Service-Learning offers an approach to engaging students in academic success and their community.
What is Service-Learning?
Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.
Service-Learning curriculum takes advantage of volunteer positions both on- and off-campus. Volunteer responsibilities apply concepts or skills pertinent to course outcomes. Students learn while engaging with the community, and the community benefits from student participation.
How do I start a Service-Learning component in my course?
Initiating a Service-Learning program in your course can seem like a make-over for your syllabus; however, it does not have to be. The basic structure for starting a program for your course includes the following:
Identify Course Objectives:
Identify the concepts or skills integral to your course that could be better taught through real-world, practical experience.
Examples:
- Writing and Composition for an English Class
- Basic Tax Preparation for an Accounting Class
- Political Systems in Political Science or Sociology
- Ecosystem Health and Biology for Environmental Science
Menu of Volunteering Opportunities:
Faculty members integrate volunteering options into their syllabus (one-time project, quarter-long service, multi-quarter service, etc.) A menu of volunteer options is provided for students, and each reflects the learning outcomes from the course. Bellevue College offers several opportunities for both on- and off-campus volunteering.
Faculty members and the community organizations should have a firm understanding of expectations and responsibilities – meaning organizations should provide guidance to student volunteers on-site, and faculty should provide students with a framework for understanding their volunteer experience. For faculty just initiating Service-Learning in their classes, consider using on-campus volunteer resources
- Office of Sustainability: Create or Research a Sustainability Project
- Office of Sustainability: Volunteer/Intern/Jobs
- Center for Career Connections: Connections to Community Organizations and Internships
- Peer2Peer: Volunteer Opportunities On-Campus
- KBCS: Volunteer Opportunities with College Radio Station
Provide Orientation for Students:
Service-Learning may be a new concept for students. A brief orientation on Service-Learning explains the purpose of incorporating Service-Learning into the course. Additionally, an orientation provides basic information on what it means to be guest or volunteer in a community outside Bellevue College. An orientation does not have to be long or in-depth, but provide students with a basic understanding volunteer service and its incorporation in course work.
Course Assignments:
Students complete assignments that explain how they apply concepts of the course into their volunteer placement. Assignments could take many forms, including journal entries, articles, essays, posters, websites, or a completed project for a community organization.
Examples:
- English/Writing: Blog Posts and Social Media for a local non-profit.
- Accounting: Tax form assistance for low-income residents.
- Political Science: Voter registration through local non-profits.
- Environmental Science: Restoration activities for the Cedar River watershed
Last Updated July 22, 2019