what is a service learning course in high school

Service learning is a graduation requirement that requires high school students to volunteer their time and effort to benefit the school and community in a meaningful way. Service learning provides students an invaluable learning experience outside of the the traditional classroom setting. 301 People Used More Courses ›› View Course

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What is service learning and why should we use it?

Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that connects academic curriculum to community problem-solving. Today, elementary, middle, high, and postsecondary schools across the nation participate in service-learning with the support of federal, state, district, and foundation funding. Studies show that, in the past, more than 4 million students from more than 20,000 …

What should be learned through service learning?

Jun 19, 2020 · These programs are designed to include hands-on experience, meaningful theory, and opportunities for reflection. In this way, they promise the types of development that can benefit any high school student with their thoughts on the future. What does a service-learning program entail? A service-learning program starts before you even leave home. Two weeks …

How to succeed with service learning?

Service-learning trips for high school students offer an exciting alternative to traditional education, that comes with its own built-in benefits. Of all the alternatives to classroom education, programs for high school students that promise meaningful …

What are the benefits of service learning?

May 07, 2018 · Service-learning is a flexible pedagogy which can be used in a variety of classroom and community settings. Students, Community Partners, and Instructors are key players in developing effective service-learning activities. Service-learning is connected to course content and is organized around clear learning goals; service-learning provides …

What is a service-learning course?

"Service-learning is a pedagogy integrating academically relevant service activities that address human and community needs into a course. Students connect knowledge and theory to practice by combining service with reflection in a structured learning environment."

What is service-learning in higher education?

Service learning in higher education is an experiential learning pedagogy that balances the needs of student and community members involved, links the service and learning through reflective processes, and if skillfully managed leads to positive student personal, social or citizenship, career, and intellectual ...

What are the 4 types of service-learning?

Types of Service-LearningIndirect Service-Learning: Not always visible. Working indirectly with individuals and organizations to address a community issue or need. ... Direct Service-Learning: Usually visible. ... Advocacy Service-Learning: ... Research-Based Service-Learning:

What have you learn from the service-learning course?

Develops critical thinking skills: Through service-learning, students learn to reflect on their experiences and develop critical-thinking skills, such as the ability to bring disparate elements of experience together in meaningful ways, to analyze information for patterns and deeper meaning, and to make evaluations and ...

What is service learning and why is it important?

Service-learning provides students with opportunities to develop civic engagement skills. By working with community members, students can enhance their group, organizational and interpersonal skills. They also can gain important experience working with diverse members of their communities.

Why is service learning suitable in higher education courses?

Faculty who use service learning discover that it brings new life to the classroom, enhances performance on traditional measures of learning, increases student interest in the subject, teaches new problem solving skills, and makes teaching more enjoyable.

What are the different kinds of service-learning?

Six Types of Service-LearningDiscipline-Based: Students are expected to have a presence in the community throughout the semester and reflect on their experiences on a regular basis… ... Problem-Based (Project-Based): ... Capstone: ... Community-Based Action Research: ... Pure SL: ... Service Internship:

What is an example of a service-learning project?

Students can help local organizations maximize their financial processes, prepare taxes, perform audits, etc. Students can assist local schools in creating art programs or sustaining art programs.

What is the difference between community service and service-learning?

Service learning focuses on the learning of the service volunteer. Community service is more focused on the outcome for the community measured by the amount of time or work provided.

What are the 5 stages of service learning?

The service-learning process takes students through the stages of Investigation, Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration and Evaluation.Mar 1, 2017

How is service learning different from other courses?

Service-learning, on the other hand, does not focus on the acquisition of particular career skills, but rather helps students deepen their understanding of course content through experiences in the community and reflection in the classroom.

What is service learning why service learning is important explain the characteristics of service learning?

Service Learning is a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students (a) participate in an organized service activity that meets a community need and (b) reflect upon their service activity as a means of gaining a deeper understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, ...

What is service learning in high school?

Learning is an individual experience, and sometimes as students, it can feel like the system in which we’re expected to learn simply doesn’t work for us. Service-learning trips for high school students offer an exciting alternative to traditional education, that comes with its own built-in ...

Why do we do service learning trips?

Getting involved in a service-learning trip means you’re more likely to understand concepts better, since every theoretical learning experience is paired with a real-world experience.

What is the opportunity to learn from people around the world?

The opportunity to get to know and learn from people from communities around the world means that you’ll get the chance to become a global citizen. Now that you know what service-learning trips have to offer, and how you can get involved, you can start planning for a brighter future.

What is service learning?

Service-learning is a teaching methodology that enables students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to meaningful service to the community. Through structured critical reflection activities, students analyze their service experience as it reciprocally applies to their academic and career development.

How does service learning benefit students?

Service-learning benefits students by: The goal of service-learning is for students to gain a greater understanding of content knowledge while becoming socially embedded citizens. Critical reflection is a key component and distinguishing feature of a service-learning experience.

Is volunteering an unpaid activity?

Volunteering is worthwhile unpaid activity. Community service is volunteering to fulfill an unmet community need. Participants may learn from their experiences, but not in a formal manner. The primary emphasis is on service, not learning. Internships focus on the acquisition of job skills.

What is service learning?

Service Learning is an educational approach where a student learns theories in the classroom and at the same time volunteers with an agency (usually a non-profit or social service group) and engages in reflection activities to deepen their understanding of what is being taught. It is a cycle of theories, practices, ...

Why is service learning important?

For starters, service learning is important because it connects student learning in the classroom with real-world experiences in the community. Students who participate in it are more deeply engaged in their local communities, gain practical skills, develop their career and personal interests, and are usually more engaged citizens.

What is Elmhurst University Service Learning?

The Elmhurst University Service Learning program matches students who feel a responsibility to serve the community with opportunities to help. Visit our Community Partners page to learn more, and follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

What is a social change cycle?

It is a cycle of theories, practices, and reflection tools to broaden knowledge and critical thinking skills for social change. You might commonly hear it related to terms such as civic engagement, community development, advocacy, philanthropy, social change, volunteerism, community service and experiential learning.

What is direct service?

Direct service includes tutoring, serving meals, working with patients, helping a refugee family, walking foster dogs, or participating in events at a nursing home. Many psychology and education courses incorporate direct service.

What are some examples of social science courses?

The courses are usually most directly tied to social science courses (for example: political science, sociology, environmental studies and psychology ) and pre-professional courses (for example: education, social work and business).

Why is it important to create opportunities for young people?

Creating opportunities for young people increases their involvement. Finally, it instills the habit of performing a service for others . Students who engage early on often continue service work for the rest of their lives.

What are service learning courses?

As part of a service-learning course, students participate in direct, indirect, research-based, or advocacy-based service-learning projects (described below) on projects that address a multitude of issues. Some service-learning courses at Suffolk have included: 1 An education course that has Suffolk students tutor in Boston Public schools, learning and practice teaching pedagogies they study in their courses. 2 An environmental studies class that develops protocols that monitor water and sediment quality in Dorchester to learn about environmental sustainability best practices. 3 A sociology class that provides service with local healthcare organizations, learning about the effects of current health care policy and how different populations experience the healthcare system in the United States. 4 A public service class that researches resources, stakeholders, and programs that support local families to help improve their socioeconomic status. Students use their research to make recommendations to local organizations and community leaders on how the programs and stakeholders can be more effective. 5 A creative writing class that teaches creative writing to students from low-income neighborhoods in the Boston area to better learn creative writing techniques and how to improve their local communities.

What is public service class?

A public service class that researches resources, stakeholders, and programs that support local families to help improve their socioeconomic status. Students use their research to make recommendations to local organizations and community leaders on how the programs and stakeholders can be more effective.

What is research based service learning?

Research-Based Service-Learning. A type of service that involves collaboration with a community partner to conduct research that addresses community issues or needs. Partners may be nonprofit groups, government agencies or community leaders.

What should students receive about the community?

Students should receive information about the community, the issue, agency or community group they will be working with as well as specific training for their service placement and expectations regarding their participation, supervision and evaluation. Reflection.

What is thoughtful action?

Thoughtful Action. Thoughtful action means that the service that is being done is necessary and valuable to the community itself. Meaningful action benefits both the community and student in that both feel that the service makes a difference in a measurable way and is a productive use of time and resources.

What is direct service?

Involves student engagement with the client population on an interpersonal level. The engagement is performed at the site of service. Examples of direct service include tutoring, reading to the elderly, coaching a youth activity in a low-income area.

Why is student voice important?

Community and student voice is essential to build bridges, drive change, and solve pressing problems. Academic courses which include service and campus community service programs must ensure that the voice and needs of the community and students are included in the development of programs and service placements.

What is service learning?

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 ...

How does service learning differ from traditional clinical education in the health professions?

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.

What is CCPH in health?

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.

What is structured reflection?

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 is episodic volunteer?

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.

What is meaningful reflection?

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.

How does service learning relate to the content of the course?

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 a service-learning courses.

Why is it important to have a service learning class?

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.

What is a culminating project?

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.

What do students learn from service learning?

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 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.

What do students in computer courses without service learning learn?

While students in the computer course without service-learning learn how to design a website though 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.

What is class based service?

Examples of class-based service include website development, video production, or research for a non-profit organization.

Why is frequent feedback important in service learning?

Frequent and timely feedback affords students the guidance needed to meet the high expectations for service-learning experiences.