Service Learning Program Identity
Why is it important to create an identity for your service learning program?
The Identity of a Program often makes the program memorable. By creating the identity and ensuring that it aligns with public need and the institution's image, the program and the school are both promoting a positive statement. Having a memorable identity is a key element of successfully marketing a program. Also the identity may capture the interest of the local press and a good news story is great free advertising.
Hi LE.
Your point is well made on the need for identity. We are encouraging our learning communities to do just that so that the programs and community are aligned better and the improved communication benefits all stakeholders.
Trent Bartholomew
It is important to create an identity for your service learning program because it would grab the attention of the audience much more quickly, especially with the use of acronyms, if possible.
As a private or public institution, there are several aspects that need to be considered: liability, exposure, quality control, disruption, and good will to the community. The better a service learning program can identify and clearly communicate the purpose and outcome, the more understanding sites will be to participating.
You can communicate within the community and the college that the purpose and accountability is participation. Your consideration of how it helps the students and the community, inables more exposure for the student to be more skillfull and the more the community gets involved.
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 he service projects conducted
Providing engaging and productive opportunities for young people to work with others in their community
Dear DONNA,
Thank you for mentioning the important role participation plays in the student's development.
Trent Bartholomew
I agree by creating an acronym for the program you are giving it an identity. It is easy to identify with the prgram if it has a name.This name can be associate with the college.
There are so many proposals in day to day. To create an identity allows people to see the role that it plays, the goals, and the expectations in advance.
1st we have to create a Meaningful service;Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.
2nd shows Link to curriculum;Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.
3rd Reflection;Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.
and finally Progress monitoring;ervice-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.
An identity helps solidify the participants as a team. The school's 'team' will be identifiable by the community, raising awareness of the school and it's programs (is positive advertising). Also, the students will be proud to be on this team. The identity will be an easy way for members of the school and the community to refer to the team.
It allows students to be proud of the work that they do as well as helps in recruiting new students because of the branding and excitement behind it.
Creating an identity for a service learning program helps attract interest from other possible sites in the community, develops a positive association between the college and the program, helps people remember whom to contact if they are interested in service learning and brings pride to students by associating with this positive identity.
Hi Carl.
An excellent point, Carl. The college and students stand to benefit greatly from a positive association with the learning community.
Trent Bartholomew
It is important for schools to establish themselves as a supportive member of the community by establishing an image of service. When potential students, employers, and community partners talk about the school, it is important that those discussions include language about both education and service. This will create opportunities to partner with the community to provide great service learning offerings to our students.
It is important to create an identity for a service learning program because it makes the program unique and popular, which can attract publicity and more connections for the college.
Identifying the service program "Brands" or makes it unique to your institution , there are many service volunteers, when your community service is not identified it would be lost in other service volunteers.
We all identify with 'brands'; we have confidence in a particular product, for example because of its "branding". This concept would hold true in establishing a service learning program on any campus. That is; it needs an identity, a 'brand' that everyone involved can quickly recognize and associate with worth and quality.
Having an identity makes it easier for people to remember your program, and refer back to it. It can give you more exposure to the work you are doing.
