What is Service Learning?

A: Service-Learning is an educational experience that enhances classroom learning. There are several characteristics which make service-learning a unique way to learn, serve and teach:

• Community service serves as a vehicle for the achievement of specific academic goals and objectives.

• It provides structured time for students to reflect on their service and learning experiences through a mix o dreading, writing, speaking, listening and creating in small and large groups and individual work.

• It fosters the development of those "intangibles"- empathy, personal values, beliefs, awareness, self-esteem, self confidence, social-responsibility, and helps to foster a sense of caring for others.

• It is based on a reciprocal relationship in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service.

• Credit is awarded for learning, college-level learning, not for a requisite number of hours.

Elements of High Quality Service Learning:

1. Integrated Learning

• The service learning component has clearly articulated knowledge, skill, or value goals that arise from the broader classroom and school goals.
• The service informs the academic learning content, and the academic learning content informs the service.
• Life skills learned outside the classroom are integrated back into classroom learning.

2. Quality Service

• The service responds to an actual community need that is recognized by the community.
• The service is student-appropriate and well organized.
• The service is designed to achieve significant benefits for students and the community.

3. Collaboration

• The service learning component is a collaboration among as many partners as is feasible: students, community-based organization staff, school administrators, teachers, and recipients of service.
• All partners benefit from the service component and contribute to its planning.

4. Student Voice

• Students participate actively in the reflection sessions, evaluations, and celebrations; and take on roles appropriate for their maturity and commitment level.

5. Civic Responsibility

• The service learning project promotes students' responsibility to care for others and contribute to the community.
• By participating in the service learning component, students understand how they can impact their community.

6. Reflection

• Reflection establishes the connections between the students' service experiences and the academic curriculum.
• Reflection occurs before, during, and after the service experience.

7. Evaluation

• All partners, especially the students, are involved in evaluating the service learning project.
• The evaluation seeks to measure progress toward the learning and service goals of the project.

Adapted from materials from the Service Learning 2000 Center.

Assessment Tools:

Campus Compact- Assessing Service-Learning and Civic Engagement: Principles and Techniques (2001)

Editors: Sherril B. Gelman Ph.D., Barbara Holland Ph.D., Amy Driscoll Ed.D.,

Amy Spring M.P.A, and Seanna Kerrigan M.Ed.

Center for Academic Excellence, Portland State University- Assessing the Impact of Service-Learning: A workbook of Strategies and Methods 2^nd Edition (April 1998)

Amy Driscoll, Ed.D., Sherril B. Gelmon, Ph.D., Barbara A. Holland, Ph.D. Amy

Spring M.P.A, and Seanna Kerrigan M.A., Kari Grsvold and M.J. Longley, M.Ed.

Development Tools:

Michigan Journal of Service-Learning Service-Learning Course Design Book.(Summer 2001)

Editor: Jeffery Howard

Campus Compact-Introduction to Service-Learning Toolkit: Readings and Resources for Faculty (September 2000)

Eastern Michigan University, Office of Academic Service-Learning- Faculty Development Manual (September 1997)

Kathleen Stacey, Dale L. Rice, and Georgea Langer

Bennion Center- Service-Learning in the Curriculum: A Faculty Guide to Course

Development(October, 1996)
Linda Bonar, Renee Buchanan, Irene Fischer and Ann Wechsler

Service-Learning Advisory Board:

The Service-Learning Committee has recently developed a new model for advising the Office of Service-Learning at Gonzaga University. An advisory board consisting of faculty, staff, community partners and students will assist in the promotion of service-learning on campus and in the Spokane community. The functions of the Service-Learning Advisory Board include:

• Recruit/Encourage and assist new faculty and community partners interested in developing new service-learning courses.

• Participate in, or assist in the development of workshops on service-learning for potential service-learning faculty, community partners and students.

• Serve as the primary advocate for service-learning faculty seeking promotion and/or tenure.

• Evaluate service-learning faculty, students and community partners for annual service-learning awards.

• Evaluation and preparation of grant proposals.

• Promote awareness of all faculty and administration at Gonzaga University to the positive impact of service-learning on the community.

• Solicit information from students regarding student concerns, ideas and proposals for change.

If you would like to serve as a member of the Advisory Board, or if you know a student that you would recommend to serve on the board, please fill out the information below. We will make an announcement of the new members after the collecting the ballots. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Allan Englekirk or Meg McGlamery. Thank you for your support!

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