunteer opportunities for BU students, and staff members are willing to help faculty develop service learning opportunities for courses and to speak to students in related courses.
How often and how many times will the students visit?
Does the organization require an orientation for its volunteers? If so, could the orientation for students be incorporated into one of the site visits?
What information does the organization want the students to know before beginning the project? For example, if it is a nursing home, what would be helpful for students to know in advance about the population of residents?
Consider creating a simple rubric that the community organizations could complete after the students have participated (this may be particularly helpful if the faculty member is not accompanying students on the site visits).
When scheduling site visits to community organizations, help students factor in travel time.
When introducing the service learning assignment(s), emphasize the importance of building a partnership with the organization instead of conducting an act of service.
Discuss the differences between “community service” and “service learning” conducted in relation to specific course material.
Consider inviting other BU students who have experience with the community partner to share information with current students.
Establish clear grading guidelines: How will the students be assessed? By an ongoing journal kept of their experiences? By a final reflection paper? How will their attendance at the site visits be evaluated?

Reflection and Sample Assignments

A key difference between “community service” and “service learning” is that in the case of service learning, students are expected to reflect on how their experience partnering with a community organization impacts their learning of course material.

One effective way to evaluate students’ service learning is to develop a writing assignment with a reflection component, which specifically requires students to connect their service experience with course themes, questions, and texts. One popular method is the “What? So What? Now What?” model, which aligns with the different stages of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (see figure below) and can be easily adapted to reflective journal writing.

Agreeing that guided reflection is essential to the service learning experience, many educators have turned to Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle. This process depicts the relationship between community engagement and critical reflection.

Service-Learning and Experiential Education, The Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College

Here, after completing an aspect of their service learning experience (Step 1), students move through three phases to make sense of their experience. These include reflecting on the experience itself (Step 2: reflective observation), drawing conclusions from this reflection (Step 3: abstract conceptualization), and then planning for the future or trying out new ideas (Step 4: active experimentation). This cyclical process thus includes the integration of:

knowledge — the concepts, facts, and information acquired through formal learning and past experience;
activity — the application of knowledge to a “real world” setting; and
reflection — the analysis and synthesis of knowledge and activity to create new knowledge” (Indiana University, 2006, n.p.).

Other examples of reflective writing can be found here and here .

Additional means of evaluation often include an oral presentation, or a digital project. For instance, Digication , a free ePortfolio platform supported by BU, can be used to help students showcase and reflect on their cocurricular learning experience.

Here are some sample rubrics for specific types of assessments:

Reflective journals for field biology and clinical medicine
Presentation, engineering
Portfolios for legal externship and English/writing

Additional resources

Reflection in Service Learning (Indiana University – Bloomington)
Service Learning sample syllabi (Campus Compact)
Service-Learning course descriptions by discipline (Loyola University Maryland)
Teaching Through Community Engagement (Vanderbilt University)

References and further reading

Astin, Alexander & J. Vogelgesang, Lori & K. Ikeda, Elaine & A. Yee, Jennifer. (2000). How Service Learning Affects Students. Higher Education Research Institute. University of California, Los Angeles.

Eyler, Janet; Giles, Dwight E. Jr.; and Gray, Charlene J., “At A Glance: What We Know about The Effects of Service-Learning on Students, Faculty, Institutions and Communities, 1993-1999” (1999). Bibliographies . 5. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcebibliography/5

Eyler, Janet, and D.E. Giles. (1996). A Practitioners Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning . Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

Eyler, J. (2002). Reflection: Linking Service and Learning—Linking Students and Communities . Journal of Social Issues, 58: 517–534.

Jacoby, Barbara. (2015). Service-Learning Essentials: Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sheila Cordner , co-author of this guide, would be happy to be in touch with faculty interested in pursuing service learning in their courses: [email protected] .

Prepared by Sheila Cordner and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Boston University

You may also be interested in:

Experiential learning, assessing learning, embodied learning: teaching and learning with reacting to the past, ctl guide to the individual in community hub area, active learning, universal design for learning: an introduction, turning inside out: learning beyond the classroom, project-based learning.

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What is Service-Learning?

Get to Know Baltimore

When searching for definitions of service-learning in the literature or on the web, you will find hundreds of definitions. However, most definitions include many of the same components.

A brief, simple definition of service-learning: “Service, combined with learning, adds value to each and transforms both.” (Honnet & Poulsen, 1989, p.1)

SOURCE'S Preferred Definition of Service-Learning

From Community-Campus Partnership for Health (CCPH): Service-learning is a structured learning experience that combines community service with preparation and reflection. Students engaged in service-learning provide community service in response to community-identified concerns and learn about the context in which service is provided, the connection between their service and their academic coursework, and their roles as citizens.

Service-learning differs from traditional clinical education in the health professions in that:

Service-learning strives to achieve a balance between service and learning objectives - in service-learning, partners must negotiate the differences in their needs and ex-pectations.
Service-learning places an emphasis on addressing community concerns and broad determinants of health
In service-learning, there is the integral involvement of community partners - service-learning involves a principle-centered partnership between communities and health professions schools.
Service-learning emphasizes reciprocal learning - In service-learning, traditional definitions of "faculty," "teacher" and "learner" are intentionally blurred. We all learn from each other.
Service-learning emphasizes reflective practice - In service-learning, reflection facilitates the connection between practice and theory and fosters critical thinking.
Service-learning places an emphasis on developing citizenship skills and achieving social change - many factors influence health and quality of life. The provision of health services is not often the most important factor. In service-learning, students place their roles as health professionals and citizens in a larger societal context.

(Citation: Seifer SD. (1998). Service-learning: Community-campus partnerships for health professions education. Academic Medicine, 73(3):273-277.)

Important Elements of Service-Learning

From the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse:

A form of experiential education
Addresses human and community issues and needs
Learning occurs through active participation in thoughtfully organized service
Includes structured reflection linking experience to learning
Coordinated in true collaboration with the community
Links to curriculum and/or co-curriculum but must include structured time for reflection
Leads to acquisition of new skills, knowledge, leadership and a sense of caring and social responsibility

Types of Service-Learning

Co-curricular service-learning.

Students engage in thoughtfully planned service that meets a community-identified need. Meaningful, structured reflection on the needs of the community, service and its impact on personal values is an important aspect of cultivating an effective service-learning experience.

Academic Service-Learning

Anchored in a specific course, faculty and students work to meet a community need and advance their understanding of course content. Structured reflection is integrated into the curriculum to foster connections between their service, the curriculum of the class, and its impact on their personal values and community engagement.

What Service-Learning is Not

An add-on to an existing curriculum
An episodic volunteer program
Logging a set number of community service hours in order to graduate
Compensatory service assigned as a form of punishment by the courts or by school administrators
Only for high school or college students
One-sided: benefiting only students or only the community

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health

Service Learning. http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/servicelearningres.html Honnet, E.P., & Poulsen, S. (1989). Principles of good practice in combining service and learning. Wingspread Special Report.

Racine WI: The Johnson Foundation.National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

Service-Learning Is… http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/service-learning_is/index.php#rsrcs

TOOLKIT HOMEPAGE NEXT SECTION: Elements of Thoughtful Service

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What is Service Learning? A Complete Guide for Educators

Published on: 11/30/2023

By Julia Bashore

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Community service has been part of the public education sphere for many years. As a teacher myself, I truly believe that encouraging young people to step up for their communities has many benefits. Whether it’s cleaning up a local park or playground, helping the homeless, fostering pets up for adoption, or raising money for a community need, it’s always a victory when young people can take action to better their world.

Some teachers take community service even further. Instead of simply requiring their students to spend a certain number of hours doing volunteer work, these teachers build their learning objectives around the community service itself. Entire units of study are thoughtfully aligned with public outreach objectives and projects, so that students learn academic content as they work together to serve their communities.

This is what’s known as service learning.

Why Do Some Teachers Choose Service Learning?

Service learning is a valuable way to help students connect what they’re learning in the classroom to the real world. By engaging in social outreach activities, students get a firsthand look at how what they’re learning actually leads to positive change.

I’ve found that service learning can create a higher level of student engagement, as well. Ask any teacher you know, and they’ll tell you that when students are able to work on projects that actually matter to them and their communities, they’re much more likely to put in their best efforts.

Knowing there’s more at stake than just a final grade on their report cards can also motivate those students who might typically be disinterested in school.

A student who may not care much about math might care passionately about beautifying their favorite local park – and suddenly, the equations required to determine how much potting soil or fencing is needed become real, tangible issues, instead of just dull lines in the workbook.

Basing the knowledge and content that students need to know in a real-world setting is an incredibly powerful way to generate legitimate interest. As the author of one recent report noted , “students find personal meaning when service-learning exposes them to encounters that influence their future educational or career goals.”

Filling a need in the community at the same time makes service learning a win-win situation.

How is Service Learning Different?

Service learning is similar in many ways to Project-Based Learning . Both models of teaching are anchored around real-world issues, and both aim to empower students by letting them collaborate and find solutions instead of just memorizing facts.

Service learning, however, has a slightly more defined scope. Projects for Project-Based Learning can be centered around a wide array of topics, problems, or challenges. With service learning, however, any projects completed by students will be directly related to improving the community.

On the other hand, this doesn’t mean that service learning is just community service with a new name. In order for service learning to be academically enriching, teachers need to tie their students’ efforts back to the standards of learning their students are working to achieve.

This means creating the unit with specific, academic learning as the end-goal, rather than just hoping students enjoy the time they spend doing public works.

How Can Teachers Make Service Learning Effective?

Getting the most out of a service learning unit involves some careful planning on the teacher’s end. When done with intention and forethought, though, these units of study can be some of the most rewarding experiences you enjoy with your students all year!

Check out the steps below to get an idea of how some educators go about structuring their service learning units to make them as beneficial as possible.

The first step to making service learning a reality lies in generating ideas about what your community needs. Is pollution or litter an issue in your hometown? Are local charities in need of assistance, funding, or extra manpower? Is there an outdoor area around your school that you might turn into a nature trail or reading nook?

Depending on their ages, students can join in at any stage of the brainstorming process. Younger students might choose topics presented by the teacher, while older students could conduct research on their own using news sites (think GetEPIC or Newsela ) to find issues they think are important.

Allowing your students to vote on the cause they most support is a meaningful way to add value to your service learning unit. Even if the project your class ends up pursuing isn’t unanimously voted in, by allowing every member of the class to have a voice you send a powerful message of respect for each student’s ideas.

Make Connections

Once you have several good ideas on the table, it’s time to start connecting them to what you’re responsible for teaching your students. How can you connect each project to grade-level skills and content?

Many projects and ideas lend themselves naturally to reading, writing, and research, so begin thinking about how you will intentionally weave these skills into the unit.

Adding in math, science, history, or civics standards can also enrich your service learning unit. The only limit here is creativity, so think outside the box as you make the connections between filling a need in your community to helping your students learn new material.

Get the Ball Rolling

Once you’ve landed on a meaningful project and determined how you’ll incorporate grade-level skills, it’s time to get going! An easy way to get everyone on the same page is by letting students start backward, by looking at the final rubric you’ll use to evaluate their service learning.

Go over each step in your community service project, and make sure students understand how the process is linked to what they’re learning in class. Give students plenty of time to ask questions – at the beginning, and throughout the unit.

Whether you plan to have your students work in groups, in partnerships, or independently, it’s important to factor in time for communication as your service learning unit plays out. Check in frequently to make sure everyone is staying on track and adhering to the guidelines you’ve set out.

Evaluate with Care

Throughout your service learning unit, it’s important to provide your students with thoughtful feedback. Stick to your rubric while still making sure to commend every student who is working hard to improve the community.

Since service learning has an academic component, it’s important not to rely solely on the “A for effort” model. Instead, make sure your students have upheld the rigorous standards you’ve set out, and carefully guide them back to the path to success if they seem to be straying. Remember: they’re not just passive volunteers, but active learners solving a problem in their world!

Evaluating their work, either by team or individual student, is an essential piece to keeping a service learning unit focused and productive.

Let Students Reflect On Their Work

Teacher evaluations are important, but student-led critiques also play an important role in service learning units. As your unit comes to a close, allow students to conference either with you or with one another to think back on what went well and what they might change in future projects.

Reflection can also take place in a celebratory way. Letting students share their hard work outside the classroom can be an excellent way to help them really appreciate the impact of their new knowledge and all they’ve accomplished.

Whether it’s a schoolwide event, a website to be shared, or a display or performance at a community center or park, getting your students out there to share what they’ve achieved can really drive home how meaningful their work has been!

Where Does Service Learning Fit In?

One of the things I love about service learning is how adaptable it is for different grade levels and subject areas. That said, this type of unit is especially well-suited to civics classrooms, as these standards of learning are typically centered around community to begin with.

That’s not to say, however, that service learning can’t be a wonderful way to tackle other subjects too! Since reading and research are important steps to completing any project, Language Arts standards are a natural fit for most projects, regardless of grade level or student ability.

Projects based around environmental issues like water conservation or pollution tend to align well with science standards. Meanwhile, preserving local institutions or lending a hand with local governments can be a great way to connect to history content.

Wherever your service learning takes place and whatever academic standards it includes, teachers should take steps to ensure that it’s an impactful experience for all of their students.

By scaffolding expectations for students with special needs and providing necessary accommodations for those who might face language barriers, teachers can keep every member of the class engaged and empowered in meaningful community work and learning.

Does Service Learning Really Work?

When done correctly, service learning can be even more effective than traditional classroom models. Students access the concepts, knowledge, and skills that they need to know by actively stepping in and helping their communities. This gives what they’re learning a great deal more “sticking power.”

After all, it’s easy to tell kids that they can change the world. It’s much more powerful to actually let them do it.

Other Useful Resources

What is Adaptive Learning?
What is Just in Time Learning?
What is Microlearning?
What is Problem Based Learning?
What is Project Based Learning?

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What is Problem-Based Learning? A Complete Guide for Educators

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An Introduction to Service Learning

Published by Sri Setiawan Modified over 5 years ago

Presentation on theme: "An Introduction to Service Learning"— Presentation transcript:

This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents The position paper of the Association for Middle Level Education.

A DAY IN PRE-K CLARKE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Clarke County School District’s Vision Our vision is for all students to graduate as life-long learners.

The Characteristics and Conditions Associated with Exemplary Middle Schools.

THE EARLY FRENCH IMMERSION PROGRAM Halifax Regional School Board INFORMATION SESSION 2015.

FTCE 3.3 Identify and Apply Motivational Theories and Techniques That Enhance Student Learning Learning – Relatively permanent improvement in performance.

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC)

Conceptual Framework for the College of Education Created by: Dr. Joe P. Brasher.

1 PI 34 and RtI Connecting the Dots Linda Helf Teacher, Manitowoc Public School District Chairperson, Professional Standards Council for Teachers.

Thomas College Name Major Expected date of graduation address

The Areas of Interaction are…

Chapter 1 Defining Social Studies. Chapter 1: Defining Social Studies Thinking Ahead What do you associate with or think of when you hear the words social.

Christine Yang March 17, As a teacher it is critical for me to demonstrate mastery of technology teacher standards. ISTE-NETS Teacher Standards.

PBL Instructional Design. PBL Instructional Design Name: Name of PBL: Grade Level: Content Area:

Creative Curriculum and GOLD Assessment: Early Childhood Competency Based Evaluation System By Carol Bottom.

Teaching Children About Food Safety Food Safety Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators.

Leadership/Service Learning Who Says You Can’t Change The World ?

Teaching and Learning Cycle and Differentiated Instruction A Perfect Fit Rigor Relevance Quality Learning Environment Differentiation.

Authentic service-learning experiences, while almost endlessly diverse, have some common characteristics: Positive, meaningful and real to the participants.

Developing Relationships Developing Relationships Teneisha Rogers EDU617 Instructor Lisa Galloway 10/12/2015.

Professional Teaching Portfolio Valerie Waloven

About project

Our Mission

What the Heck Is Service Learning?

Here’s a simple definition for service learning with details and resources for planning a unit.

Three teenagers with one adult handing out canned foods to those in need.

According to Vanderbilt University, service learning is defined as: "A form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves."

Wikipedia explains service learning as: "An educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs."

That second definition is easier to comprehend, but it still feels more complicated than it needs to be. How about this: In service learning, students learn educational standards through tackling real-life problems in their community.

What Does Service Learning Look Like?

Community service, as many of us know, has been a part of educational systems for years. But what takes service learning to the next level is that it combines serving the community with the rich academic frontloading, assessment, and reflection typically seen in project-based learning.

In a service-learning unit, goals are clearly defined, and according to The Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement , there are many kinds of projects that classrooms can adopt. Classes can be involved in direct issues that are more personal and face-to-face, like working with the homeless. Involvement can be indirect where the students are working on broader issues, perhaps an environmental problem that is local. The unit can also include advocacy that centers on educating others about the issues. Additionally, the unit can be research-based where the students act to curate and present on information based on public needs.

Here are several ideas for service-learning units:

Work on a Habitat for Humanity building site.
Pack up food bags for the homeless.
Adopt-a-Highway.
Set up a tutoring system or reading buddies with younger students.
Clean up a local park or beach.
Launch a drought and water awareness campaign.
Create a “pen pal” video conferencing group with a senior citizens home.

The Breakdown of a Service-Learning Unit

It’s not enough to help others. Deep service learning isn’t afraid to tackle the rigorous standards along with the service. You might find it helpful to split your unit into four parts:

1. Pre-Reflection: Have your students brainstorm in writing the ways in which they can help their world or their local community. Check out Newsela , CNN Student News , or their local papers for articles on current events and issues of interest to get in informational reading, as well.

2. Research: Guide your students in techniques to help them search wisely and efficiently. They should conduct online polls (crowdsourcing) and create graphs to chart their findings. Students should summarize their findings using embedded images, graphs, and other multimedia elements. (Try an infographic tool like Piktochart .)

3. Presentation: Have your students present their findings to the school, each other, and outside stakeholders. They can develop posters to promote their call to action, write a letter campaign, or develop a simple website using Weebly . Students can “go on the road” with their findings to local schools and organizations or produce screencasts for the school website.

4. Reflection: Ask your students to think back on what they gained from journeying through this project. Have them reflect on the following:

What did you learn about the topic?
What did you learn about yourself?
How do you now think differently?

Assessing Service Learning

Another element that tends to make service learning unique is that multiple stakeholders assess students:

Community assessment: The community partners can get their say as well by assessing the students. They may even get voice in developing the rubric or criteria for evaluating the students.

Teacher assessment: Along with evaluating students on the content, you might additionally assess them on how well they accomplished the writing, graphing, researching, or speaking.

Student assessment: Your students might conduct self-assessment as a form of reflection. They also may assist in developing the rubric that other stakeholders use to assess them.

What we’re talking about here is a form of engagement. It’s about leveraging the need to do something good in the world as a means to help kids hit their learning objectives. It’s about teaching empathy as well as literacy. It’s about teaching compassion as well as composition. It’s about teaching advocacy as well as algebra.

What is your take on or experience with service learning? Please share in the comments section below.

Service-Learning

Learning by Doing

Students who take a course with a service-learning component will engage in community projects that are related to the course content, and reflect on the experience in class discussion or written work. UWM has many service-learning course offerings so that students in various disciplines and majors can learn through this powerful pedagogical practice.

General Resources

Student Timesheet
Service-Learning Timeline
Existing Placement Form
Form for Multiple Service-Learning Classes

Additional Resources

Site specific resources.

MPS Background Check Steps
MPS Volunteer Account Creation Instructions
Volunteer Application Form
Background Check Form

Contact our office

Florida State University

FSU | The Center for Leadership & Service

The Center for Leadership & Service

Get Involved

Service Learning

Service learning is experiential education that combines classroom instruction with organized service to the community, emphasizing civic engagement, reflection and application of learning. Service learning includes academic preparation, service that meets an identified community need and structured reflection. A service-learning experience can enhance learning and development, encourage civic responsibility, foster community-based scholarship, provide a forum for leadership development and address social issues.

Presentations and Orientation

The Service-Learning Orientation is designed for courses where students go into the community to serve. It is our hope that this conversation will reduce the misunderstandings and mutual confusion that sometimes occurs in a service-learning situation. We also offer a brief service-learning presentation which introduces the topic of service-learning and some basic information about being a guest in another community. Either of these offerings can be presented during regularly scheduled class time as a supplement to the class conversation about and introduction to the service-learning component.

Service Learning Orientation Time Required: 45 minutes The Service-Learning Orientation is designed for any student going out into the community to serve as part of a class. Topics covered include how to be a considerate service-learning citizen, nonprofit realities, common tensions between students and their agencies, and quality reflection. We hope this conversation will reduce the misunderstandings and mutual confusion that sometimes occurs in a service-learning situation, and therefore contribute to a better experience for everyone involved.

Service Learning Presentation Time Required: 15 - 20 minutes This Service Learning presentation is designed for academic service-learning courses. During this session, the presenter will introduce the participants to service-learning, the center, potential options for service-learning to be completed (to be determined in consultation with the faculty member), and the ServScript Program.

Faculty Resources

The "Service Learning Information for Faculty" packet provides information about structuring service learning and connecting with community agencies. Service-learning staff are also able to meet with faculty to provide suggestions and resources for service learning. The supporting documents may also be useful for service-learning instructors.

Service Learning Information for Faculty.pdf
Service Learning Success Handout for Students.pdf
Service Learning Hour Log.pdf
On-Site Mid-Term Evaluation Form.pdf

For more information about the Service Learning Program or to schedule an orientation or presentation, contact Joi Phillips at 850-644-9567 or [email protected] .

10 creative service learning projects to inspire your students

Service-learning is a fantastic pedagogie to use in the classroom to create student engagement and facilitate student’s personal growth. Service-learning projects enable students to connect what is being learned in the classroom with practical experience with the community. Not only does this give students a different insight into their lives, but challenges their perspective of the world around them and how they fit into it.

What learning objectives do service-learning projects answer to?

Service-learning is a versatile instructional strategy that can be applied to several different subjects across different grades. It is particularly useful in achieving learning objectives that involve [1] :

Critical thinking – the synthesis and analysis of information to solve complex problems with multiple possible solutions
Problem-solving – the application of concepts and knowledge to practice in new contexts
Communication skills – effective written, oral and visual communication
Teamwork – working collaboratively with others, especially across difference and diversity
Responsibility – exercise well-reasoned judgement and taking ownership of learning

Citizenship – using the disciplines knowledge base to address social issues, as well as developing the skills and habits for critical reflection

These different learning objectives are built into the five stages of service-learning, which include:

Investigate – Learners understand that investigating the needs of the community makes service effective
Preparation and Planning – Learners understand that preparation and planning ensure that the goals and needs are met
Action – Learners understand that implementing a plan of action generates change and results
Reflection (trans-disciplinary)- Learners understand that reflection is ongoing, prompting deep thinking and analysis about themselves and their relationship to society
Demonstration/Communication (trans-disciplinary) – Learners recognize that through demonstration and communication they solidify their understanding and evoke a response from others.

Throughout the five stages of any service-learning project, students are challenged to expand their thinking of the world around them, which leads to personal growth. The skills learnt in each stage of the service-learning project creates opportunities for personal growth in terms of how students think and act. This fosters passion and empathy, helping students understand diversity and the challenges that others are going through and how to find solutions to them.

What do service-learning projects look like in and out of classrooms?

The benefits of service-learning within the school environment are endless, although finding the right projects to take part in can sometimes be a challenge. When deciding on a service-learning project, it is essential to look at the needs, challenges, issues and problems within your community. Finding a community partner who is open to working with your school and developing projects around their needs and your learning outcomes is essential. We advise on partnerships with people, animals and the environment to provide voice and choice with students and projects. We have selected a few examples and these can be found on our Serve Learn Youtube channel: LINK

Take a look at some of our favorite examples of service-learning projects below [2][3] :

Health and wellness focus

Create a campaign focused on health or prevention topics
Establish a project that aims to provide elderly members of the community with companionship
Learn and create a program around good nutrition and its importance to the community

Community service focus

Survey your school or neighborhood to find out what people think the issues are that need to be addressed. Publish and present the results
Find, interview and write the histories of diverse people in your community
Hold a clothing drive and deliver items to homeless shelters or communities in need

Environmental focus

Fundraise for money to plant trees or gardens in the community that will feed people
Grow trees for reforestation in the local community
Create community gardens to help feed those in need
Test school and community drinking water for dangerous chemicals and inform people of the results
Clean up a vacant lot and landscape with native vegetation
Research the need to reduce litter inside and outside your school or other public areas and propose a solution and action campaign

Safety focus

Produce an anti-crime, anti-drug, anti-violence play and perform it for the community
Create a public service announcement (PSA) on a safety issue
Create a play that teaches young children how to stay safe at home while their parents are away and perform this in underprivileged schools
Hold a silent auction in support of a cause, with artwork created by students around a concept such as Human Rights
Have students host a holiday art class, create art with community partners
Use recycling to produce products to generate an income for a partner

Inclusion focus

Make maps of your community for newcomers and highlight useful resources
Create and distribute a list of hotlines or agency links for kids who might need help
Make posters or collages that promote tolerance and understanding of difference. Post them in your school
Start an anti-bullying campaign
Set up a buddy system at your school for kids with special needs

Animal focus

Create fliers to distribute to pet owners about the nutritional needs of pets
Start a bird sanctuary. Build bird feeders, plant trees and write journal entries about birds for younger grades
Knit nests, pouches, or build bird boxes for wildlife sanctuaries

Internal school focus

Design and paint a mural for the outside of your school to inspire learning
Create a student-run conference on a concept such as poverty, diversity, equity, sustainability to build understanding of global and local issues. Have booths, breakout sessions and speakers

Literacy focus

Develop booklets on cultures within your school or community. Give them to the library, partners and the Chamber of Commerce
Translate Advocacy pamphlets and flyers into other languages to help community members who do not speak English
Help teach literacy to younger students in homework help classes

Creative focus

Write a children’s reading book, then read and give away books to children in hospitals and community partners
Design and decorate duvets, pillows and blankets, knit hats, gloves for homeless children in the winter
Create a play for an audience on an issue for advocacy

Sports focus

Create a tournament for partners, students, community to participate for a cause
Organize a fun run/walk for cancer
Seek sponsorship for a cause for a period of time – run, skip, play a sport, swim, etc.

Technology focus

Create a website for a community partner
Create PSA blogs on a website for advocacy of a cause
Utilize social media for various causes, promote UN SDGs, bring awareness to an issue such as pollution, human rights or the extinction of animals

Service-learning projects are not only beneficial for student’s personal growth they help the community by meeting verified needs through various types of action (direct, indirect, advocacy, research). It is so versatile that service learning projects can be implemented across several different subjects and grades.

Students develop passion through being involved in service learning projects that they are interested in. Providing students with agency-voice and choice of what project they would like to be involved with the community generates enthusiasm and engagement.

Insight into your community needs and a spark of creativity is all you need to make a difference.

[1] Jacoby,B, Howard,J. (2015).Service-Learning Essentials: Questions, Answers and Lessons Learned. United States of America, Jossey-Bass. PG81

[2] The School for Ethical Education. (2017). Project Ideas for Service Learning. Viewed on 24 January 2020. https://www.ethicsed.org/project-ideas-for-service-learning.html

[3] West. D. (2018). 9 Powerful Service-Learning Projects to Inspire Your Students. The Art of Education University. Viewed on 24 January 2020. https://theartofeducation.edu/2017/10/24/october-art-purpose-service-learning-ideas-teach-kids-real-world-learning/

Tara brings passion and a deep understanding of service learning, rooted in years of experience, to her training. Her training builds bridges from theory to implementation while generously sharing her resources and knowledge to ensure our success. Tara works with the whole school (administration, teachers, students, and SL leaders) to build a sustainable program that is embedded in the curriculum and tied to the mission. She energized a faculty on a Friday afternoon, no easy feat, leaving them with a desire to learn more about SL and to become more involved. I cannot recommend Tara highly enough.

Tara Barton

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Service learning Service learning is a pedagogy that links academic learning to student-directed community service and intellectual enquiry and reflection. It enriches the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility and strengthens communities.

Changing a service program to a Service learning program Service program: For Clean Up Australia Day, a teacher at a local school decides that students will clean up part of the banks of the Brisbane River.

Re-orient to include student direction and academic learning • consult with the local community • vote to clean up part of the banks of the Brisbane River • plan the project • observe, take inventory and clean up the river bank • analyse what they found; hypothesise about its sources • look at the impact of the pollutants on flora and fauna • share the results with the local council and residents • offer suggestions for reducing pollution – perhaps by writing a brochure and developing a web site.

Links to curriculum • Maths – analysing survey results • SOSE – voting, contacting the council • Science – analysing water and pollutants • Geography – comparing water quality of different rivers and maps of watersheds • English – writing a brochure or a report • Art – designing a brochure or a map • Information Technology – developing a web site with resources for preventing pollution.

Enrich the process with intellectual inquiry and reflection • Investigate a wide range of concepts and values including, for example: ‘community’ and ‘responsibility’. • Draw distinctions between different kinds of responsibility – students may not be causally or legally responsible for the pollution, but do they have some social or moral responsibility to improve the situation? • Examine their assumptions about moral responsibility by asking, for example: ‘What is the extent of our moral responsibility? How do we judge this? What is it to be a good citizen?’ Making such distinctions develops and sharpens thinking skills.

Service learning: • links to academic content and standards • involves young people in helping to determine and meet real, defined community needs • includes on-going, meaningful reflection and analysis • is reciprocal in nature, benefiting both the community and the service providers • can be used in any subject area so long as it is appropriate to learning goals • works at all ages, even among young children. (America’s National Commission on Service-learning)

Service learning is not: • an episodic volunteer program • an add-on to an existing school curriculum • logging a set number of community service hours in order to graduate • compensatory service assigned as a form of punishment by the school or the courts • only for high school or tertiary students • only for ‘at risk’ students • one-sided - benefiting only students or only community. (America’s National Commission on Service-Learning)

Types of service Formal service: Informal service: For example: Shopping for an elderly neighbour Helping to stack chairs after an event For example: • Driving for meals-on-wheels • Being on a roster to serve morning tea once a month

Types of formal service • Direct service which involves hands on, direct contact, for example working on the Mission Beat Bus. • Indirect service which involves hands-on, but not direct contact, for example knitting blankets for a Winter Appeal. • Advocacy which requires speaking out on behalf of an issue. • Research which requires finding out information. Combining research, service and advocacy achieves very powerful outcomes for students learning about society.

Models of service learning • Embed service-learning into the curriculum of a single subject in a single year. • Use service-learning as the vehicle for a ‘rich task’ approach. • Have service-learning as a single, stand-alone course - elective or compulsory. • Take a whole-of school approach, in which each year works on a facet of the project. • Take an inter-school approach. • Have a ‘service event’ which individual teachers then link to their curriculum.

Implementation Overview • Decide what you want to achieve – learning and service. • Start small - • Extend existing service activities into service-learning activities. • Focus on projects within the class, within the school, with a feeder school, or with projects that require limited external visits. • Get support from the Principal. • Develop a support team within the school. • Plan, plan, plan - thoroughly. • Involve students as much as possible - in the initial planning and throughout the project. • Get help - trainee teachers, retired teachers, parents etc. • Publicise your success – throughout and finally. • Make a school copy of your service-learning folder.

Getting Started Identify ‘starting points’, for example: • curriculum outcomes achieved through activities - ‘Develops and implements own ideas in response to an investigation of needs and wants.’ • curriculum outcomes which address values - ‘Describes how Australian people, systems and communities are globally interconnected and recognizes global responsibility.’ • existing programs – Anti-Bullying. • existing community engagement activities - Anzac Day. • interests of parents and/or students. • work of local community organisations.

Enriching the ‘starting points’ When enriching the ‘starting points’, ask: - In this activity/area of the curriculum/area of interest, how can: • values that are implicit be made explicit, reflected upon, modeled by teachers and acted upon • student direction be encouraged • learning be made explicit – academic learning (links to the curriculum) and other types of learning. • intellectual inquiry and reflection be included • the community be served (initially it might be the school community) • parents be involved • the project be celebrated • the project be evaluated?

Introducing service learning – Step 1 Quality matters! First - design good quality service learning.

Researched based practices that improve student outcomes Eight characteristics of effective service learning practice. • Curriculum integration • Ongoing, cognitively challenging reflection activities • Student direction • Respect for diversity • Service is meaningful • Both progress monitoring and process monitoring • Sufficient duration • Reciprocal partnerships

1 - Curriculum integration Good quality service learning is planned and implemented with specific learning objectives in mind that are tied to content standards. With strong integration, students’ test scores in the subject matter area with which service learning is integrated can increase significantly. (Billig and Klute 2003, Billig and Sandel 2003, Meyer, Billig and Hofschire 2004; Santinire, Giraud and Groskopf 1999)

1 - Curriculum Integration Factors related to higher academic impacts are: • Clarity of academic goals. • Clear connection between goals and activities. • Reasonable scope. • Support through focused reflective activities. (Ammon, Furco, Chi and Middaugh 2001)

1 - Curricular Integration – be clear about learning objectives • Academic learning in any subject. • Learning to be a learner: • Critical thinking, problem-solving, communication skills • Learning about community: • People, issues, resources, policies • Inter and intra-personal learning: • Working collaboratively with others • Learning about other cultures • Exploring personal values, ethics; appreciating different values • Developing self-efficacy and empathy • Career learning. • Civic learning.

2 - Ongoing, cognitively-challenging reflection activities Reflection is the critical link. Through reflection, students: • Connect experience with learning • Develop a sense of community in the school/class • Improve observation and communication skills • Develop an appreciation of community assets • Deepen knowledge of issues or policy • Develop an interest in taking action • Develop greater understand personal values • Develop inquiry skills

2 - Ongoing, cognitively-challenging reflection activities Effective reflection is: • Continuous – before, during and after the project. • Connected – to specific learning objectives. • Cognitively challenging – demanding problem-solving, decision-making, exploration, classification and hypothesis-testing skills. • Contextualised – appropriate to the subject and student. • Varied – multiple forms of reflection – written, oral and nonlinguistic. (Eyler, Giles and Schmiede 1996; Pritchard and Whitehead 2004)

3 - Student direction When service is imposed from above without youth input and without adequate structure and support, young people may view their service experience with indifference, suspicion or even hostility. (S.H. Billig) Giving students a say in every phase of a service-learning project has a strong influence on academic and civic engagement. (Billig, Root and Jesse 2005, Bradley 2003, Fredericks, Kaplan and Zeisler 2001)

3 - Student direction Students: • engage in problem solving, decision making, planning, goal setting and helping others. • see themselves as change agents. • develop leadership and public speaking skills. • have improved interactions with teachers.

4 – Respect for diversity Explicit teaching of respect and discussion of diversity is associated with multiple civic and character outcomes. (Billig, Root and Jesse 2005; Powers, Potthoff, Bearinger and Resnick 2003; Blozis, Scalise, Waterman and Wells 2002) It is most important that activities benefit both students and those being served so that students’ stereotypes of others are not reinforced.

4 – Respect for diversity Ask: how will students demonstrate respect for people: • from diverse cultural backgrounds • with different ideas • with disabilities • from different generations • who have different life circumstances.

5 – Service is meaningful When service learning is viewed as valuable, useful, relevant and interesting, young people become more engaged and acquire more knowledge and skills. (Billig, Root and Jesse 2005; Blank 1997)

5 – Service is meaningful Teachers can enhance students’ feelings that projects are meaningful by providing activities that: • are substantive but not overwhelming • are relevant and useful to them and those they serve – an interesting challenge that meets an important need • are chosen by students and require analysis and problem-solving • provide a personal connection to the task – often through the formation of a relationship • elaborate beyond information in textbooks • explicitly connect to previous experience • require cognitively challenging skills - comprehension, explanation, exploration, debate etc.

6 – Progress monitoring and process monitoring: to improve practice Progress monitoring: assessing the progress made towards reaching goals. Process monitoring: analysing the processes used to ensure that learning is maximised. When the monitoring is well connected to the tasks and outcomes and when teachers use this data to improve practice, service-learning achieves stronger outcomes. (Billig, Root and Jesse 2005)

7 - Duration Quality service-learning has sufficient time for students to transfer the academic knowledge learned through service experiences to other parts of the curriculum. Projects must be at least 70 hours long to have an impact on students. This includes preparation, action, reflection and demonstration of results. (Billig, Root and Jesse 20005)

8 - Reciprocal partnerships Reciprocity is associated with sustainability of service-learning. (Kramer 2000; Ammon, Furco, Chi and Middaugh 2002) Reciprocal partnerships have: • Mutual benefit • Shared vision • Two-way communication • Interdependent tasks • Common goals.

Introducing service learning - Step 2 Motivate: • Students • Parents • Staff • Community Agencies to become involved…..

Service learning and students: inform and motivate. Before the project: • Tell stories and watch videos. • Invite someone with a personal experience to speak. • Ask parents involved in community service to speak. • Ask representatives from community agencies to visit.. • Organise a trip to a local community agency. • Invite older students to present to the class. During the project: • Focus on student direction. • Reflect before, during and after the project. • Ask students and community agency to evaluate.

Service learning and parents: inform and motivate • Students (or the school) present to parents. • Get students to ask parents, for example: • What they care about in the community • How members of the family have served others • For suggestions about how the community might best be served. • Tell parents the philosophy, goals and activities of the project and keep them updated. • Make service visible in the school – photos, bulletin boards, student’s artwork, agencies’ thank-you letters. • Invite parents to the service-learning celebrations.

The ‘learning challenge’J. Howard - Principles of Good Practice for Service Learning Pedagogy Discuss the ‘learning challenge’ in service learning. ‘In service learning, students must not only master academic material as in traditional courses, but also learn how to learn from unstructured and ill-structured community experiences and merge that learning with the learning from other course resources. Furthermore, in traditional courses students must satisfy only academic learning objectives. In service-learning courses, students must satisfy both academic and civic learning objectives. All of this makes for challenging intellectual work, commensurate with rigorous academic standards.’

S-L and staff: inform and motivate Outline the characteristics of authentic service-learning: • Projects are positive, meaningful and real. • Involve cooperative, rather than competitive experiences. • Address complex problems in complex settings. • Offer students opportunities to engage in complex problem-solving. • Deeper thinking is promoted – no ‘right answers.’ • Is personally meaningful and so supports social, emotional and cognitive learning and development. • Helps develop home, school, community partnerships. Discuss that Service Learning is an excellent way of implementing the Quality Teaching Framework and values education.

Service learning and the community Start small and simple: • class or school community • feeder school • remote community. If working locally, find out which agencies: • are located nearby – students need time to travel to and from and produce meaningful work. • would be willing to work with students of this age. • conduct appropriate activities at the time service-learning is being timetabled. • have sufficient staff to nominate at least one person to coordinate the program.

Service learning and the community: finding the agencies To find suitable agencies, visit: • Churches • Community Centers • Neighbourhood Centers • Local Councils • Ask parents and teachers for advice Also consider: • Local police • Hospitals • Libraries • Schools for Special Purpose.

Is It Worth It?Service learning is ‘Quality Teaching in Action’

Intellectual quality Deep knowledge As they engage in addressing a real world issue, students focus on key concepts. They explore those concepts, clearly articulating the relationship among them to ensure that their knowledge is deep. Deep understanding Students demonstrate their deep understanding of ideas and concerns surrounding the service-learning issue in number of ways, including solving problems, giving explanations and drawing conclusions.

Intellectual quality Problematic knowledge Students consider the issues from multiple perspectives, recognizing alternative possibilities and considering a range of options for their project. As they do so they discover that knowledge is problematic. Higher order thinking Service-learning tasks require students to use higher order thinking skills to organise, recognise, apply, analyse, synthesise and evaluate knowledge and information about the issue at hand.

Intellectual quality Metalanguage Students are encouraged to employ metalanguage relevant to the subject or processes on which they are focused. Substantive communication Students reflect throughout the project. They discuss the project and articulate and communicate their ideas and arguments to others, in substantive communication.

Quality learning environment Explicit quality criteria The criteria that ensure the quality of all aspects of a service-learning project are made explicit for students. Engagement Students are engaged in real-life projects that they have helped to shape, and which make classroom learning come alive. This is highly motivational.

Quality learning environment High expectations Conceptual risk-taking is encouraged as students investigate their community and identify a need experienced by a real audience. This determines that high expectations are set for the students’ project. Social support Students form a project team in which they inquire about real issues and respect and value each other’s contributions. This provides strong social support.

Quality learning environment Student direction Students propose, plan and implement their own project to meet identified community needs, and so clearly demonstrate student direction. Student self-regulation While engaging in cooperative decision-making, students self-regulate their behaviour.

Significance Background Knowledge Students make use of their own background knowledge in establishing community needs and in planning and implementing the project. Cultural Knowledge Projects often require understanding, valuing and accepting the knowledge, traditions, beliefs and values of diverse social groups, so opportunities for incorporating cultural knowledge of different groups often arise.

Significance Knowledge integration Activities and projects are real-world, so knowledge integration is inevitable since students must bring to bear on their deliberations and activities knowledge from various Key Learning areas and subjects. Inclusivity Inclusivity is demonstrated as all students are encouraged to recognize differences and group identities and to be aware of the need to support members of non-dominant groups. Each individual involved in the project has their own special role to play, and is valued in that role.

Is it worth It? research summaryNOTE: The more responsibility, autonomy and choice students have, the greater the effects. (Shelly Billing) Personal/social development • Increase in personal and social responsibility, as well as in communication and educational and social competence. • Elevated self-esteem, self-efficacy and sense of responsibility to their school • More accepting of cultural diversity • Less likely to be referred to the office for discipline • Less likely to engage in unprotected sexual activity, violent activity and behaviors leading to arrest

Is it worth it? Research Summary Civic Responsibility • Higher awareness of community needs and felt they could make a difference • Increased understanding of how the government works • More likely to be active in community organizations Academic Learning • Higher scores on state test of basic skills; higher test scores on several state assessments • Higher grades and higher scores on state tests measuring reading for information and mathematics than non-participants (Elementary School) • Schools reported attendance increases each year for three years

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Aug 04, 2014. 110 likes | 275 Views. Service Learning. By lakin ziegler. Service Learning. Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Download Presentation.
Service-Learning
Elon University's Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement has existed since 1995 and aims, "in partnership with local and global communities, to advance student learning, leadership, and citizenship to prepare students for lives of active community engagement within a complex and changing world.".
PDF Presentation Notes
We all serve is some capacity. You may serve: • by helping a grandparent with chores. • as part of an organization that raises funds for the local food bank. • as part of a group that in some ways serves local veterans. Sometimes we serve because: • we are required to. • we have a passion for helping others.
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An Introduction To Service- Learning. Oct 20, 2011. 190 likes | 473 Views. An Introduction To Service- Learning. Office of Community Service 2129 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20052 Phone: (202) 994-5493 E-mail: [email protected]. Andrew Leon Bryn McMahon. "Service-learning is one of the hallmarks of a GW education." -President Steven Knapp.
Service Learning: A Complete Guide
The third stage of the service learning unit, the presentation, involves presenting these findings. Presentation can take on many forms. It can occur after the class has participated with an organization or before. Presentations made after the event can include materials and media taken from the service learning experience. Some presentations ...
Service Learning
examine our largest service learning project. explore how standards can fall into service learning. discover how individual talents and interests can be used to ignite learning and passion. provide many examples at all grade levels and content areas to engage Ss w/ service learning. discuss grants and grant writing to get the money.
Service Learning
Background. An academic course that involves community engagement — more widely known as service learning or community-based learning — is "an approach to teaching and learning in which students use academic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs.". This type of civic engagement aligns closely with Boston University's ...
PDF Service-Learning and Social-Emotional Learning
Service-Learning, Social Emotional Learning, and Student Success Students Get to Work with Service-Learning . These PowerPoint presentations with live links to related resources are available on the Digital Resources page also located on the INSPIRE3 page.
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Students who take a course with a service-learning component will engage in community projects that are related to the course content, and reflect on the experience in class discussion or written work. ... Download Service-Learning Presentation. Service-Learning Presentation Video. Contact our office. 414-229-3161; [email protected]; University ...
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Presentation Transcript. Service learning. Service learning Service learning is a pedagogy that links academic learning to student-directed community service and intellectual enquiry and reflection. It enriches the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility and strengthens communities. Changing a service program to a Service learning ...

Center for Engaged Learning

Service-learning is Credit-Bearing

Meeting an Identified Community Need

Reflection on Service

Understanding of Course Content

A Broader Appreciation of the Discipline

Enhanced Sense of Civic Responsibility

What makes it a high-impact practice?

High Performance Expectations

Investment of Significant Time and Effort

Interactions with Faculty and Peers about Substantive Matters

Experiences with Diversity

Frequent, Timely, and Constructive Feedback

Opportunities to Reflect

Real-World Applications

Public Demonstration of Competence

Research-Informed Practices

Embedded and Emerging Questions for Research, Practice, and Theory

Key Scholarship

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About this Edited Book:

About this Book:

Model Programs

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The Benefits of Service Learning

Case Study in Service Learning

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Service Learning

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Reflection and Sample Assignments

Additional resources

References and further reading

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About project

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Assessing Service Learning

Service-Learning

General Resources

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The Center for Leadership & Service

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