Volunteer Connect works with school and college educators to implement and support service-learning by:
- Connecting teachers and students with community volunteer opportunities that match learning objectives
- Helping teachers integrate service-learning into academic courses
- Providing service-learning informational resources, including our website and lending library
- Leading service-learning workshops and forums
Service-learning enriches teaching while engaging students in helping the community and the environment.
Service-learning:
- Motivates students through real-life application of learning
- Activates multiple learning styles and enhances student retention
- Enriches classroom discussions as students reflect on their variety of experiences
- Increases learning by building on what students know through experience
- Engages students in life-long learning and civic leadership.
FACULTY SERVICE-LEARNING GUIDE
A service-learning curriculum has 5 key components:
Learning objectives: Identify specific learning outcomes that can be achieved through involving students in community action and reflection.
Service: Engage students in projects or placements that meet real community needs and that support the learning objectives. You can find examples on our list of Community Opportunities.
- Placement model: Students select from a menu of existing community volunteer opportunities to find placements that fit course learning objectives.
- Project model: Students develop new group service projects, planning together with community agency partners.
We highly recommend that teachers, students, and agency partners complete a Service-Learning Agreement for risk reduction, accountability, and communication.
Reflection: Guide students in examining and sharing their service experiences through journals, class discussions, creative representations, and other reflection activities. Ongoing class discussions are especially helpful for harvesting the community learning and enhancing students' experience.
Demonstration: Give students opportunities to demonstrate their learning and achievements through such means as presentations, reports to agencies, publications, project websites, letters to the media, news articles, and celebrations.
Assessment: Reflection and demonstration provide opportunities for assessing achievement of learning and service objectives. You may also use our Agency Evaluation Form or Student Evaluation Form.
For assistance with any of these components, please Contact Us.
To learn more about service-learning, check our links to service-learning conferences and service-learning websites.
