Service Learning Value
What do you see as being the greatest value students receive from participating in service learning?
Students get to apply the skills they have learned in classes and enhance their knowledge and experience.
Students get real life experience to apply the skills they have learned in class. It also gives them an outlet for meaningful contribution to their community.
Hi Gina.
Good point. We have seen our students grow each term they were able to participate in a service-learning activity. Many reported that it was the first time they had ever "helped" their community.
Trent Bartholomew
I feel they gain more than just experience and knowledge...they actually gain a sense of responsibility, respect from the community and most importantly they practice those hard to teach soft-skills. I have been coordinating service learning events for 3 years now and I am blown away by the accomplishments of the students during an event. Not only do they learn but they are actually having fun. Some students after graduation will contact me when seasonal events roll back around just to participate again.
Its good for smart students to participate in most of the campus activities. That will help them to accomplish their goal for the job they want.
Dear Carey,
I am pleased that you mentioned that students actually had fun on their SL event. This is too often an overlooked feature and one that can ease fears when one tries to promote SL events.
Trent Bartholomew
Application of skills and knowledge is only one aspect of service learning. I think students learn much more about themselves and the people they work with, the individuals to whom they provide the service, and the people close to the student's personal life as well.
I work in a culinary school, and we are very active in community service. The benefits to the student are huge. Not only do they get a chance to practice their skills in a real and meaningful way, they also give back to the neighborhood. We teach cooking here, and as much as everyone on the campus enjoys fancy food on a big white plate, cooking is really about feeding people. Reminding students of that fact is an opportunity to really teach.
I agree, students get to apply their skills and grow with the experience and knowledge of knowing they know how to perform their skills outside the classroom.
Students engaged in service learning may achieve a realization that particpation in community and society is a social responsibility. Instead of being a passive member of a community , the student may feel a connection to that community and have an investment in the community.
Besides helping a good cause, studnts may feel a new sense of self worth and a valuable member of society whose contributions are worthwhile and important.
The idea that we are all responsible for helping those less fortunate is a concept that helps create and maintain a more humane environment.
I believe that the greatest benefit that students receive from service learning is the actual application of skills learned at school in a real working environment. It allows them to utlize ALL skills that they have learned and challenges them to be able to prioritize the various skills in different working situations. It builds confidence and also builds character. It allows them to be exposed to different situations that they would not have gotten in the classroom.
Service Learning encourages the student to explore the process of service. Not just working hours at a non-profit organization, but identifying a need in a community and how they might help meet that need. This process develops self-reflection.
I agree with Ellen. I have seen my students change their attitudes towards different groups of people after they have experienced Service learning. Many of them develop a true passion for helping in their community. It is a wonderful transition to observe in our students.
Service Learning gives the student an opportunity to view the real world before being part of it. It is another form of education to prepare them to perform in the real-world setting
Service Learning adds the value of confidence for students. Each student has a threshold to cross from student to professional and most of the time this journey is made abruptly and is quite a shock to the student. With Service Learning, the student actively participates yet still has a tether to the school and/or program. This gives the student the freedom to actively participate yet still feel safe. Once they realize they can actively participate, their confidence level is signicantly highly and therefore allowing an easier transition from studet to professional.
The student learns about the community and the people in it. They see how things work outside of a career, school, family. They learn the understanding of helping people and not expecting something back
A better understanding of their impact on the world and more empathy.
Learning to see beyond themselves, building self-esteem, and building self-confidence in the skills they are developing. Many of the students that I interact with in my classroom come in with low self-esteem and a lack of confidence. I find that giving of oneself to others enables the student to realize that they are capable of doing much more than they ever dreamed possible. It also gets the "me" generation looking beyond themselves and their "personal" technology.
I directed volunteer organizations for 12 years and I can not say enough about the personal good that service gives to the individual who serves others.
Sharilynn,
Excellent description of the positive benefits that come from SL programs
Trent Bartholomew
