So, you’re ready to create a service-learning course or move an existing course to a service-learning format. When creating a service-learning course, it can be helpful to look at the creative trail blazing of others! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to bring service-learning into your program or discipline. At the Guide To College and University Service-Learning Programsyou will findlinks to college and university programs that feature service-learning as well as their online course lists and syllabi.
In addition, here are some practical, online tools to get you started. They are sorted according to the four key components of service-learning: 1) reflection 2) assessment 3) civic responsibility 4) syllabi and course materials.
1) Reflection Service-learning is not volunteerism. Reflection allows students to think critically about their experience, including how the experience affected them emotionally and how their values may have changed.
2) Assessment Because service-learning involves members of the community, assessment involves students, faculty, and the community partner. Student assessments may include pre-service and post-service assessments, and faculty and community members may also be part of the assessment process.
3) Civic Responsibility Intentional civic responsibility should be fostered by service-learning activities. Students should emerge from their experience with a sense of increased civic engagement and responsibility.
A Practical Guide for Integrating Civic Responsibility into the Curriculum (Adobe PDF) - an 86-page book that provides practical, easy-to-use applications for community college faculty to integrate civic responsibility concepts and practices into their courses; includes more than 40 different exercises, activities, and assessment tools.
Here is a comprehensive issue paper in civic engagement and service-learning. Building Community Through Service-Learning: The Role of the Community Partner by Susan A. Abravanel, discusses the role of the community partner in service-learning projects. By walking you through Mike Walsh's Natural Resources class at Nestucca Valley Middle School in Beaver, Oregon, you will see what must be considered, the steps in building the course, how results are evaluated, and just how to work with your community partner. Includes many helpful diagrams, tables, and checklists.
4) Syllabi and Course Materials Service-learning components should be emphasized in written materials. Course objectives will include exploring the relationship between academic learning and community service, understanding how the experience relates to the field of study, and documenting, through written reflections, how students’ expectations, goals, and values may have changed.
Primary Resources and Syllabi Collections The following are primary resources for service learning, ones you'll want to include in your 'bookmarks' or 'favorites'. In addition you can find hundreds of service-learning course syllabi in nearly every discipline at the following sites: Campus Compact National Service Learning Clearinghouse Community-Campus Partnerships for Health On the left-hand menu click on "Resources". Then click on the "Service-Learning" link. From the Service-Learning page, click on the "Discipline-Specific Resources, Including Syllabi."
