What is Service Learning?
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Picking up trash on a riverbank is service.
Studying the role of wetlands in a healthy ecosystem is learning.
When college students help children from under-resourced schools design and implement activities as part of a project restoring the native wetland habitat of the Rio Salado. . . that is service learning.
—adapted from “Discover Service-Learning” by The National Youth Leadership Council
Service Learning is an instructional method that utilizes community service as a resource for learning. It allows students to learn and develop through participation in thoughtfully organized service activities that:
- integrate and enhance academic curriculum
- provide “real-life” experiences that exercise academic skills and knowledge
- meet actual community needs as determined by community members/agencies
- partner the University with community agencies and/or schools
- foster civic responsibility
- include structured reflection activities
service learning class note form
FACULTY/INSTRUCTORS: If you would like to designate your
course as a service learning course, please complete the
class note form and give it to your course scheduler.
INSTRUCTIONS | CLASS NOTE FORM
Service Learning Links | Funding Sources
Most often, service learning takes the form of a component of an established course, as a project or assignment. The required community service is usually a short 10-20 hour experience. Reflection activities (e.g., group discussion, journaling, blogging) are integrated into the course curriculum and help students make connections between their service experiences and course content. These reflection activities are a crucial component of any service learning experience. Simply adding a service requirement/assignment to a course without also including formal reflection activities does not constitute service learning. The course instructor is responsible for designing and implementing reflection activities, service project logistics, and ensuring that liability issues are covered as per university requirements.
University Service Learning at ASU offers USL internship courses that are unique in that they are stand-alone, credit-bearing, graded courses that require a more sustained, longer-term service commitment than most other service learning courses. Students earn 3-credits (in some cases satisfying General Studies requirements) and complete academic and reflective assignments as part of their internship, while spending 70-100 hours serving the community. University Service Learning offers an internship course (USL 402) focused on addressing the needs of K-12 education in the Phoenix Metro area, as well as internship courses (USL 294/484) in which students serve the community in whatever areas suit their interests.
Other key definitions of Service Learning
Campus Compact National Center
Service-learning is a teaching method which combines community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility. Service-learning programs involve students in organized community service that addresses local needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility, and commitment to the community.
Learn & Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (The Corporation for National and Community Service)
Service-learning offers a unique opportunity for America's young people -- from kindergarten to university students -- to get involved with their communities in a tangible way by integrating service projects with classroom learning. Service-learning engages students in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. Students not only learn about democracy and citizenship, they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform.
Service-learning can be applied across all subjects and grade levels; it can involve a single student or group of students, a classroom or an entire school. Students build character and become active participants as they work with others in their school and community to create service projects in areas like education, public safety, and the environment.
Why is Service-Learning Important?
A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effective service-learning programs improve grades, increase attendance in school, and develop students' personal and social responsibility. A growing body of research recognizes service-learning as an effective strategy to help students by:
- Promoting learning through active participation in service experiences;
- Providing structured time for students to reflect by thinking, discussing and writing about their service experience;
- Providing an opportunity for students to use skills and knowledge in real-life situations;
- Extending learning beyond the classroom and into the community; and
- Fostering a sense of caring for others.
Service-learning also strengthens both education and local communities by:
- Building effective collaborative partnerships between schools or colleges and other institutions and organizations;
- Engaging parents and other adults in supporting student learning;
- Meeting community needs through service projects conducted; and
- Providing engaging and productive opportunities for young people to work with others in their community.
SERVICE LEARNING LINKS
FUNDING SOURCES
Students Serve
Provides money to college students to fund service projects.
True Hero
Showcase your community project and win grant funding.
