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Service-learning
combines service to the community with student learning in a way that
improves both the student and the community. According to the National
and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, Service-Learning...
- Is
a method whereby students learn and develop through active participation
in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and meets the
needs of communities;
- Is
coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution
of higher education, or community service program and the community;
- Helps
foster civic responsibility;
- Is
integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students,
or the education components of the community service program in which
the participants are enrolled;
- And
provides structured time for students or participants to reflect on
the service experience.
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Defining
Characteristics of Service-Learning
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- The
combination of focusing on meeting community needs, identifying learning
objectives, and intentionally reflecting on what is being learned
makes service-learning unique and fundamentally different from community
service, volunteerism, and experiential education.
- Community
service helps meet needs through volunteer efforts. Service-learning
also meets those needs, but students use the service experience
as a foundation to examine themselves, their society, and their
future.
- The
goal of service-learning is to empower those being served and
those who serve. This is not necessarily the goal of volunteerism,
community service, or experiential education.
- Service-Learning
uses community service as the vehicle for students to reach their
academic goals and objectives by integrating teaching objectives
with community needs.
- Service-Learning
is based on a reciprocal relationship in which the service reinforces
and strengthens the learning, and the learning reinforces and strengthens
the service.
- Service-Learning
is integrated into the academic curriculum and provides structured
opportunities for students to reflect critically on their experience
through a mix of writing, reading, speaking, listening, and group
discussions.
- Service-Learning
identifies and tracks specific learning objectives and goals.
- Service-Learning
provides students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills
and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities.
- Service-Learning
fosters a sense of caring for others and a commitment to civic responsibility.
- Service-Learning
gives academic credit for demonstrating learning achieved through the
service, not just putting in hours.
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