According to Vanderbilt University, service learning is defined as: “A kind of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students attempt to achieve real goals for the community and deeper knowledge and skills .”
Wikipedia describes service learning: “An educational strategy that combines learning objectives with community support in order to provide a pragmatic, innovative learning experience whilst fulfilling societal needs.”
That instant definition is simpler to understand, but it still feels much more complicated than it has to be. How about this: In support learning, pupils learn educational standards through tackling real-life problems in their community.
WHAT DOES SERVICE LEARNING LOOK LIKE?
Community service, as a lot of us understand, has been a part of educational systems for several years. However, what takes service learning to the next level is that it combines serving the community together with the rich academic front-loading, assessment, and reflection typically seen in learning.
Classes could be involved in lead problems that are more personal and face-to-face, like working with the homeless. Involvement could be indirect in which the students are working on broader problems, maybe a local environmental issue. The device may also include advocacy which centers around educating other people about the difficulties. Additionally, the device can be research-based where the pupils act to curate and current on information according to public needs.
THE BREAKDOWN OF A SERVICE-LEARNING UNIT
It is not sufficient to help others. Deep service learning is not scared to attack the rigorous standards along with the service. You might find it helpful to divide your unit into four parts:
1. Pre-Reflection: Have your students brainstorm in writing the manners that they may help their planet or their local community. Check out Newsela, CNN Student News, or their regional papers for posts on current events and issues of interest to get in the informational reading, as well.
2. Research: Guide your students in techniques to help them hunt sensibly and efficiently. They ought to run online surveys (crowdsourcing) and create graphs to chart their findings. Students must summarize their findings using embedded images, graphs, and other multimedia components. (Attempt an infographic tool such as Piktochart.)
3. Presentation: They could develop posters to promote their call to action, write a letter campaign, or produce a very simple site using Weebly. Pupils can”go on the road” with their findings into local schools and associations or create screencasts for the school site.
ASSESSING SERVICE LEARNING
Another element that will make service learning unique is that multiple stakeholders evaluate students:
Community assessment: The community partners can get their say too by assessing the students. They might even get a voice in creating the rubric or criteria for assessing the students.
Teacher assessment: Along with assessing students on the material, you may additionally check them on how well they accomplished the writing, graphing, researching, or talking.
Student assessment: Your students may conduct self-assessment as a form of manifestation. They also may assist in creating the rubric that other stakeholders use to evaluate them.
What we’re talking about here is a form of participation. It’s about leveraging the need to do something good in the world as a means to help children hit their learning goals. It’s about teaching empathy as well as literacy. It is about teaching compassion in addition to composition. It is about teaching advocacy in addition to algebra.
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