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 the community;
- is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program and the community;
- helps foster civic engagement;
- 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;
- provides structured time for students or participants to reflect on the service experience.
Service learning is a tactic that merges service to the community with student learning in a way that enhances both the student and the community. The strategy combines academic and social education goals to meet real community needs that require the application of knowledge, skills, and systematic reflection about the experience. By participating in an endeavor that benefits others, students broaden their view of the world and of themselves while learning new personal and social skills and applying content knowledge in an experiential context.
Service learning aims to build knowledge, character, and civic skills in young people by combining service to community with academic learning. By directly linking service to the academic curriculum, service learning creates a place for service that is integrated into a school’s core mission – education. Instead of becoming one more burden on the already busy lives of teachers, families, and students, service learning strives to make their lives easier by combining academic instruction with civic involvement.
A beneficial service learning program reinforces specific educational objectives while also engaging students in meaningful and structured volunteering. Service learning takes existing curriculum and modifies it to create an experience that is both relevant and reflective.
- Youth Voice
- Students participate in establishing goals and evaluate the degree to which goals are met.
- Genuine, Needed, Meaningful Service
- Service meets real community needs, with program planning that includes participation from a broad cross-section of the community.
- Service Connected to Learning
- Clearly defined student outcomes with intentional academic links to curriculum areas.
- Reflection, Pre, Post, and During Service
- Time and attention is given to preparing students, service recipients, and staff for the service experience. Students have varied structured opportunities for thinking about their service learning experiences and their connection to academic and community goals.
- Evaluation
- Both a formative and summative evaluation structure, with an eye toward encouraging changes and improvements in the service learning process.
(as identified by Vermont Community Works)
- Curricular Goals
- Curricular goals are identified and stated.
- Assessment
- Student achievement of curricular goals is regularly assessed.
- Service Goals
- Service goals that meet a genuine community need are clearly stated.
- Evaluation
- Service goals are evaluated.
- Challenges
- The learning and service goals stretch participants in new or challenging ways.
- Participation
- All participants, especially students, share selection, design, and evaluation of the project.
- Diversity
- Opportunities are offered to discuss and value differences and/or interact with a variety of individuals or groups.
- Community Connections
- Connections to the community are made that build knowledge about the community, identify community resources, and cultivate partnerships.
- Participants Preparation
- All participants are prepared with the knowledge and skills needed to perform the service.
- Reflection
- All participants are involved in multiple methods of reflection.
- Celebration
- All achievements are celebrated and all participants are recognized.
Although still in the early stages of development, studies suggest that schools with well-designed service and service learning programs can provide a number of benefits for students, teachers, schools, school programs, and communities. The following is a summary of the National Commission on Service Learning finding and other studies on potential service learning effects:
- Increased student engagement
- The critical connection service learning makes between the knowledge students acquire in the classroom and its real world use helps create more active learners
- Improved academic achievement
- When teachers explicitly tie service activities to academic standards and learning objectives, students show gain on measures of academic achievement, including standardized tests.
- Improved thinking skills and resources
- Service learning helps students improve their ability to analyze complex tasks, draw inferences from data, solve new problems, and make decisions.
- Improved interdependent identity
- Through service projects, students learn responsibility, trustworthiness, and caring for others. They can learn not to let each other down or to disappoint those being served.
- Improved social behavior
- Young people who are active in service programs are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, while having the kinds of social behaviors crucial for success in the workforce reinforced.
- Stronger tie to school, communities, and society
- Service learning can give students a sense of belonging to and responsibility for their communities, by fostering a sense of efficacy in making a real difference in their schools, communities, and society.
- Exposure to new careers
- Through service learning, many students come into contact with adults in careers that would otherwise remain hidden to them. By assisting them and seeing how schoolwork relates to what they do, students can acquire higher or more varied career aspirations, along with a more realistic understanding of what is necessary to attain them.
- Positive school environments
- Where service learning is practiced school wide, program experience shows that teachers can feel reinvigorated, dialogue on teaching and learning can be stimulating, and the school climate can improve. Service programs have also been associated with reduced negative student behaviors and disciplinary referrals, as well as dropout rates.
- Stronger community groups
- When young people form early connections with community groups through service activities, the groups themselves are often among the beneficiaries. Young people can infuse a charity or civic groups with energy and inspiration; become members of the volunteer force, staff, or board; help build awareness of the group’s mission throughout the community; and help with an organization to garner positive media attention.
- Increased community support for schools
- Community members who work with the young people engaged in service activities frequently say they came to view youth differently, seeing them as assets who contribute to the community in positive ways. Public support for schools can grow as a result of student involvement in community activities.
The benefits described here do not come about without careful attention to the design and implementation of service and service learning projects. In particular, teachers, principals, and community group leaders must tie the service to specific educational goals and learning standards; facilitate discussion of and reflection on the service and civic principles involved; and give students real choices in the planning, implementation, and assessment of the projects.
Allowing students to apply their learning in a meaningful way empowers them and helps break through many of the constraints associated with traditional learning environments. Education can then become a two-way street where community members can present real issues, problems, and challenges to students, and where students have the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to address important local issues.
Students who have participated in quality CSL experiences are attractive candidates to college admission boards who appreciate the sense of commitment shown by applicants who have worked with others to improve the quality of living for all community members. CSL experiences are also good opportunities to explore career options, to make contacts with community professionals, and to get an idea of the current and future job market. If you are considering a CSL experience, please talk to your school Counselor or the CSL specialists in Room 135 to learn more about CSL placements and opportunities.
