An Introduction to ServiceLearning

1
An Introduction to Service-Learning

• Center for the Advancement of
• Service Learning
• Howard University

2
TOPICS

• Purpose
• What is Service-Learning
• Major Elements of Service-Learning
• Characteristics of Service-Learning
• Related Concepts
• Whats Different About Service-Learning
• Why is Service-Learning Important
• Key Players in Service-Learning
• Who Does What
• Rights in Service-Learning
• Benefits of Service-Learning

3
PURPOSE

• To provide an introduction to the
  service-learning pedagogy.

4



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING?

• There is many different definitions/descriptions
  of service-learning used in the field.
• Definition 1
• Service-learning is 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.
• 
  Hatcher and
  Bringle, 1997

5



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Definition 2
• 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.
• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

6



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Definition 3
• . . . service-learning means a method . . .
• A) under which students learn and develop
  through active participation in . . .
  thoughtfully organized service experiences that
  meet actual community needs
• B) that is integrated into the students
  academic curriculum and provides structured time
  for a student to think, talk, or write about what
  the student did and saw during the service
  activity

7



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Definition 3 (continued)
• C) that provides students with opportunities to
  use newly acquired skills and knowledge in
  real-life situations in their own communities
• D) that enhances what is taught in school by
  extending student learning beyond the classroom
  and into the community and helps to foster the
  development of a sense of caring for others.
• National and Community
  Service Act of 1990

8



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Definition 4
• Service-learning is a form of experiential
  education where learning occurs through a cycle
  of action and reflection as students work with
  others through a process of applying what they
  are learning to community problems and, at the
  same time, reflecting upon their experience as
  they seek to achieve real objectives for the
  community and deeper understanding and skills for
  themselves.
• Eyler Giles, 1999

9



WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• CASL Definition
• Service-learning is a planned, well-developed
  structured experience in which students or
  volunteers use prior knowledge and skills
  (acquired in the classroom and/or through life
  experiences) to address a community problem or
  issue and participate in a structured activity or
  activities to critically analyze the service
  experience to extract learning from it.

10
WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Even though there are many different
  interpretations of
• service-learning as well as different objectives
  and
• contexts, we can say that there is a core
  concept upon
• which all seem to agree  
• Service-learning combines service objectives
  with learning objectives with the intent that the
  activity change both the recipient and the
  provider of the service. This is accomplished by
  combining service tasks with structured
  opportunities that link the task to
  self-reflection, self-discovery, and the
  acquisition and comprehension of values, skills,
  and knowledge content.
• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

11


WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Through the service-learning experience,
  students/volunteers . . .
• enhance classroom learning and the overall
• educational experience
• gain a better understanding of the problem or
  issue
• being addressed
• develop new ideas for addressing the problem or
• issue
• achieve personal and social growth and
• development

12


WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? (continued)

• Through the service-learning experience,
  students/volunteers . . .
• gain a greater sense of self
• achieve a greater appreciation of the community
• being served and an increased tolerance for
  and
• sensitivity to diverse populations and
  cultures, and
• gain an enhanced sense of civic responsibility
  and
• a lifelong commitment to service.

13
MAJOR ELEMENTS OF SERVICE-LEARNING

• The service-learning process consists of three
  major elements
• Preparation
• Action
• Reflection
• Many practitioners include Celebration as a
  fourth element.

14
Major Element 1

• Preparation consists of the learning activities
  that take place prior to the service itself.
  During this period, students learn what is
  expected of them as well as what they can expect
  from the service activity/project.
• Preparation activities typically include
• identifying and analyzing the problem to be
• addressed
• selecting and planning the project, and
• training and orientation.

15
Major Element 2

• Action is the service itself.
• The service must be
• meaningful
• have academic integrity
• provide for student ownership
• have adequate supervision, and
• be developmentally appropriate

16
Major Element 2 (continued)

• Types of Service
• (1) Direct Service personal involvement in the
  service activity (e.g., tutoring, cleaning up a
  park)
• (2) Indirect Service channeling resources to
  the problem (e.g., donating items for
  distribution to service agencies)
• (3) Civic Service - efforts to promote change
  (e.g., lobbying, letter writing campaign,
  petitions)

17
Major Element 3

• Reflection is a key component of
  service-learning.
• Reflection occurs when service participants
  engage in a thought provoking activity that
  deliberately connect the service experience to
  some learning objective(s).
• Reflection can take place before, during, and
  after the service.

18
Major Element 3 (continued)

• Reflection may involve writing, reading, telling,
  and showing.
• Examples of activities that can facilitate the
  reflection process, while documenting the
  learning that has occurred from the service
  experience, are
• Journaling
• Group discussions
• Individual and group presentations (audio and
  visual)
• Directed writings
• Research papers
• Online discussions
• Service-learning portfolios
• Service logs
• Personal narratives.

19
Major Element 3 (continued)

• There is no one prescribed reflective activity.
• In choosing a reflection activity, the
  service-learning teacher or coordinator should
• be creative
• tie the activity to particular learning
  objectives
• take into consideration
• (1) the ability, composition and personality
  
• of the reflection group,
• (2) how the activity or students will be
• evaluated, and
• (3) when and where the reflection activity
  will
• take place.

20
Element 4

• Celebration provides
• an opportunity to recognize service participants
  for their contributions and let them know that
  their efforts are appreciated, and
• closure to an ongoing activity.
• Examples of celebration activities
• special media coverage
• parties
• recognition ceremonies
• certificates

21
CHARACTERISTICS OF SERVICE-LEARNING

• Service-learning . . .  
• Links to academic content and standards
• Involves young people in helping to determine and
  meet real, defined community needs
• Is reciprocal in nature, benefiting both the
  community and the service providers by combining
  a service experience with a learning experience
• Can be used in any subject area so long as it is
  appropriate to learning goals
• Works at all ages, even among young children
• National Commission on Service learning,

22
RELATED CONCEPTS

• Volunteerism---the performance of formal service
  to benefit others or one's community without
  receiving any external rewards such programs may
  or may not involve structured training and
  reflection.
• Community Service---volunteerism that occurs in
  the community action taken to meet the needs of
  others and better the community as a whole.
• Experiential Education---emotionally engaged
  learning in which the learner experiences a
  visceral connection to the subject matter. Good
  experiential learning combines direct experience
  that is meaningful to the student with guided
  reflection and analysis. It is a challenging,
  active, student-centered process that impels
  students toward opportunities for taking
  initiative, responsibility, and decision making.

23
WHATS DIFFERENT ABOUT SERVICE-LEARNING

• Many persons are generally familiar with
  community service and volunteerism which stress
  service and developmental benefits such as
  empathy, an ethic of service, and moral
  development.
• What most people miss is that service-learning is
  the blending of both service and learning goals
  in such a way that both occur and are enriched
  by each other.
• Service-learning projects emphasize both sets of
  outcomesthe service and the learningand design
  activities accordingly. Service-leaning can be
  used in co-curricular and volunteer settings.

24
WHATS DIFFERENT ABOUT SERVICE-LEARNING AN
EXAMPLE

• If students clear debris and gut homes in a
  hurricane ravaged city
• they are providing a service to the community as
  volunteers.
• This is community service.
• When students
• Clear debris and gut homes in a hurricane ravaged
  city,
• Analyze why the hurricane caused such devastation
  and why the governments have not adequately
  addressed the problem,
• Share the results and offer suggestions for the
  city, state and federal governments to address
  the problem, and
• Reflect on their experience.
• That is service-learning!

25
Service-Learning Is Not

• An episodic volunteer program
• An add-on to an existing school or college
  curriculum
• 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
• National Commission on Service Learning

26
WHY IS SERVICE-LEARNING IMPORTANT?

• Effective service learning programs
• improve academic grades
• increase attendance in school
• develop personal and social responsibility
• Students learn
• critical thinking - communication
• teamwork - civic responsibility
• mathematical reasoning - problem solving
• public speaking - vocational skills
• computer skills - -scientific method
• research skills - analysis
• Corporation for National and Community Service

27
KEY PLAYERS

• Students
• Instructors
• Staff
• Service-Learning Center
• Community Organizations
• University Administration

28
WHO DOES WHAT
29

• THE INSTRUCTOR . . .
• Sets learning objectives
• Incorporates service-learning into
  syllabus/curriculum
• Selects/recommends appropriate site
• placements
• Approves service-learning site selections
• Prepares students for service activities
• Meets with site supervisors
• Conducts site visits
• Monitors students service-learning activities
• Guides in-class reflection
• Evaluates students service-learning performance
• Gives final student grade

30

• THE STAFF PERSON AND/OR SL CENTER (in
  co-curricular or extracurricular
  service-learning) . . .
• Sets learning and service objectives
• Develops and coordinates service-learning
• projects/activities
• Prepares students for service activities
• Attends and participates in service-learning
• projects/activities
• Guides reflection activities
• Plans and attends celebration activities

31

• THE COMMUNITY PARTNER . . .
• Informs university community about unmet needs
• Develops and coordinates service-learning
  activities for students and student organizations
• Conducts service-learning orientation sessions
  for faculty, staff and students
• Provides on-site supervision of service-learners
• Monitors and reports students service
  performance
• Evaluates students service performance
• Maintains records of students service time and
  service activities
• Conducts reflection activities

32

• THE HOWARD UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION . . .
• Supports the promotion of service-learning across
  the campus
• Acts as a good neighbor to community and
  community partners

33
THE STUDENTS . . .

• Students are responsible for the following
  service
• learning related activities
• Participation in project planning (if project is
  not pre-planned)
• Learning about the community agency partner and
  its activities
• Providing the agreed upon service to the
  community service agency in a professional and
  reliable manner
• Providing feedback to the course instructor and
  placement agency

34
THE STUDENTS . . . (continued)

• Distributing and/or returning completed copies of
  official service-learning forms to the proper
  persons
• Participating in assigned reflection activities
  and completing all other all service-learning
  course assignments
• Providing personal transportation to service
  site, unless otherwise arranged
• Assuming acceptable levels of risks and liability
  related to the service placement.

35
RIGHTS IN SERVICE-LEARNING
36
STUDENT RIGHTS

• Students have a right to expect the following
  from
• the service agency
• A well-structured service project involving
  well-planned and necessary work
• A high quality and relevant learning experience
• Respect as an individual
• Orientation to the site and the assigned job
  tasks
• Review of job expectations and workplace policies
  and procedures
• Adequate training to perform the assigned job
  tasks

37
STUDENT RIGHTS (continued)

• Students have a right to expect the following
  from
• the service agency
• Feedback on job performance
• Fair evaluation of his/her job performance by the
  agency site supervisor or someone familiar with
  his/her job performance
• Appropriate site supervision
• A verified record of his/her attendance
• Completion and return of all service-learning
  forms to designated person(s)
• Notification of personal infractions at the
  service site

38
COMMUNITY AGENCY RIGHTS

• Community service agencies have the right to
• expect the following from service-learning
• students
• Best effort in the performance of assigned
  service tasks
• A positive attitude toward the responsibilities
  involved in the work
• Professionalism in job performance and workplace
  demeanor

39
COMMUNITY AGENCY RIGHTS (continued)

• Community service agencies have the right to
• expect the following from service-learning
• students
• Respect for the principle of confidentiality
• Sensitivity to special conditions and attitudes
  of the clients/communities the agency serves
• Feedback on the quality of the service
  assignment, site supervision, and the overall
  placement

40
BENEFITS OF SERVICE-LEARNING

• Provides students with real-life application of
  what they learn in the classroom
• Strengthens students interpersonal
  communication skills
• Promotes students intellectual growth,
  leadership development, personal and social
  growth, and work experience

• Allows students to serve as involved citizens in
  their communities
• Helps meet unmet community needs
• Makes learning more useful relevant

41
BENEFITS OF SERVICE-LEARNING (continued)

• Provides an opportunity for a community to shape
  students values and to prepare students for
  community participation after college
• Promotes the value of diversity

• Helps breakdown and dispel myths and stereotypes
  community has about students
• Helps communities establish access and
  connections to other resources available at the
  University

42
BENEFITS OF SERVICE-LEARNING (continued)

• Provides good public relations for the University
• Allows the University to give back to the
  community through its students
• Helps establish connections for other University
  programs

• Provides an opportunity for the community to view
  the University as a resource
• Supplements the educational experience being
  provided by the University