Service Learning

What is Service Learning?

The basic idea behind service learning is simple:  teachers or professors include a community service project as part of their lesson plans.  Obviously, this helps the community; but surprisingly, it also leads to much better outcomes from an educational standpoint as well.  Students who partake in service learning projects tend to come away from the experience with a better and more in-depth understanding of the material they learned.  That's because they can see why the subject matter is important during the course of the project.  Rather than simply memorizing data or information, they get to use their knowledge in a socially meaningful context, which improves the relevance and applicability of their education.

Is Service Learning a legitimate, accepted academic practice?

YES! Many American Universities are currently racing to introduce this cutting-edge methodology as a part of their core curriculum. In its emphasis on providing students with "real-world" knowledge, Service Learning also fits in perfectly with the goals of the Bologna Process.

How can Service Learning help communities?

Every community on earth has a magnificent, untapped resource that will help solve its most fundamental problems: its youth. Never before have youth been so willing to help face the problems of society; and yet, tragically, never before have youth been so underused as a source of ideas and solutions. By energizing youth and giving them an outlet for their idealism, Service Learning harnesses an untapped societal resource, and we all benefit.

How can Service Learning help me as an educator?

Service learning projects can also make life easier for professors, especially ones that are short on material resources.  This is because, with service learning, the world becomes your labratory.  You don't need expensive facilities because your class is utilizing facilities that already exist in the community (examples below)

What is a Service Learning Project?

There are literally infinite possibilities.  The basic definition of a service-learning project (examples below) is this: 

1)  The project should meet a need of the broader community

2)  The project is integrated with the knowledge and skills taught in the classroom.

What are some examples of Service Learning Projects?

Here are some examples of effective Service Learning projects:

Subject
Project
History
A professor of Classical Antiquity, together with his/her students, could create a program in which his/her undergraduates take school children on walks around a downtown area and show all of the ancient history hidden beneath the modern city - this educates children, makes them feel more connected to their history, and provides valuable out-of-the-classroom instruction; it also helps the University students learn the material of their class, and provides the professor with a very good set of lesson plans.   It fulfills both 1 and 2, above.
Engineering
An engineering professor and his students work with a local government department in charge of parks.   A single city park would be selected for study. The students would inspect all structures and park improvements such as gazebos, playground equipment, walk bridges or other suitable structures. The structural inspection would be documented with photographic images and a formal engineering report. The report and documentation would be given to the city engineering office along with recommendations that the students would prepare.   This 1) provides the community with free consulting about how to improve their park, which is very useful; and 2) gives students "real-world" experience in using the skills they have obtained in the classroom.
Philology
Students would partner with a local secondary school and sponsor an essay contest for all interested students (or, if the school administration would cooperate, for ALL students).  During the leadup to the deadline, students visit the school in small groups to provide essay writing counseling, co-teach classes specifically about essay writing and critical thinking (or something similar).  When the essays are all completed, the students are responsible for judging them and awarding prizes. This 1)  teaches students valuable lessons about essay writing and critical thinking, and 2) makes undergraduates employ their advanced knowledge of grammar, diction, etc., in a concrete manner.
Performing Arts
Students are split into groups of two or three, and are each assigned a local secondary school.  There, they organize and direct a club for that particular performing art (let's say, for example, drama).  At the end of a certian period, the different "clubs" that the students have established come together in a competition of some kind.  This 1) increase youth participation in music / dance / drama / etc, and 2) gices the undergraduates a chance to employ their own skills in teaching and directing others.

These are only a few examples. There is literally NO LIMIT to what could be a Service Learning project, because in Service Learning THE WORLD IS THE SUBJECT MATTER. For more examples of Service Learning projects, click here.

How do I get my students involved?

Service Learning is intended to be an integrated part of the curriculum of a class. In other words, a Service Learning project is usually an assignment given out by the professor to be completed by the students. Like any other coursework, Service Learning projects must be completed in a satisfactory manner in order for the student to receive good marks.

OK, it sounds interesting. Can American Councils help me implement a Service Learning project?

For the time being, American Councils only has the resources to help its alumni implement Service Learning projects. However, we're always willing to offer advice and consultation to educational professionals. If you'd like to talk to us about Service Learning, contact us.

Where can I find more information?

To find more information about Service Learning, we suggest you visit one of the following sites:

The Big Dummy's Guide To Service Learning - as the name suggests, this is a very basic explanation of the tenets of Service Learning. The site also contains basic information about how to implement Service Learning projects.

Learn and Serve America - the world's largest Service Learning organization.

The National Service Learning Clearinghouse - tons of resources for educators, students, and communities.