Service Learning:

• Combines community service with academic coursework.
• Provides students with opportunities for structured reflection on their service experience.
• Enhances students' learning; knowledge gained in the classroom can enhance their service in the community.
• Integrates classroom theory with practice in the real world.
• Places equal emphasis on service and learning goals.   It equally benefits the service provider and the service recipient.
  

Community service consists of providing service to individuals or communities in need.   Service-learning links community service with structured reflection to promote academic learning.   Service-learning can take place in co-curricular service projects or within formal courses.

A health education course in which students practice the health concepts they've studied by teaching stress management skills to a community group An engineering course in which students work to design adaptive devices for people with specific disabilities A Spanish course in which students practice their speaking skills by providing recreational programs for children in the Latino community

Service-learning can help you:

• Apply what you learn in the classroom to problems in the real world
• Explore different majors
• Deepen your understanding of course content
• Integrate theory with practice
• Enhance your skills in working with diverse groups of people
• Locate internship and job opportunities
• Make professional contacts in your field
• Explore career choices

Faculty choose to include community service in a course for various reasons.   Often they believe service-learning will make the course material more relevant to students.   They recognize that active learning strategies such as service-learning help students learn more effectively and easily. Service-learning can be a powerful motivator and often appeals to students with different learning styles.

Service-learning within courses can take many forms.   A faculty member might require a certain number of hours of community service in a course or make it an assignment option.   The service activities might become a major focus of discussions throughout the course or they might only be addressed for a class session or two.

• Consider the course objectives and how community service experience might help your students meet them.   Consider what types of community agency sites might work best for your students.
• Contact the Senior Program Coordinator for Service-Learning at (301) 314-2273.
• Consult our on-line Faculty Service-Learning Handbook and other resources.