Integrating Service with Learning Goals
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| Source: nationalgeographic.org |
Service learning is a powerful teaching tool that integrates meaningful service in your community into a rigorous academic curriculum. You can engage students with real world challenges and help them become agents of change.
Service learning is different from community service. Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation.
Service learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs.
Service learning motivates and empowers students by giving them a voice in an ongoing issue in their community and helps them to see the relevance of the learning that they're doing in their classroom. It provides an important framework for civic education and an authentic outlet for learning in many disciplines.
Service learning is also different from project based learning. Though two approaches share many characteristics. Key difference is that in service learning, students must be engaged in addressing real needs in their community.
Service learning is a natural fit for Nat Geo Learning Framework. Learning framework looks at what it means to be an explorer - the mindset of an explorer. This mindset is built around or made up of -
1. Critical Attitudes: curious, adventurous, responsible, respectful and empowered
2. Skills: observation, communication, collaboration, problem solving
3. Knowledge areas: the human journey, our changing planet, wildlife and wild places
Exploring
The first step in service learning is exploring. For students, it means to find real community needs that intersect with their own interests and talents. And for educators, this means exploring ways that community issues interact with learning goals and standards.
Exploration is an expansive phase with focus on generating student ideas and enthusiasm for service learning. Exploration should encourage students to focus on needs and issues inside the community. The service learning project should have direct ties to the content and/or skills emphasized in the curriculum.
Planning and Taking Action
After you have explored the interests, next step is to begin planning the details of service learning project and taking action. It includes:
1. Identifying the specific need in their community and validating the need for service
2. Identifying potential community partners and resources to guide students in working with community partners
3. Setting SMART goals and creating proposal for their service learning project
4. Preparing students for service expectations - making sure students have solid background in their topic and clarify any misconceptions about the community, make students aware about the expected behavior from them when working on service learning project.
Demonstrating, Reflecting and Assessing
One of the powerful aspects of service learning for students is that they can see how their actions can make a difference in their community. Giving students an opportunity to demonstrate their service and their learning to a larger audience can extend this impact. Student demonstration gives students a sense of ownership over the work they've put in. Demonstration is a reflection of how students have approached, planned and executed the activity.
Reflection should be incorporated through out all stages of service learning. It can take many forms and can vary in depth, mode and length. Allowing students the time to process and reflect on their experiences adds value to their service learning experience.
Assessments are designed to measure specific learning goals or standards from the curriculum. It is important to determine from the beginning which specific activities and assignments within the project will be assessed. There may be milestones in the exploring and planning process that are natural points for assessment or activities embedded in the project that can be valid evidence of the learning goals.
As a part of Integrating Service with Learning Goals, a National Geographic Education online professional learning course, I prepared a Service Learning Action Plan. To read, visit:
Resources
National Geographic Learning Framework:
Service Learning Toolkit:
National Geographic Explorers:
National Geographic Society Online Courses:
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