Service Learning is an instructional method that utilizes hands-on learning activities to teach professional, developmental, and academic skills while meeting the actual community need.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE

SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAMS

 

Authentic learning activities strengthen academic learning.

 

Opportunities are provided for critical thinking, risk-taking, and role development.

 

Students reflect on their experiences and what they have learned.

 

Students are involved in planning projects.

 

The service makes a meaningful contribution to the community.

 

Service learning connects the school and the community in positive ways.

 

 

 

KEY ELEMENTS OF

SERVICE LEARNING

 

Academic ties—Academic instruction is shaped around experiences of the service providers. The learning is guided toward the needs of the community.

 

 Meaningful Service - The service must be meaningful to the service provider and the community. By assessing the goals and needs of the providers and community while including a strong youth voice, a sense of mission and teamwork will facilitate success.

 

 

Community based Partnerships - Best practice occurs when facilitators involve service providers and recipients in the decision-making and action concerning the planning of, carrying out, and evaluating of the service activities.

 

Reflection - We do not learn from doing, we learn from thinking about what we do. Participants should have various opportunities for structured thinking concerning activities throughout the service learning process.

 

Celebration - Celebration and recognition shows youth how others value their work. Best practice occurs when the participants get the opportunity to design their own celebration, and when people important to the community and to the participants recognize participants for their efforts.

 

 

 

HOW SERVICE LEARNING IS DIFFERENT FROM

COMMUNITY SERVICE, INTERNSHIPS, & COOPERATIVE EDUCATION

 

Service-learning uses community service as the vehicle for the attainment of students' academic goals and objectives.

 

Community Service fills a need in the community through volunteer efforts. Service-learning also fills that need, but it uses that need as a foundation to examine our society, our future, and ourselves. Further, Service-learning provides students with the opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations.

 

It identifies in advance, and tracks, specific learning objectives and goals (as well as the intangible ones).

 

Students perform a valuable, significant, and necessary service, which has real consequence to the community.

 

The goal of the service is to empower students and those being served.

 

The needs of the community dictate the service being provided.

What is Service Learning?

John Dewey Learning Academy