what is service learning course

by Raina Dach 10 min read

Definition

  • Service-learning is Credit-Bearing. Service-learning is part of a course – a “credit-bearing educational experience” (Bringle & Hatch, 1995, p. ...
  • Meeting an Identified Community Need. ...
  • Reflection on Service. ...
  • Understanding of Course Content. ...
  • A Broader Appreciation of the Discipline. ...
  • Enhanced Sense of Civic Responsibility. ...

Service-learning is an experiential learning pedagogy that moves students beyond the classroom to become active participants in their learning and develop civic knowledge and skills.

Full Answer

What is service learning and why should we use it?

  • What is Service Learning or Community Engagement?
  • Benefits of Community Engagement
  • Models of Community Engagement Teaching
  • Ways to Integrate Community Engagement into an Existing Course

What should be learned through service learning?

What is Service Learning or Community Engagement?

  • Student Benefits of Community Engagement
  • Faculty Benefits of Community Engagement
  • College and University Benefits of Community Engagement
  • Community Benefits of Community Engagement
  • Models of Community Engagement Teaching. ...
  • Ways to Integrate Community Engagement into an Existing Course. ...
  • Other CFT Guides About Community Engagement Pedagogies. ...

Does service learning really help?

Service-learning is beneficial for students, organizations, and communities. All students, including those with disabilities (e.g., emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, moderate and severe intellectual disabilities, students with hearing and vision limitations), can be involved in and benefit from service-learning. 2

How to succeed with service learning?

  • Meaningful service: Make sure your project addresses a community need.
  • Curriculum connections: Apply academic content to practical tasks so students learn by doing.
  • Student leadership: Help students take ownership of the project.
  • Reflection: Make meaning of the experience.
  • Community involvement: Engage community members throughout.

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What are examples of service-learning?

Service Learning involves almost any helping activity. We generally refer to direct service to individuals, indirect service to people, and advocacy work. Direct service includes tutoring, serving meals, working with patients, helping a refugee family, walking foster dogs, or participating in events at a nursing home.

What do you learn from service-learning?

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 the purpose of service-learning?

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.

What are 4 types of service-learning?

This list gives an overview of the different types of service learning while providing a sense of how you can use the methodology with your students.Direct Service Learning. ... Indirect Service Learning. ... Research-Based Service Learning. ... Advocacy Service Learning.

Why service-learning is beneficial to a student?

Service-learning has a positive effect on students: personal and interpersonal development. leadership and communication skills. reducing stereotypes and facilitating cultural & racial understanding. sense of social responsibility and citizenship skills.

What is the value of service-learning?

Learning: Service-learning is an effective pedagogy that positively impacts academic learning, critical thinking, personal development, cultural awareness, and civic participation.

What are the three types of service-learning?

There are three types of community service and service-learning: direct, in-direct and advocacy.

What are the six qualities of service-learning?

Qualities of service learningIntegrative.Reflective.Contextualized.Strength based.Reciprocal.Lifelong.

How do you teach service-learning?

Your Weekly Eureka MomentLet the Kids Identify a Need. ... Use Current Events. ... Involve Students in Decision Making and Project Design. ... Start Small and Local. ... Don't Fret Over Addressing Academic Standards. ... Look for Opportunities to Make Learning Connections.

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.

What is service-learning internship?

Service-learning focuses on applying classroom learning in a non-profit community setting to meet community needs. METHOD: Internships require a summary paper and an evaluation. Service-learning involves ongoing written and in-class reflection connecting the service with course material.

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 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).

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 service learning?

Service-Learning. 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.

When was service learning first introduced?

Definition. The term “service-learning” was defined in Federal legislation for the first time in the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (as amended through December 17, 1999, P.L. 106-170; Section 101 (23) and reauthorized through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009):

Why is intercultural service important?

Because youth represent the future, their participation in successful intercultural service projects on the local, national, and international levels can have an impact on global issues that affect all of us. When service and intercultural learning are combined, young people are able to contribute their time and talent from the perspective of their own diverse backgrounds and enrich not only their own lives but also the lives of those with whom they come into contact. Cooperating with youth from other countries, cultures, regions, or communities of the world can result in dialogue, tolerance, and universal peace. Moreover, intercultural service-learning projects allow young people around the world to expose and address multifaceted local, national, and global problems. These opportunities contribute to the development of civic responsibility among youth in partnering communities throughout the world and also allow them to design sustainable efforts that focus on issues such as disaster relief, famine, equal rights, poverty, disease, and more.

How many students participate in service learning?

Studies show that, in the past, more than 4 million students from more than 20,000 schools participated in service-learning. Of these, high schools were most likely to engage students in community service or to include service-learning as part of their curriculum. 7 All students, including those with disabilities (e.g. emotional and behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, moderate and severe intellectual disabilities, deaf and blind students), can be involved in and benefit from service-learning. 8 ;Learn more about how service-learning can effectively include students with disabilities.

How does service learning improve academics?

Service-learning can improve academic outcomes for students. Students participating in high-quality service-learning experiences that are meaningful (including interaction with the community, valued service activities, and relevance to students), provide time for reflection, and last for an extended period of time have been shown to make academic gains, including gains on standardized tests. 12 In addition, students have shown increased attachment to school, engagement, and motivation. 13 With a sample that included students with mild disabilities, Brill 14 found similar results for academic improvement and attendance.

How can service learning benefit youth?

Service-learning can improve character values and responsible behavior. Students can generalize what they learn from their experiences with service-learning.

What is a community service program?

is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community; and. helps foster civic responsibility; and. that.

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.

How many hours of service learning are there at ASU?

ASU’s University Service-Learning courses are unique in that they are stand-alone, credit-bearing, graded courses. Students provide 70-100 hours of sustained service throughout the semester at an approved Community Partner site and earn 3 credits by completing academic and reflective assignments that relate to their service.

What is service learning?

What Is Service-Learning? Service-learning at the University of Georgia is the application of academic skills and knowledge to address a community need, issue, or problem and to enhance student learning.

How does service learning differ from community service?

Service-learning differs from community service, internships, or field study experiences because the service activity is connected to the course learning goals through reflection and critical analysis, and seeks to balance the benefits to the student with benefits to the community partners. Additionally, the service activity-- whether structured ...

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Service Learning Differs from Traditional Education

  • Service learning is not your typical education, or your typical internship, and it’s not work-study either. Service learning differs from other traditional types of experiential learning because it is service-based, but also fits the learning needs of the student. In this way, it works to further bot…
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Service Learning in Action: What Does It Look like?

  • Types Of Service Learning
    Speaking broadly, there are two major types of service learning — co-curricular and academic. Co-curricular service learningis when students engage in planned service activities that meet a community need. Students reflect on personal values and community needs as a result. An exa…
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Assessing Service Learning

  • Community Assessment
    The community partners involved should be given the opportunity to evaluate both the student and the program as a whole.
  • Teacher Assessment
    Teachers may assess the students’ participation, but also their ability to link their experiences to class.
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Effective Qualities and Elements of Service Learning

  • 1. Integrative
    Service learning should holistically integrate class objectives into the service, and vice versa, the service should be worked into the course content as well.
  • 2. Reflective
    One of the most effective parts of service learning is the structured reflection provided by teachers. Students should be given time to think critically about their experience and build opinions, values, and goals based on these reflections.
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Volunteering, Internships, Community Service Or Service Learning?

  • Service learning is not to be confused with volunteering, and it is also distinct from an internship. Where community service and volunteering are valuable, they are service-based and community needs based. Service learning also incorporates the educational needs of the individual completing the service learning. Internshipsare focused on fostering education, but may not tak…
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Service Learning Benefits

  • Student Benefits
    1. Learning Outcomes:Students are better able to understand the course content with a real-world understanding. 2. Personal Outcomes:Students learn commendable values such as using your strengths to help your community. 3. Social Outcomes:Students are less likely to stereotype, an…
  • University Benefits
    Universities benefit from allowing and encouraging teachers and programs to implement service learning. They may have a better relationship with the community as a result, and also have better student relations as well.
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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 connectio...
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Important Elements of Service-Learning

  • From the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: 1. A form of experiential education 2. Addresses human and community issues and needs 3. Learning occurs through active participation in thoughtfully organized service 4. Includes structured reflectionlinking experience to learning 5. Coordinated in true collaboration with the community 6. Links to curriculum and/o…
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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 per…
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What Service-Learning Is Not

  • From the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: 1. An add-on to an existing curriculum 2. An episodic volunteer program 3. Logging a set number of community service hours in order to graduate 4. Compensatory service assigned as a form of punishment by the courts or by school administrators 5. Only for high school or college students 6. One-sided: benefiting only students …
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References

  • 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…
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