learning assignment service

Service Learning

This guide provides insight into service learning including the benefits of using it in the classroom, ideas for implementation, and sample assignments.

An academic course that involves community engagement — more widely known as service learning or community-based learning — is “an approach to teaching and learning in which students use academic knowledge and skills to address genuine community needs.” This type of civic engagement aligns closely with  Boston University’s core institutional values. As the BU  Mission Statement  emphasizes,  “We remain dedicated to our founding principles: that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community — local and international.”

Note: In its focus on addressing real-world issues, service learning is often seen as a kind of experiential learning. Consult CTL’s guide on experiential learning to learn more. 

What are the benefits?

Multiple researchers have found that engaging in service learning helps students develop leadership skills, strengthen their sense of belonging at their home institution, cultivate personal values, and embrace self-efficacy (Eyler & Giles, 1999). Furthermore, such experiences increase student commitment to promoting racial understanding, commitment to activism, and the likelihood of pursuing a career in medicine, education, or another service-related profession (Astin et. al, 2000).

In order to harness these benefits, students must engage in meaningful reflection to help them process and make sense of their service learning experience. Reflection prompts students to assume an active role in the meaning-making process by “direc[ting] the student’s attention to new interpretations of events” (Eyler & Giles, 1999) as well as inviting them to consider how their beliefs and identities (as well as others’) are informed by social, economic, and other structural forces.

How do I structure service learning in my course?

Dr. Sheila Cordner, Lecturer of Humanities at BU, recommends the following steps for incorporating service learning into your course:

• Decide on the role of service learning in the course :  Service learning can be a central focus of a course in its theme and content — requiring students to participate in the community organization throughout the semester — or it can simply be incorporated into the course as part of one specific assignment. For instance, in Dr. Cordner’s introductory Humanities course at BU, the service-learning component is part of one assignment that serves as a capstone to the course, requiring a one-time site visit (with preparation beforehand and reflection afterwards). It can be helpful to explain the extent of service learning in the course syllabus, especially in terms of learning outcomes, assignments, and grading requirements.
• Identify community partners :  Many organizations in Boston regularly welcome college students. The BU  Community Service Center also offers a number of volunteer opportunities for BU students, and staff members are willing to help faculty develop service learning opportunities for courses and to speak to students in related courses.
• How often and how many times will the students visit?
• Does the organization require an orientation for its volunteers? If so, could the orientation for students be incorporated into one of the site visits?
• What information does the organization want the students to know before beginning the project? For example, if it is a nursing home, what would be helpful for students to know in advance about the population of residents?
• Consider creating a simple rubric that the community organizations could complete after the students have participated (this may be particularly helpful if the faculty member is not accompanying students on the site visits).
• When scheduling site visits to community organizations, help students factor in travel time.
• When introducing the service learning assignment(s), emphasize the importance of building a  partnership  with the organization instead of conducting an act of service.
• Discuss the differences between “community service” and “service learning” conducted in relation to specific course material.
• Consider inviting other BU students who have experience with the community partner to share information with current students.
• Establish clear grading guidelines:  How will the students be assessed? By an ongoing journal kept of their experiences? By a final reflection paper? How will their attendance at the site visits be evaluated?

Reflection and Sample Assignments

A key difference between “community service” and “service learning” is that in the case of service learning, students are expected to reflect on how their experience partnering with a community organization impacts their learning of course material.

One effective way to evaluate students’ service learning is to develop a writing assignment with a reflection component, which specifically requires students to connect their service experience with course themes, questions, and texts. One popular method is the  “What? So What? Now What?”  model, which aligns with the different stages of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (see figure below) and can be easily adapted to reflective journal writing.

Agreeing that guided reflection is essential to the service learning experience, many educators have turned to Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle. This process depicts the relationship between community engagement and critical reflection.

Here, after completing an aspect of their service learning experience (Step 1), students move through three phases to make sense of their experience. These include reflecting on the experience itself (Step 2: reflective observation), drawing conclusions from this reflection (Step 3: abstract conceptualization), and then planning for the future or trying out new ideas (Step 4: active experimentation). This cyclical process thus includes the integration of:

• knowledge — the concepts, facts, and information acquired through formal learning and past experience;
• activity — the application of knowledge to a “real world” setting; and
• reflection — the analysis and synthesis of knowledge and activity to create new knowledge” (Indiana University, 2006, n.p.).

Other examples of reflective writing can be found  here  and  here .

Additional means of evaluation often include an oral presentation, or a digital project. For instance,  Digication , a free ePortfolio platform supported by BU, can be used to help students showcase and reflect on their cocurricular learning experience.

Here are some sample rubrics for specific types of assessments:

• Reflective journals for  field biology  and  clinical medicine
• Presentation,  engineering
• Portfolios for  legal externship  and  English/writing

Additional resources

• Reflection in Service Learning (Indiana University – Bloomington)
• Service Learning sample syllabi (Campus Compact)
• Service-Learning course descriptions by discipline (Loyola University Maryland)
• Teaching Through Community Engagement (Vanderbilt University)

References and further reading

Astin, Alexander & J. Vogelgesang, Lori & K. Ikeda, Elaine & A. Yee, Jennifer. (2000). How Service Learning Affects Students. Higher Education Research Institute. University of California, Los Angeles.

Eyler, Janet; Giles, Dwight E. Jr.; and Gray, Charlene J., “At A Glance: What We Know about The Effects of Service-Learning on Students, Faculty, Institutions and Communities, 1993-1999” (1999).  Bibliographies . 5.  https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcebibliography/5

Eyler, Janet, and D.E. Giles. (1996).  A Practitioners Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning . Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

Eyler, J. (2002).  Reflection: Linking Service and Learning—Linking Students and Communities . Journal of Social Issues, 58: 517–534.

Jacoby, Barbara. (2015). Service-Learning Essentials: Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sheila Cordner , co-author of this guide, would be happy to be in touch with faculty interested in pursuing service learning in their courses: [email protected] .

Prepared by Sheila Cordner and the Center for Teaching and Learning at Boston University

You may also be interested in:

Experiential learning, assessing learning, embodied learning: teaching and learning with reacting to the past, ctl guide to the individual in community hub area, active learning, universal design for learning: an introduction, turning inside out: learning beyond the classroom, project-based learning.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to search
• Skip to footer

Center for Engaged Learning

Service-learning.

Service-learning was one of the ten experiences listed as a high-impact practice (HIP) when such practices were first identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) in 2007. Given the many benefits that service-learning experiences offer students (Jacoby, 2015), it is not surprising that it was one of the ten identified as a HIP in the AACU’s report,  College Learning for a New Global Century.  Before discussing what makes service-learning a HIP, it is important to define service-learning and describe aspects of the definition in detail.

Every course has a list of objectives that students are expected to reach, and all instructors have to consider how students will achieve those objectives. When course objectives can be reached by doing work for and with community partners, service-learning pedagogy is an option. Bringle and Hatcher (1995) define service-learning as

a credit-bearing, educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. (p. 112)

Each part of this definition is significant and will be described in more depth.

Service-learning is Credit-Bearing

Service-learning is part of a course – a “credit-bearing educational experience” (Bringle & Hatch, 1995, p. 112). This distinguishes service-learning from volunteerism. While volunteers offer service in the community, the service is generally not associated with a course, nor are the volunteers asked to reflect on the service activity. Service-learning is designed as a means for students to learn the content of a course through the process of carrying out service. The service and the learning are intertwined.

An example is helpful here. Volunteers can help hand out blankets to homeless people and drive them to shelters on cold evenings. This act contributes to the public good, yet the volunteers may or may not learn much from the experience. Students in a service-learning sociology course about social issues and local problems can also hand out blankets and drive homeless individuals to shelters, but to meet the objectives of the course, they will do more. The students could help a city to determine if there are enough beds in shelters for the number of homeless individuals in the city. They could gather information on the conditions in shelters as they are handing out blankets. An assignment in the course could be to write a report that city officials use to help determine funding for homeless individuals. The students in this sociology course would have a meaningful  educational  experience as they provide important and needed work in the community that contributes to the public good.

Meeting an Identified Community Need

Service-learning is intended to meet “identified community needs” (Bringle & Hatcher, 1995, p. 112). Sometimes the learning that university students accomplish in the community is not associated with a service-learning course and is not necessarily focused on a need that community members have stated. For example, schools of education generally have education majors spend time learning and teaching in public elementary, middle, and high schools. These practicum and student teaching experiences are designed for education majors to meet national and state standards as they work toward obtaining teaching licenses. In this instance, the public schools in the community are partnering with the university, but not to meet an identified community need. Rather, the public schools are helping the university to meet the needs of the schools of education for educating teacher candidates. This is the distinction between service-learning and community engagement.

To qualify as an identified community need, a community member must state the particular service that is needed. Service-learning honors the wisdom of individuals who run community organizations and work daily in the community. These are the people who know what type of service is needed and how it should be carried out. Should a college professor approach a leader of a community organization by telling her the work that her students will accomplish for the organization, without understanding the particular needs of the community organization, this would not qualify as service-learning. The college instructor needs to approach the organization by asking the leader to share the particular needs for service the organization has identified. The instructor can then see if any of these needs are related to objectives in her course. When there is a close match between a service need stated by a community member and one or more course objectives, the prospects for service-learning are greatly improved.

There are basically three ways that the service component of a service-learning course can be conducted. The first is by providing community-based service, generally in partnership with a community organization. Again, a leader in the organization would stipulate the specific service need that students would help fulfill on-site in the community. The second way is with a class-based service. Working in the college classroom, students provide a product or service that the community partner has requested. Examples of class-based service include website development, video production, or research for a non-profit organization. Generally with class-based service, the community partner visits the class and explains the service or product needed. Often students are encouraged or even required to visit the community organization at least once during the semester. At the end of the semester, the leader of the community organization might visit the class to see the final product or to discuss the result of the students’ service. The final way that service can be incorporated into a course is a combination of community- and class-based service. Regardless of which of the three types are used, it is critical that the community partner identify the need to be met through service.

Service-learning can also take place in study abroad courses. Instructors make arrangements before arriving at the destination abroad to determine which identified community need the students will be addressing. Often the service-learning experiences are the most meaningful part of the study abroad course because of the interactions students will experience while conducting the service. One professor said of her service-learning course in Africa, “Without the service work, we are simply staring out the bus windows and trying to interpret from our Western lens. The sunsets are magnificent, the elephants awe-inspiring, but it is the interactions in working with the people that are transformative.”

Reflection on Service

Students in service-learning courses are asked to reflect on their service and how it integrates with course content. Frequently students write reflections on their service in the community and participate in class discussions that make connections between course readings and the service activities. Again, this is different from volunteering. Concerns can arise when service is conducted without a reflective component. Negative stereotypes may be reinforced, complex problems may be viewed in superficial ways, and analysis of underlying structural inequalities in society left unconsidered (Jones, 2002). Instructors of service-learning courses work to include thoughtful reflection in class discussions and written assignments. Depending on course content and the particular service-experience, negative stereotypes can be examined and discredited, layers of complexity related to the societal problem can be uncovered, or larger societal issues related to inequality can be studied. Reflection is a central and essential component of service-learning courses.

Understanding of Course Content

Since service-learning is arranged to simultaneously meet an identified community need and one or more course objectives, students’ service experiences will relate to the content of the course they are taking. As students read texts for the course, participate in class discussions and carry out written assignments, they can make connections with their service-learning experiences. Students will sometimes say that their service experiences “bring the course to life.” By this they mean that at least some of the concepts, theories, and principles being taught in the course are learned in a dynamic way with the service. Students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in service-learning courses.

Consider two options for how an instructor of a computer course might design her pedagogy. The first option is to teach the course without service-learning. Students will have required readings and written assignments and, as a culminating activity, design a website for an imaginary client. The students will likely enjoy this experience and learn from it, but it is very different in nature from the instructor’s second option for how to teach the course.

The computer course instructor who chooses to use service-learning has required readings and written assignments and also arranges a service project with the director of a local non-profit agency who is requesting a new website for the agency. The director attends a class session to describe the mission of the agency, its clients, and how the new website should function. Prior to designing the website, the students are asked to spend a few hours at the agency to learn more about it. As students work on constructing the website, they keep in contact with the agency director and people employed there to ensure that expectations for the final product are met. Students are highly motivated to create a website that meets with the agency director’s specifications, and they work diligently to produce a high quality product. They know that people who work at the non-profit agency are depending on them and that the clients need an up-to-date website with new and important functions. Focusing on every detail, the students put a significant amount of thought and energy into creating the best possible product possible.

While students in the computer course without service-learning learn how to design a website through the exercise of making one for an imaginary client, the students in the service-learning course have the experience of creating a website for an actual client. They know what it means to meet, and perhaps, even exceed the client’s expectations. They understand the significance of their work and the value of listening carefully to clients in a way that students in the course without service-learning have yet to experience. The students in the service-learning course develop a deep understanding of the course content as they carry out the service associated with the course.

A Broader Appreciation of the Discipline

While not all students in a service-learning course are going to gain a broader appreciation of the discipline, some students will take away deep learning and a greater understanding of the discipline. In a multi-institutional study conducted with 261 engineering students, a survey was used to learn how the students perceived service as a source of learning technical and professional skills relative to traditional course work. Students’ responses indicated that 45% of what they learned about technical skills and 62% of what they learned about professional skills was through service (Carberry, Lee & Swan, 2013). Clearly, these engineering students’ gain a greater understanding of their discipline through their service experiences.

In another study, with a smaller sample of 37 students across sections of a non-profit marketing course, the students compared their learning from a variety of pedagogical tools, including case studies, lectures, reading assignments, guest speakers, exams, textbooks, and service-learning experiences in local chapters of national organizations and non-profit organizations. Students responded with a 5-point Likert scale indicating the degree to which each pedagogical tool helped them to meet the specific objectives of the course. Students rated the service-learning project higher than all of the other pedagogical tools as contributing to their learning in all course objectives (Mottner, 2010). Additionally, the course instructor saw that service-learning was not only effective for supporting students’ learning of the course objectives, but also proved helpful for students in determining their future careers, gaining confidence in interacting with clients, and understanding people from another culture (p. 243).

With the opportunity to apply newly learned skills in a service-learning project, students learn more about the discipline they are studying, and depending on the service-learning setting, they may learn about the lives of people in the community who have fewer resources than they do while also learning about the underlying and systemic reasons for particular circumstances.

Enhanced Sense of Civic Responsibility

The final aspect of Bringle and Hatcher’s (1995) definition of service-learning maintains that students can gain an enhanced sense of civic responsibility by conducting and reflecting on service. Through the process of conducting meaningful service in the community, students can learn the importance of engaging in the community to make positive contributions; that is, they can learn to be civic-minded.

Cress (2013) explains that being civic-minded involves both knowing and doing. College students and graduates may know about and even analyze community problems yet feel overwhelmed and do little or nothing to remedy them. This is knowing without doing. Just as harmful, are individuals who carry out service without substantial knowledge about the issue. This is doing without knowing. Cress calls for community-based educational experiences that increase knowledge and skills to address civic issues. In other words, combining knowing and doing in such a way that civic action is carried out responsibly.

Service-learning offers the initial opportunity for college students to learn how to be civic-minded by combining knowledge gained in the university classroom with skills acquired in community settings so that responsible and respectful service is provided. “Civic-minded graduates will make important contributions to their communities through their capacity to generate citizen-driven solutions” (Moore & Mendez, 2014, p. 33).

Bringle and Hatcher’s (1995) definition of service-learning, quoted and described in detail here, illustrates the multifaceted aspects of this pedagogy. Just tacking on service to an existing course does not make it a service-learning course. The service experience and reflection upon it is integrated with the course. Successes, frustrations, and troubleshooting are discussed in the classroom. Instructors support students in making links between their service experience and the curriculum of the course. Instructors may also support students in analyzing the specific circumstances experienced in service-learning so they develop an understanding of the underlying structural inequalities in the broader society that impact those circumstances. Service-learning pedagogy, when conducted in a thorough and thoughtful manner, has the potential for deepening students’ learning and even offering the prospect of transformative learning (Felten & Clayton, 2011).

With such impressive outcomes, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007) rightly included service-learning on the list of high-impact practices. The next section addresses the question, “What makes service-learning a high-impact practice?”

Back to Top

What makes it a high-impact practice?

Calling for “implementation quality,” in high-impact practices, Kuh (2013, p. 7) outlined eight key elements of high-impact practices. According to Kuh, these elements can be useful in determining the quality of a practice for advancing student accomplishment. The eight key elements are listed below.

• Performance expectations set at appropriately high levels
• Significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time
• Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters
• Experiences with diversity wherein students are exposed to and must contend with people and circumstances that differ from those with which students are familiar
• Frequent, timely, and constructive feedback
• Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning
• Opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real-world applications
• Public demonstration of competence (p. 10)

In this section, service-learning will be discussed as it relates to each of the key elements of high-impact practices.

High Performance Expectations

From the first day of class, it is important for instructors of service-learning courses to communicate the high expectations they have for students’ service. The quality of the service should influence grading, as this is a way to immediately communicate the centrality of service to students. The leader of the community organization where the service will be performed should be invited to speak to the class about their expectations for service. This leader can share how both high- and low-quality service impact the organization and people in the community. Generally, service does come with some challenges as Cress (2013) points out service-learning involves relationships, and these can go awry. “Personality conflicts can arise, students may lack the ability to deal with others who are different from themselves, community partners may not follow through on their commitments, and group members may not meet their responsibilities” (p. 16). Students who are working to meet high performance expectations will likely need to overcome obstacles that can interfere with performing the service at a peak level. How the students cope with and overcome obstacles is part of the learning in service-learning, and it is a significant aspect of how students demonstrate a high level of performance in the course.

Investment of Significant Time and Effort

When students carry out service, they will likely learn that careful planning, a thoughtful approach, and meaningful analysis of the circumstances takes time, energy, and effort on their part. The old adage that “You only get out of something what you put into it,” most certainly applies to service-learning. Often students arrive at college having learned to focus on academic achievement and to view community service as less important or secondary. With service-learning pedagogy, the service is woven into students’ academic achievement, and, accordingly, students need to focus a significant amount of their time and efforts on providing high quality service in order to meet expectations.

Interactions with Faculty and Peers about Substantive Matters

In order to plan and carry out meaningful service-learning, students will need to work closely with the faculty member teaching the course and their peers who are taking the course alongside them. Consider the example presented earlier of the instructor of a computer course who had the option of having students design a website for an imaginary client or an actual client of a non-profit agency. Students who are designing the website for an imaginary client, even if working in groups, will not have the same types of interactions with faculty and peers as those who are creating a website for an agency in the community. Simply put, more is at stake when designing a product for an actual client. When that client is meeting a specific need in the community, the website must communicate that clearly and allow for clients and donors to have easy access to various parts of the site. Students carrying out this type of service-learning will find that substantive interactions with faculty, peers, and the community leader become necessary in order to successfully complete the project.

Experiences with Diversity

While college campuses can offer students some experience with a range of diversity for race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, socio-economic class, sexual orientation, and age, it is likely that the differences between college students and people living in the local community are greater. Life can look quite different for people living as close as a couple of miles from a university as compared to life on campus.

Students performing service in the community or during study abroad courses can learn about individuals who are living in poverty, struggling to meet basic needs, and who often do without. Students can learn about the impact of discrimination from individuals who have experienced it first-hand. For some students, the disparity between the life experiences of people they meet during service-learning and their own life circumstances makes them realize the privilege they have lived with all of their lives.

Jacoby (2015) explains that when students conduct service without multicultural education, negative stereotypes can be reinforced and perpetuated (p. 232). Jacoby notes that by integrating multicultural education with service-learning, students are helped to “expand their emotional comfort zones in dealing with difference, gain an increasing ability to view the world from multiple perspectives, and reflect on their own social positions in relations to others” (p. 233). Often these goals are among those that faculty hope to achieve when choosing to use service-learning pedagogy.

Frequent, Timely, and Constructive Feedback

Meeting frequently with the faculty member teaching a service-learning course to receive suggestions, learn how to make progress, solve problems, and increase the quality of service will greatly benefit the students who are carrying out the service. The faculty member can provide the timely and constructive feedback that allows students to make improvements in how they conduct the service and develop a more profound understanding of the circumstances that give rise to the need for the services.

Although the leaders of community organizations hosting students for their service-learning courses are generally incredibly busy people, they may be able to arrange brief meetings with students to provide feedback on the service they are conducting. With support from both faculty and leaders in the community, students can refine their service and deepen their understanding. Students often have a greater appreciation of the complexity involved in providing service to meet an identified need as they spend more time within an organization. Frequent and timely feedback affords students the guidance needed to meet the high expectations for service-learning experiences.

Opportunities to Reflect

As noted earlier, reflection is integral to service-learning. In fact, without reflection, a service experience becomes volunteering. The instructor of a service-learning course is responsible for providing periodic, structured opportunities to reflect on the service and integrate the learning from service with course content.

Campus Compact, a source of support for universities implementing service-learning, outlines four ways to structure the reflection process (“Structuring”). The first is that reflection should connect service with other coursework. Second, faculty need to coach students on how to reflect. Third, the reflection process should offer both challenge and support to students. Fourth, the reflection should be continuous; reflection needs to happen before, during and after service-learning experiences. Faculty utilizing this framework will help students to gain insights through the reflection process.

Real-World Applications

Service-learning by definition provides opportunities for students to discover relevance of disciplinary knowledge through real-world application. Students in an educational psychology course will provide service in high-poverty schools; students in human service study course will provide service in a domestic violence shelter; students in a research course will provide service in the form of program assessment for a non-profit organization; students in a marketing course will provide service supporting women in a developing country who are starting a cooperative to sell handmade goods. The needs in most communities outweigh the resources, which makes service-learning a welcome addition in the community, while also providing the chance for university students to make connections between their studies and real-world applications.

Public Demonstration of Competence

Kuh’s (2013) final key element of HIP is for students to publicly demonstrate the competency they gained, in this case, during the service-learning course. While the work of community organizations is ongoing, students’ service is often completed as the semester ends. A culminating project that is presented to stakeholders offers students the opportunity to consider the outcomes of their learning, make connections between course content and the service they provided, and to contemplate on the larger societal issues related to inequality. The culminating project may be an oral presentation or a report given to the community partner. In some cases the culminating project is one of the main goals of the service. Students who exhibit a high level of competence with their culminating project can articulate how the service-learning experience was a HIP for them.

Service-learning is a HIP, and, as such, has the power to impact students’ lives in meaningful, perhaps even transformative ways (Felten & Clayton, 2011). Every key element of HIP, as outlined by Kuh (2013) for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, are met in service-learning. Those students who excel in service-learning have the potential to become civic-minded graduates who bring good to their communities, a goal universities surely find worthy.

Research-Informed Practices

The following best practices in service-learning are adapted from Reitenaure, Spring, Kecskes, Kerrigan, Cress, and Collier (2005) and Howard (1993), who focus on two different sides of service-learning. Reitenaure et al. (2005) focus on the community partnership side of service-learning results in a list centered on establishing strong and productive relationships among the parties involved in service-learning: students, faculty, and community members. Howard’s (1993) focus on the academic side of service-learning results in a list centered on maintaining academic rigor and making space for deep student learning through community praxis. Collectively, their work leads to the following practices for high-quality service-learning:

• Establish shared goals and values
• Focus on academic learning  through  service
• Provide supports for student learning and reflection
• Be prepared for uncertainty and variation in student learning outcomes
• Build mutual trust, respect, authenticity, and commitment between the student and community partner
• Identify existing strengths and areas for improvement among all partners
• Work to balance power and share resources
• Communicate openly and accessibly
• Commit to the time it will require
• Seek feedback for improvement

(adapted from Reitenaure et al., 2005, and Howard, 1993)

Overall, these recommendations focus on two broad goals of service-learning: establish a strong and reciprocal relationship, and structure and support student learning. These goals happen through frequent and open communication among all involved and facilitated space in and out of the classroom for student reflection and integration of their learning. Each of the model programs described below enact these good practices in similar ways.

Embedded and Emerging Questions for Research, Practice, and Theory

While service-learning is one of the more heavily researched high impact practices, additional areas of study remain. For example, the distinction between service-learning and community engagement warrants additional focus and research. Does this variation in framing equate to differential impacts on student learning? Service-learning also varies in length and intensity, and research is needed to parse out the differential impacts on student learning of short term versus long term service-learning experiences. Recent research has begun to examine the differential impacts on service-learning for underrepresented minority (URM) students and suggests service-learning has strong academic success impacts for URMs, but service-learning is less closely linked to retention and four-year graduation for URMs than it is for highly represented students (Song, Furco, Lopez, & Maruyama, 2017). Additional research is needed to understand why this may be the case and how service-learning experiences might be facilitated to support more equitable student impacts.

Finally, perhaps the greatest avenues for effective community partnerships in the coming years exist in community colleges and distinctive two-year institutions. Community colleges have a great opportunity to contribute to social research surrounding challenges, missions and strengths of community partnerships. Since students are usually still embedded within the surrounding community, the opportunity to develop community partnerships is promising (Brukhardt et al., 2004). Two-year institutions are also on the front-line of accepting students from diverse financial, racial, and experiential backgrounds. These expansions and alterations to the ‘typical’ college student population will continue to present themselves in the coming years. Community colleges have the opportunity to create policies and service-learning opportunities that engage and enrich the lives of diverse student populations, which places two-year institutions above other, more traditional, colleges that may be more delayed in response to such changes. As Butin (2006) describes, current service-learning and engagement is only focused towards “full-time single, non-indebted, and childless students pursuing a liberal arts degree” (p.482). As a result, colleges and universities who adapt to the future trends that break out of such barriers will be more successful with engaged learning in the years to come.

Key Scholarship

Ash, Sarah L., and Patti H. Clayton. 2004. “The Articulated Learning: An approach to Guided Reflection and Assessment.” Innovative Higher Education 29 (2): 137-154.

About this Journal Article:

Reflection is an integral aspect of service-learning, but it does not simply happen by telling students to reflect. This paper describes the risks involved in poor quality reflection and explains the results of rigorous reflection. A rigorous reflection framework is introduced that involves objectively describing an experience, analyzing the experience, and then articulating learning outcomes according to guiding questions.

Celio, Christine I., Joseph Durlak, and Allison Dymnicki. 2011. “A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Service-Learning on Students.” Journal of Experiential Education 34 (2): 164-181.

For those seeking empirical data regarding the value of service-learning, this meta-analysis provides considerable evidence. Representing data from 11,837 students, this meta-analysis of 62 studies identified five areas of gain for students who took service-learning courses as compared to control groups who did not. The students in service-learning courses demonstrated significant gains in their self-esteem and self-efficacy, educational engagement, altruism, cultural proficiency, and academic achievement. Studies of service-learning courses that implemented best practices (e.g., supporting students in connecting curriculum with the service, incorporating the voice of students in the service-learning project, welcoming community involvement in the project, and requiring reflection) had higher effect sizes.

Cress, Christine M., Peter J. Collier, Vicki L. Reitenauer, and Associates, eds. 2013. Learning through Service: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement across Academic Disciplines and Cultural Communities, 2nd ed. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

About this Edited Book:

Although written for students to promote an understanding of their community service through reflection and their personal development as citizens who share expertise with compassion, this text is also useful for faculty. Among the many topics addressed, it provides descriptions of service-learning and civic engagement, explains how to establish and deepen community partnerships, and challenges students to navigate difference in ways that unpack privilege and analyze power dynamics that often surface in service-learning and civic engagement. Written in an accessible style, it is good first text for learning about service-learning and civic engagement.

Delano-Oriaran, Omobolade, Marguerite W Penick-Parks, and Suzanne Fondrie, eds. 2015. The SAGE Sourcebook of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

This tome contains 58 chapters on a variety of aspects related to service-learning and civic engagement. The intended audience is faculty in higher education and faculty in P-12 schools, as well as directors of service-learning or civic engagement centers in universities or school districts. The SAGE Sourcebook of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement outlines several theoretical models on the themes of service-learning and civic engagement, provides guides that faculty can employ when developing service-learning projects, shares ideas for program development, and offers numerous resources that faculty can use. Parts I – IV of the sourcebook are directed toward general information about service-learning and civic engagement, including aspects of implementation; parts V – VIII describe programs and issues related to the use of service-learning or civic engagement within disciplines or divisions; part IX addresses international service-learning; and part X discusses sustainability.

Felten, Peter, and Patti H. Clayton. 2011. “Service-Learning.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 128: 75-84. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/tl.470 .

Felten and Clayton define service-learning, describe its essential aspects, and review the empirical evidence supporting this pedagogy. Both affective and cognitive aspects of growth are examined in their review. The authors conclude that effectively designed service-learning has considerable potential to promote transformation for all involved, including those who mentor students during the service-learning experience.

Jacoby, Barbara. 2015. Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers and lessons learned. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

About this Book:

Arranged as a series of questions and answers about service-learning, this text shares research and the author’s personal wisdom gathered over decades of experience in service-learning. Faculty members who are new to service-learning will learn the basics of this pedagogy. Those with experience will discover ways to refine and improve their implementation of service-learning. All aspects of service-learning are clearly explained in this accessible text, including advise for overcoming obstacles.

Jones, Susan R. 2002. “The Underside of Service-Learning.” About Campus 7 (4): 10-15.

Although an older publication, this article is not outdated. Jones describes how some students resist examining assumptions and refuse to see how their beliefs perpetuate negative stereotypes. These students challenge both the faculty member teaching the service-learning course and classmates. Jones discusses the need for faculty to anticipate how to respond to students’ racist or homophobic comments in a way that acknowledges where the students are developmentally, while also honoring the complexity involved. Additionally, the author recommends that faculty examine their own background and level of development relative to issues of privilege and power that can arise in service-learning pedagogy.

McDonald, James, and Lynn Dominguez. 2015. “Developing University and Community Partnerships: A Critical Piece of Successful Service Learning.” Journal of College Science Teaching 44 (3): 52-56.

Developing a positive partnership with a community organization is a critical aspect service-learning. McDonald and Dominguez discuss best practice for service-learning and explain a framework for developing a successful partnership in the community. Faculty need to

• Identify the objectives of the course that will be met through service,
• Identify the community organization whose mission or self-identified need can be address with service-learning,
• Define the purpose of the project, the roles, responsibilities and benefits of individuals involved,
• Maintain regular communication with the community partner, and
• Invite the community partner to the culminating student presentation on their service-learning.

Two service-learning projects, one for an environmental course and another for an elementary methods science course, are described along with the positive outcomes for students and community partners.

Warner, Beth, and Judy Esposito. 2009. “What’s Not in the Syllabus: Faculty Transformation, Role Modeling and Role Conflict in Immersion Service-Learning Courses.” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 20 (3): 510-517.

This article describes immersive learning in the context of international service learning (or domestic service learning that happens away from the local community surrounding an institution) where students and faculty live and work together in a deeply immersive environment. The article is careful to articulate the difference in international or away service learning, where the immersion is constant, with localized experiences where the service learning experience is socketed into a student’s day. The article also discusses the value and need of the instructor working in close proximity to students as a facilitative guide to the learning experience.  

See all Service-Learning entries

Model Programs

The following model programs are drawn from recommendations by service-learning professionals across the United States. All of these selected programs also meet the  Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.  Carnegie defines community engagement as:

The partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good. (“Defining Community Engagement,” 2018, para. 2)

This voluntary classification requires schools to collect data and provide evidence of alignment across mission and commitments; this evidence is then reviewed by a national review panel before an institution is selected for inclusion on the list. While community engagement is not always service-learning, the two are closely related and many campus centers offer more expansive definitions to include both service learning and community engagement.

Drake University’s Office of Community Engaged Learning and Service  emphasizes models of service learning focused on project completion rather than hours served. They have seven models for service-learning: project or problem based, multiple course projects, placement based, community education and advocacy, action research, one-time group service project, and service internships. Descriptions of each model can be found  here . All of these models must meet their four main attributes for community engaged learning. They must have 1) learning outcomes, 2) application and integration, 3) reciprocity, and 4) reflection and assessment. 

Elon University’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement  has existed since 1995 and aims, “in partnership with local and global communities, to advance student learning, leadership, and citizenship to prepare students for lives of active community engagement within a complex and changing world.” Elon University has several interdisciplinary minors which include service learning as an explicit component of their educative goals. The University also includes service learning as a way students may fulfill one of their experiential learning requirements (ELR) through enrollment in an associated service learning course or through 15 days of service along with mentored research and reflection experiences. 

James Madison University’s Center for Community Service-Learning  offers a range of service options for students, but is especially intentional about facilitating course-based service-learning. They support student placement with community partners as is relevant to the course, offer one-on-one faculty consultations, and share  reflection resources  to support students’ integration of their service-learning with course goals and broader learning goals. JMU’s focus on reflection as a core component of service-learning is evident throughout their center, including their definition of service-learning: “[Service-learning] cultivates positive social change through mutually beneficial service partnerships, critical reflection, and the development of engaged citizens.” Their  seven tenets  of service-learning (humility, intentionality, equity, accountability, service, relationships, and learning) can help guide faculty development of mutually supportive goals with community partners.

Marquette University’s Service Learning Program  is housed within their Center for Teaching and Learning separate from their Center for Community Service. The program is intentional about distinguishing between community service, internships, and service-learning, and focuses their work around five models of service-learning: placement model, presentation model, presentation-plus model, product model, and project model. They offer descriptions and examples of each model  here . Marquette structures service-learning as a “philosophy of education.” Their program also offers numerous resources around service-learning course design. 

Rollins College’s Center for Leadership and Community Service  uses the language of community engagement, but is firm in the standard that for a course to be considered a community engagement course, it must meet a community-identified need. Community partners at Rollins are considered co-educators, and Rollins’  course guidelines  emphasize reciprocity in the community-course partnership. The culture surrounding these ideals is so strong that “over 74% of all Rollins faculty have been involved in at least one aspect of community engagement through service-learning, community-based research, professional development, immersion, or campus/community partnership. In addition, over the last seven years every major at Rollins has offered at least one academic course with a community experience” (“ Faculty Resources “).

Related Blog Posts

Facilitating integration of and reflection on engaged and experiential learning.

Since 2019, I’ve been working with my colleague Paul Miller to create an institutional toolkit for fostering both students’ self-reflection and their mentoring conversations with peers, staff, and faculty in order to deepen students’ educational experiences. Our institution, Elon University,…

Incorporating Multiple Dimensions in the First-Year Experience

60-Second SoTL – Episode 49 This episode features on open-access article on service-learning and leadership development in first-year seminars: Krsmanovic, Masha. 2022. “Fostering Service-Learning and Leadership Development through First-Year Seminar Courses.” Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education 15: 54–70. View a…

Integrating ePortfolios in Work-Integrated Learning Experiences

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) refers to the integration of practical work experiences with academic learning. Experiences falling under this umbrella provide students with opportunities to apply their knowledge to professional work environments, research, and service learning. There are many benefits of…

View All Related Blog Posts

Featured Resources

Teaching service-learning online or in hybrid/flex models.

In response to shifts to online learning due to COVID-19 in spring 2020 and in anticipation of alternate models for higher education in fall 2020 and beyond, we have curated publications and online resources that can help inform programmatic and…

• Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007)  College learning for a new global century , Association of American Colleges and Universities. Washington, DC.  http://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
• Bringle, R., & Hatcher, J. (1995). A service learning curriculum for faculty.  The   Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning, 2 (1), 112-122.
• Brukardt, M. H., Holland, B., Percy, S. L., Simpher, N., on behalf of Wingspread Conference Participants. (2004).  Wingspread Statement: Calling the question: Is higher education ready to commit to community engagement.  Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Butin, D. W. (2006). The limits of service-learning in higher education.  The Review of Higher Education, 29 (4), 473-498.
• Campus Compact (n.d.),  Structuring the reflection process . Retrieved August 2017 from http://compact.org/disciplines/reflection/structuring/
• Carberry, A., Lee, H., & Swan, C. (2013). Student perceptions of engineering service experiences as a source of learning technical and professional skills,  International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, 8 (1), 1-17.
• Cress, C. M. (2013). What are service-learning and community engagement? In Cress, C. M., Collier, P. J., Reitenauer, V. L., and Associates,  Learning through serving 2 nd  ed. , pp. 9-18. Richmond, VA: Stylus Publishing LLC.
• Felten, P., & Clayton, P. H. (2011). Service-learning. Evidence-based teaching.  New Directions for Teaching and Learning , 128, 75-84.
• Howard, J. (1993).  Praxis I: A faculty casebook on community service learning.  Ann Arbor, MI: Office of Community Service Learning Press, University of Michigan.
• Jacoby, B. (2015).  Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers, and lessons learned . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Jones, S. R. (2002). The underside of service-learning,  About Campus , 7(4), 10-15.
• Kuh, G. D. (2013). Taking HIPs to the next level. In G. D. Kuh & K. O’Donnell (Eds.) pp. 1-14,  Ensuring quality and taking high-impact practices to scale . Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
• Moore, T. L., & Mendez, J. P. (2014). Civic engagement and organizational learning strategies for student success. In P. L. Eddy (Ed.),  Connecting learning across the institution  (New Directions in Higher Education No. 165 ,  pp. 31-40). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Mottner, S. (2010). Service-learning in a nonprofit marketing course: A comparative case of pedagogical tools.  Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 22 (3), 231-245.
• Reitenaure, V. L., Spring, A., Kecskes, K., Kerrigan, S.A., Cress, C. M., & Collier, P. J. (2005). Chapter 2: Building and maintaining community partnerships. In Cress, C. M., Collier, P. J., Reitenaure, V. L., & Associates (Eds.)  Learning through service: A student guidebook for service-learning and civic engagement across academic disciplines and cultural communities  (17-31). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
• Song, W., Furco, A., Lopez, I., & Maruyama, G. (2017). Examining the relationship between service-learning participation and the educational success of underrepresented students.  Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 24 (1) 23-37.

The Center thanks Mary Knight-McKenna for contributing the initial content for this resource. The Center’s 2018-2020 graduate apprentice, Sophia Abbot, extended the content, with additional contributions from Elon Masters of Higher Education students Caroline Dean, Jillian Epperson, Tobin Finizio, Sierra Smith, and Taylor Swan.

Center for Teaching Excellence Division of Student Success

Service learning.

As defined by the Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning at UTRGV:   

Service learning is a beneficial way to enrich your classes at the university, advance your career, network with professionals, and make an impact in your community. Service learning combines learning goals in a course and service in the community to enhance student growth and common good.  

As part of the service learning process, you investigate an issue through analysis. During your course you acquire content knowledge to raise questions about the issue. During the service time you spend outside of the classroom and in the community, you take action to provide service to a community organization addressing a specific need. After the service is provided, you reflect on the questions you have raised and the experiences that followed. Finally, you demonstrate knowledge gained through your service experience and reflection, sharing it with a public audience!  

Service Learning may be defined as:  

A thoughtfully organized service experience that addresses a need in the community in a reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship and integrates a reflective component that relates the service experience to academic course objectives and the student’s learning. (service = learning)  

Service Learning is sometimes confused for volunteer work. Volunteering focuses more on service than learning. Similarly, service learning is also confused with internships. Internships place emphasis more on the learning than service. Service Learning specifically places emphasis on both service and learning .  

• Volunteerism (service > learning) : The performance of formal service to benefit others or one’s community without receiving any external rewards; such programs may or may not involve structured training and reflection. (Source: National Service Learning Clearinghouse www.servicelearning.org )   
• Internships (service < learning) : A structured experiential learning opportunity monitored by a practicing professional with learning outcomes related to a student’s academic background and/or career goals. (Source: UTRGV)   

Designation Criteria established by the Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning:   

• Develop service-learning objectives for the service-learning activity and describe how the SL objectives align with course student learning outcomes.   
• Determine the number of hours students will engage in the service-learning activity, minimum of 3 service-learning hours, per course credit hour.   
• Design a service-learning activity that is part of student’s overall grade.  
• Integrate a reflective component in the service-learning assignment.   
• Develop a partnership that is reciprocal in nature and a mutually beneficial relationship between the course, students, and the community agency.  
• Select a community partner or project that addresses a need in the community and connects to your service-learning objectives and student learning outcomes.  
• Develop a plan on how to gather feedback from the community partner.   

Criteria needs to be reflected in the course syllabi. Syllabi needs to be submitted to the Office of Engaged Scholarship and learning office for review, prior to designation.   

Developing Service-Learning Objectives & Aligning Serice-Learning Objectives to Student Learning Outcomes  

Questions to consider when developing Service-Learning Outcomes to support Student Learning Outcomes:   

• What are the course student learning outcomes? What student learning outcome(s) will be supported by service-learning objectives?   
• What learning outcome is relevant in the creation of the service-learning objective? Critical thinking, civic engagement, communication etc.    
• What skills are students expected to develop or apply through service-learning integration?   
• What knowledge will students acquire through the service-learning activity?  
• How will student learning of the service-learning activity be assessed?   
• What learning activities will facilitate meeting the service-learning outcome?   
• What will students need to do to make progress in service-learning outcome?   
• What discipline specific values will be represented in the service-learning outcome?    

Use learning taxonomies to inform learning outcomes:    

Blooms’ Taxonomy   

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives . New York: Longman.   

Taxonomy of Significant Learning  

Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses .  

Examples of Service-Learning Objectives:   

Connecting Civic Engagement to the Curriculum   

Objectives arranged by outcome:   

CRITICAL THINKING   

By the end of the course, students will know how to:  

• identify problems in the community
• uncover the root cause of a problem 
• generate alternative solutions to a problem 
• evaluate information for possible biases

COMMUNICATION   

By the end of the course, students will be able to:   

• communicate effectively using speaking skills 
• listen during a conversation 
• communicate effectively using writing skills 
• argue effectively for a particular alternative or idea 

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY   

By the end of the course, students will:   

• think that people should find time to contribute to their community 
• be concerned about local community issues 
• plan to improve their neighborhoods in the near future
• believe they can have a positive impact on local social problems 

GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING AND CITIZENSHIP  

 By the end of the course, students will  

• be comfortable working with cultures other than their own 
• know about different cultures of people in other countries 
• understand that there are different perspectives on international issues
• recognize that what they do in their jobs or work might have implications beyond the local community Connecting Civic Engagement to the Curriculum 

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS  

 By the end of the course, students will:   

• understand how the subject matter of this course can be used in everyday life 
• learn better when courses include hands-on activities
• see the connection between their academic learning at this college and real-life experiences

An essential component of a service-learning assignment is engaging students in reflection of the experiential learning activities to counter the isolation of the learning experience and assess how the service-learning experience adds value to the course student learning outcomes and student learning. Reflection provides students an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the service-learning activities, societal issues and community needs addressed, awareness of the community served, personal attitudes towards community engagement, skills developed and applied, and academic learning.   

Examples of service-learning reflection questions:    

Before the SL Experience:   

• What is your understanding about service?   
• Why is it important to engage with your community?   
• Describe a civic engagement experience that you have taken part in in the past.   
• What is your current knowledge about your community’s language, people, culture?   
• What is your current awareness of your community’s needs?   
• What societal issues or social justice issues do you currently see being reflected in your community?   
• What does it mean to be an engaged citizen?   
• What are your perceptions about the community partner/agency that you will be providing service to?   

During the SL Experience:   

• What observations are you making about your community?   
• What need or issue are you addressing at the community agency?   
• What skills have you learned or applied through the formation of relationships at the community agency?   
• What connections are you making between course readings, lectures, discussions, and the service-learning experience?   
• Identify an interaction or experience in the community agency that has made an impact on your service-learning experience?   
• What is the relationship of your service to the "real world?"    
• Identify an area where you feel you could use additional guidance and learning to be more effective.  
• What have you learned about your likes/dislikes and your strengths/areas for improvement as they relate to future career?   

After the SL Experience:   

• What have you contributed to the community agency?   
• What knowledge from the community have you gained through the service-learning experience?   
• What opinions/attitudes have you formed about the societal issue or social justice issue being addressed by the community agency?   
• What course concepts, theories, or readings relate to the service-learning experience?   
• What there an “aha” moment during the experience that led you to deepen your understanding about yourself or the community?   
• What did you learn about civic responsibility through community engagement?   
• What goals have you set in accordance with what you have learned through your service-learning experience?   
• What challenges did you face as you engaged in the service-learning experience? How did you navigate them?   

Examples of assignments that can promote reflection of service-learning activities:    

Discussions (structured)   

Classroom discussions are a form of active learning and student engagement activity, it serves as an opportunity for students to be co-creators of their own learning, “make meaning” of what they are learning and be challenged to apply what they are learning. Students can engage in discussions in pairs, small groups, as a large class or outside of class though an online discussion board. Discussions provide a structured space for students to engage in dialogue about their feelings, attitudes, challenges, knowledge, and skills applied or developed in their service-learning experience.   

When creating a structured discussion, it is important that planning is considered as discussion questions are prompted to students. Important aspects for consideration are: What is the goal of the discussion? What is the purpose of the discussion topic? How does the discussion align to the course content for that day and its connection to the experiential learning activity? What are the students’ expectations for the discussion?   

Frequency in engaging in discussion is also relevant as students learn to think critically about their service-learning experience at various points of their service activities and academic learning activities: before, during and after.    

Journal Entries    

When developing a journal entry assignment is it important to think about what the purpose of the journal will be and provide students with clear expectations:   

• Will the journal entry be a place where students record their service-learning experience?   
• Facilitate learning from the service-learning experience?   
• Support understanding of the service-learning experience?   
• Develop critical thinking of the service-learning experience?   
• How does the journal entry on their service-learning experience fit into the bigger picture of the course?   
• Who will read the journal entry?   
• What assessment criteria and standards will exist for students?   
• Is the journal a high stakes or low stakes assignment?   
• What are the specific requirements of the journal entry?   
• What support will students receive to learn about how to “reflect”?   
• Will students be receiving feedback on their journal entry?    
• How often will students be prompted to reflect on their service-learning experience?    

Portfolio   

A portfolio is a high impact practice that enables students to provide a personal expression of their work overtime. Students can use a portfolio to document their efforts, achievements, ideas, self-reflection, and experiences of the service-learning experience (beginning, during, end).   

Portfolios could include:   

• Writing about the community agency: description, history, mission statement, purpose within the community   
• Site supervisor interview reflection   
• Personal reflection on career interests, skills, goals, and values associated with their civic identity   
• Personal statement addressing the type of need, societal issue addressed through the service-learning experience   
• Learning moments experienced before, during and after the service-learning experience  
• Evidence of the type of work completed at the community agency, such as flyers developed, agency brochures, lesson plans, project fulfilled, photos,    
• Review of course literature, articles, content in relation to the service-learning experience   
• Generating new ideas and solutions for addressing need in the community     
• Self-Assessment on how effectively they met learning and service objectives from the course   

Oral Presentation   

Oral presentations are an opportunity for students to engage in individual or small group work as they work together to accomplish a goal-oriented activity. Oral presentations can help advance student understanding of the service-learning activity and self-regulation of learning by incorporating elements of self-reflection and self-evaluation.   

Showcasing acquired knowledge of service-learning activities through oral presentations can also lead to the improvement of presentation self-efficacy and communication skills.     

Considerations for developing Oral Presentations:   

• Define if students will be completing the oral presentation as an individual or small group   
• Provide questions that students will be prompted to respond to as they develop their oral presentation (refer to examples provided on pre, during and after reflection questions)   
• Discuss how students will be integrating Service Learning Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes into the assignment    
• Determine the minimum or maximum number of slides that students will be expected to fulfill   
• Determine the amount of time that students will be expected to present   
• Discuss who will be the audience (students, Faculty, community members)    
• Describe skills that will be promoted or practiced through the completion of the oral presentation    

As per UTRGV Service-Learning requirements for course designations , a minimum of 3 hours of service learning is required per course credit hour.    

For example, the UNIV 1 3 01 course is a 3-credit hour course therefore, 3 credit hours x 3 hours of service learning per credit hour = a total of 9 hours of service learning that would be recommended.   

Considerations to time spent at the community agency is due to the following:   

• The service-learning experience should have a purpose as careful considerations are made in the integration of this high impact strategy, as it aligns with course outcomes and service-learning objectives.   
• The service-learning experience should be significant and meaningful to provide a quality experience for students, community agency and course outcomes.   
• The service-learning experience should be deliberately organized to meet course needs, student needs, and community needs.   
• The service-learning experience should be able to foster critical reflection of the student’s contribution to the community agency, student’s learning, and its connection to the course outcomes.   
• The service-learning experience should be able to provide real work experience as students are engaging in hands-on learning to meet the needs of the community and course expectations.   
• The service-learning experience should be able to provide a space where students can apply and learn skills that are relevant to their personal growth.   
• The service-learning experience should encourage students to think about their civic responsibility through civic engagement.   
• The service-learning experience should encourage students to increase their understanding of course outcomes though community-based contexts.   
• The service-learning experience should involve the community agency in the service-learning design and implementation.   

Yes. Service Learning is considered a “high impact practice” for its commitment of time and effort in its links to student learning and success. The service-learning experience should be an integrated experience in the course, not an isolated experience.  Time and effort spent on the service-learning experience should be assigned value within the scope of the course. The service-learning experience should overlap with the academic content provided in the classroom as Student Learning Outcomes and Service-Learning Outcomes are met. The service-learning experience should be part of the course overall’s grade and incorporated in the course syllabi.   

 Incorporating Service Learning in the course and course syllabi:   

• Explain the purpose of service-learning activity to the academic content and its connection to Student Learning Outcomes   
• Explain why the service-learning experience brings value to the goals assigned for the course  
• Define the percentage or points assigned to the service-learning activity  
• Provide a grading rubric that sets clear guidelines and demonstrates the integral role that the service-learning activity will play in student learning and evaluation  
• Discuss assignments, expectations, commitment and criteria of the service-learning activity  
• Maintain continuous discussion of the service-learning activity (prior, during, after)  
• Discuss how students will be expected to demonstrate learning through service  
• Provide meaningful feedback to students of deliverables fulfilled  
• Create opportunities for structured reflective assignments that encourage students to “make meaning” of the service-learning activity and assign a grade value   
• Encourage students to connect with peers to share personal experiences   
• Connect class materials and teaching to the service-learning experience   
• Describe how students will be evaluating their own performance or evaluating peer performance, if working in teams   
• Discuss the service-learning process established in the course  
• Incorporate the service-learning experience into the course schedule in the course syllabi   

Further guidelines can be found in the University Syllabi-Service Learning Section template.   

Service-learning benefits to students:   

• Increases academic relevance and understanding of course content.   
• Helps prepare students for civic life.   
• Provides students with an understanding of working together for the benefit of society.  
• Raises awareness of social, political, environmental, health and educational issues in the community  
• Helps students identify the interconnectedness of their life and the lives of others.   
• Linking theory to practice.
• Deepening understanding of course materials.
• Enhancing the sense of civic responsibility through civic engagement.
• Allowing students to explore possible career paths. 
• Stressing the importance of improving the human condition. 
• Developing relevant career-related skills. 
• Providing experience in group work and interpersonal communication. 
• Promoting interaction with people from diverse backgrounds. 
• Instilling a sense of empowerment that enhances self-esteem. 
• Service-learning methodology bridges theoretical concepts with experiential learning through projects within the larger community.   
• Service learning offers both opportunities and benefits for all involved participants, including students, faculty, community, and the academic institution.   
• Students develop important skills that help them function more effectively in the labor market or in graduate school.    
• Integrating service-learning into a regular classroom stimulates both teaching and learning.   
• Service-learning assignments foster the personal development of students through opportunities to interact with those in need.

Service-learning fosters empathy in students:   

• As students reflect on their service experiences, they often recognize a change in their perspectives, emotional connections, and self-awareness.   
• Students gain perspective they cognitively understand to gain awareness that complex issues have more than one answer and there are many viewpoints in any situation.   
• Students are able to move beyond just the cognitive process of gaining perspective to the emotional connection required for empathy.   
• Students are able to make an emotional connection with the people they serve and develop an interest in helping them.   
• Students who interact with people in need express a new understanding of the people and their needs.    

Students engaging with their local community:   

"The best strategy to advance knowledge and learning is through collaborative, action oriented, and real world problem-solving. " (Harkavy, I., 2006).  

  "Advancing citizenship, social justice and the public good by focusing in solving universal problems that are manifested in your local communities. " (Harkavy, I., 2006).  

• Provides a continues interaction with the community in an accessible location.   
• Ability to build relationships of trust as day-to-day activities are fulfilled with mutual concern.   
• Serves as a convenient setting for producing sustainable results.    
• Provides interdisciplinary learning opportunities.   
• A real-world site in which university students and community members work together.   
• Promotes making a difference in student’s neighborhood.  

Service-Learning benefits communities by:  

• Forming partnerships that foster positive campus-community interactions.
• Providing access to faculty experts and the next generation of experts.
• Identifying, addressing, and solving local problems in effective, creative ways.
• Cultivating future generations of engaged citizens.
• Encouraging multi-generational and cross-cultural interactions.
• Establishing cooperation and collaboration as values within the local culture

Promoting citizenship and advance social justice through community engaged practices   

• Foster a student civic identity through civic responsibility.  
• Focuses on solving universal problems that are manifested in the local community.  
• Provides an opportunity for community-based learning that can lead to sustainable results.  
• Raises awareness of social, political, environmental, health and educational issues in the community.  
• Provides a real-world site where students and community members can work together.  
• Creates a dialogue and trust through community based and social contexts.  
• Provides students an opportunity to examine their own beliefs, reflect on their experience and act.  
• Helps students identify the interconnectedness of their life and the lives of others.  

Community agency perceived benefits   

• The help, enthusiasm, and perspective that students bring to agencies have been commonly cited both as reasons for agency participation.  
• Opportunities to educate students.  
• Enhanced relations with the academic institution  
• Increased agency visibility and networking opportunities.  
• Agencies with greater involvement in planning the partnerships were more likely to view them as beneficial.  
• Intergenerational interaction.   
• Exchange knowledge and skills. 

The Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning through our Service Learning program works towards combining learning goals in a course and service in the community to enhance student growth and common good. As part of service learning the students will investigate an issue through analysis. After the service is provided to the community the students reflect on the questions that are raised through the experiences.   

The Service Learning Experience Survey helps us understand students’ perceived learning experiences, quality of their experience, and how to better serve our SL students, faculty, and community partners. The survey is conducted at the end of the service experience and before the end of the given semester. In the 2022- 2023 academic year there were 1,965 Service Learning students. Undergraduates comprise most SL students with a total of 1,916 undergraduates and 49 graduate students. In the 2022- 2023 academic school year, a total of 17,078 Service Learning hours were tracked by the Office of Engaged Scholarship & Learning in collaboration with SL faculty and community partners via the Engagement Zone platform.  

• Student Voice
• Survey Impact
• Student Testimony

Service-Learning Experience Survey Results  

  In partnership with the Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning, the “Service-Learning Experience” survey was deployed in Ms. Perez, Lecturer III, Service-Learning Designated UNIV 1301 Learning Framework Courses in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 to assess the impact of service-learning integration.   

These are the highlights from the Fall 2022 Service-Learning Experience Survey Results:   

• Top Skills: Personal Growth (self-esteem, confidence, or responsibility) and Social Development (interpersonal skills and future community participation).   
• 88% of the students strongly agree and agree that p articipation in the community engagement experience contributed to their personal and professional development (skills and knowledge).  
• 84% of the students strongly agree and agree that they learned new methods of interaction and/or communication after having participated in a Community Engagement Opportunity.  
• 81% of the students strongly agree and agree that they gained and/or improved their leadership skills after having participated in a Community Engagement opportunity.  
• 76% of the students strongly agree and agree that they connected what they learned in class to societal problems or issues.   

These are the highlights from the Spring 2023 Service-Learning Experience Survey Results:   

• Top Skills : Social Responsibility, Self-reflection, and Teamwork.  
• 88% of the students strongly agree and agree that they learned new methods of interaction and/or communication after having participated in the community engagement opportunity.  
• 87% of the students strongly agree and agree that the community engaged experience increased their commitment to serving in their community.  
• 80% of the students strongly agree and agree that they gained a better understanding of their role as a member of the community.  
• 75% of the students strongly agree and agree that they connected what they learned in class to societal problems or issues.  

Strategies for Establishing Mutually Beneficial Service-Learning Partnerships   

• Review your course objectives to determine whether service-learning aligns with your course goals.   
• Do some research on the local community (or community where you plan to serve) to find out what the major issues are in the area (i.e., childhood obesity, homelessness).   
• Review your syllabus while considering the research on community issues to assess the feasibility of your course for addressing those issues.  
• Begin researching community organizations that address the issues you researched to find out what is currently being done in the area.   
• Develop a list of 4-5 potential partners that seem like a good fit with your course objectives and needs.   
• Connect with potential partners via establishing a meeting to discuss opportunities.     

Best practices for establishing a community-based service-learning partnership:   

• Hallmarks of community–academic partnerships include mutual decision making, goal setting, and meeting community needs. This could be fulfilled by early coordination of brainstorming sessions with community partners that identify mutual goals, need for service, purpose of service and project outcomes.   
• Feasibility, access, metrics, and consistency have been identified through a community–academic partnership as the foundation for a framework for reciprocity and measurement of service–learning benefits to those receiving the service.  
• Establishing a service–learning framework provides a structure for reciprocity between student learning, the community being served, and the partnering agencies.   
• Clearly articulate roles and responsibilities of students, faculty, and community agency.     
• Develop of plan for feedback and evaluation of project goals.   

Best practices for soliciting written feedback from community partners:   

• Define outcomes prior to assessment and evaluation of outcomes.   
• Types of written feedback: questionnaires, surveys, interviews, stories, testimonies, reflective journals and documenting of observations. Feedback can be collected from community partners and the constituents who benefited by the community partnership.   
• Open ended questions allowed for insight into the “impact” made and created dispositions for growth of the community partnership by the community partner.   

A survey was conducted to supervisors to explore perceptions on the community service and work habits of students.   

• A timeline was created in coordination with site supervisors for collection of feedback prior to initiation of service project.   
• Students were made aware that site supervisors would be providing feedback of service activities fulfilled at the community agency.   
• Survey was distributed by the course instructor during the 8 th week of the service project.   
• Surveys were completed within two weeks and took about 10-12 min to complete.    
• Site supervisors completed student performance evaluations after student grades were submitted.   

Suggestions for improving campus and community service-learning partnerships   

• Campus and communities collaborating on service initiatives need to work in ways that are marked by equality and reciprocity.   
• Campus partners need to pay attention to the perspectives of the recipients of the service to move from a helping frame of mind to viewing service as a means for mutual engagement of social issues.   
• Provide clarity on the time commitment and number of students participating in the service activity to improve communication and collaboration.  
• Open doors to community partners to directly interact with students and Faculty.   

UTRGV Service Learning Course Designation  https://www.utrgv.edu/engaged/

How To Designate Your Service Learning Course  sl-designation-faculty-resource-packet.pdf (utrgv.edu)

University Syllabus Service Learning Guidelines

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives . New York: Longman.     Ballard, Sh. M., & Elmore, B. (2009). A labor of love: Constructing a service-learning syllabus. The Journal of Effective Teaching,9(3), 70-76.

Bell, S., & Carlson, R. (2009). Motivations of community organizations for service learning. In R. Stoecker & E. Tryon (Eds.), The unheard voices: Community organizations and service learning (pp. 19–37). Temple University Press.     Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom Does Service Learning Really Serve? Community-Based Organizations’ Perspectives on Service Learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120–135. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25593983 .  Brownell, J.E., & Swaner, L. E.  (2010). Five high-impact practices: Research on learning outcomes, completion, and quality.  Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Burke Brown. (2015). Strategies for Establishing Mutually Beneficial Service-Learning Partnerships. VCU Scholars Compass.    Burns, M., Storey, K., & Certo, N. J. (1999). Effect of Service Learning on Attitudes Towards Students with Severe Disabilities. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 34(1), 58–65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23879241 . 

Cambridge, B.L., Kahn, S., Tompkins, D.P., Yancey, K.B. (Eds.). (2001).  Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning . Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.    

Choo, Juliet, et al. “What Works in Service-Learning? Achieving Civic Outcomes, Academic Connection, Career Preparation, and Personal Growth in Students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 25, no. 2, 2019, p. 95–, https://doi.org/10.3998/mjcsloa.3239521.0025.208 .   

Conner, J., & Erickson, J. (2017). When does service-learning work? Contact theory and service-learning courses in higher education. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(2), 53–65.   

Duke University. Learning Objectives related to service learning. https://servicelearning.duke.edu/sites/servicelearning.duke.edu/files/documents/learning-objectives-related-to-service-learning.original.pdf     

Dyment , Janet E. (08/2010). "The Quality of Reflection in Student Journals: A Review of Limiting and Enabling Factors".  Innovative higher education   (0742-5627) , 35 (4), p. 233.    

Eyler , Janet. “Reflection: Linking Service and Learning-Linking Students and Communities.” Journal of Social Issues, vol. 58, no. 3, 2002, pp. 517–34, https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00274 .    

Felten, Peter, and Patti H. Clayton. “Service-Learning.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning, vol. 2011, no. 128, 2011, pp. 75–84, https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.470 .      

Ferrari, J & Worrall, L. (2000). Assessments by community agencies: How “the Other Side” sees service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 7(1), 35-40.   

Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses .    

Gazley, B., Bennett, T. A., & Littlepage, L. (2013). Achieving the partnership principle in experiential learning: The nonprofit perspective. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 19, 559–579. https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2013.12001751     

Gazley, B., Littlepage, L., & Bennett, T. A. (2012). What about the host agency? Nonprofit perspectives on community-based student learning and volunteering. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(6), 1029–1050. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764012438698     

Harkavy, I. (2006). The role of universities in advancing citizenship and social justice in the 21st century. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 1(1), 5–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/1746197906060711    

Howard, J.R. (2015).  Discussion in the College Classroom: Getting Your Students Engaged and Participating in Person and Online .  Wiley.     

Jacoby, Barbara, and Jeffrey Howard. Service-Learning Essentials:  Questions, Answers, and Lessons Learned. 1st edition, Jossey-Bass, 2014.    

James, J. H., & Logan, K. (2016). Documenting the community impact of service-learning coursework: Theoretical and practical considerations. Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, 7(2), 17-36.      

Jettner , J. F., Pelco, L. E., & Elliott, K. L. (2017). Service-Learning Community Partner Impact Assessment Report. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.     

Karasik RJ. Community Partners’ Perspectives and the Faculty Role in Community-Based Learning.  Journal of Experiential Education . 2020;43(2):113-135. doi:10.1177/1053825919892994     

Kenworthy, Amy L., and Charles Fornaciari. “No More Reinventing the Service-Learning Wheel: Presenting A Diverse Compilation of Best Practice ‘How To’ Articles.” Journal of Management Education, vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 3–8, https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562909346000 .    Kuh, G. D.  (2008).  High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter.  Association of American Colleges & Universities. (High-Impact Educational Practices: A Brief Overview) Lambright, K. T., & Lu, Y. (2009). What Impacts the Learning in Service Learning? An Examination of Project Structure and Student Characteristics. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15(4), 425–444. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25703146 .  Lawrence, M. N., & Butler, M. B. (2010). Becoming Aware of the Challenges of Helping Students Learn: An Examination of the Nature of Learning during a Service-Learning Experience. Teacher Education Quarterly, 37(1), 155–175. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23479303 .  Leonard, G., Lassiter, J. W., Hammill, R., & LeCrom, C. W. (2022). Service-Learning and the Development of Interpersonal Skills in Pre-Professional Undergraduate Students. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/23733799221074626 .  McInally, W., Metcalfe, S., & Garner, B. (2015). Enriching the Student Experience Through a Collaborative Cultural Learning Model. Creative Nursing, 21(3), 161–166. https://doi.org/10.1891/1078-4535.21.3 .  McNatt, D. B. (2020). Service-learning: An experiment to increase interpersonal communication confidence and competence. Education + Training, 62(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2019-0039 . 

Miller J. E. (2007). Preparing and presenting effective research posters.  Health services research ,  42 (1 Pt 1), 311–328. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00588.x    

Northern Illinois University Community Engagement Showcase. CES Poster Presentation Guidelines. https://www.niu.edu/engaged-learning/_pdf/ces/ces-poster-presentation-guidelines.pdf .    

Rutti , R. M., LaBonte, J., Helms, M. M., Hervani, A. A., & Sarkarat, S. (2016). The service learning projects: stakeholder benefits and potential class topics. Education + Training, 58(4), 422–438. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2015-0050      

Sandy, M., & Holland, B. A. (2006). Different worlds and common ground: Community partner perspectives on campus-community partnerships. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 13(1), 30–43.    Sedlak, C. A., Doheny, M. O., Panthofer, N., & Anaya, E. (2003). Critical Thinking in Students’ Service-Learning Experiences. College Teaching, 51(3), 99–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567550309596420 . Shanti, C., Gerstenblatt, P., & Frisk, S. (2022). Putting the pieces together: critical service learning and social work education. Social Work Education, 41(8), 1643–1659. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2021.1924663 Shea, L.-M., Harkins, D., Ray, S., & Grenier, L. I. (2023). How Critical is Service-Learning Implementation? Journal of Experiential Education, 46(2), 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538259221122738.

Simonet, D.V. (2008). Service-Learning and Academic Success: The Links to Retention Research.  Sipe, R. B. (2001). Academic Service Learning: More Than Just “Doing Time.” English Journal, 90(5), 33. https://doi.org/10.2307/821852.  

Stoecker, Randy, et al. The Unheard Voices Community Organizations and Service Learning. Temple University Press, 2009.    Tinkler, A. S., & Tinkler, B. (2016). Enhancing Cultural Humility Through Critical Service-Learning in Teacher Preparation. Multicultural Perspectives, 18(4), 192–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2016.1222282.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley , (n.d.). The Service-Learning Designation Faculty Resource Packet. https://www.utrgv.edu/engaged/faculty/esa/sl-designation-faculty-resource-packet.pdf     

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (n.d.). Service Learning. Https://www.Utrgv.edu/Engaged/Service-Learning/Index.htm     

Tsang, A. (2020). Enhancing learners’ awareness of oral presentation (delivery) skills in the context of self-regulated learning. Active Learning in Higher Education, 21(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417731214     

Tucker, M. L., & McCarthy, A. M. (2001). Presentation Self-Efficacy: Increasing Communication Skills Through Service-Learning.  Journal of Managerial Issues ,  13 (2), 227–244. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40604346    

Vernon, A., & Ward, K. (1999). Campus and community partnerships: Assessing impacts and strengthening connections. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 6, 30-37.   

Watson, Collins, K., Marazita, I., & Poojary, P. (2017). Supports and Barriers to Establishing and Sustaining Service Learning Partnerships to Facilitate Student Learning. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(4_Supplement_1), 7111520281–7111520281p1. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.71S1-PO2148    

Wawrzynski, Matthew & Baldwin, R.G.. (2014). Promoting High-Impact Student Learning: Connecting Key Components of the Collegiate Experience. New Directions for Higher Education. 2014. 10.1002/he.2008   

Weintraub, S. C. (2018). Service-learning as an effective pedagogical approach for communication educators. Journal of Communication Pedagogy, 1, 24-26. https://doi.org/10.31446/JCP.2018.07      West, J. J., & Simmons, D. (2012). Preparing Hispanic Students for the Real World: Benefits of Problem-Based Service Learning Projects. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11(2), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192712437037.

Wilson, J.C. (2011), “Service learning and the development of empathy in US college students”, Education + Training, Vol. 53 Nos 2/3, pp. 207-217. 4.     

Service-learning is a teaching methodology that enables students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to meaningful service to the community.

Through structured critical reflection activities, students analyze their service experience as it reciprocally applies to their academic and career development. Service-learning presents a unique and enriching learning and personal growth experience for students while strengthening communities by addressing unmet community needs.

Service-learning benefits students by:

• Enhancing understanding of academic curriculum
• Providing diverse and practical “real-world” experiences
• Encouraging community involvement
• Fostering civic responsibility
• Raising awareness of social justice issues
• Providing career-exploration opportunities

The goal of Service Learning is for students to gain a greater understanding of content knowledge while becoming socially embedded citizens. Critical reflection is a key component and distinguishing feature of a service-learning experience.

Volunteering, community service, internship, or service-learning?

Service-learning interns are students, not volunteers. Students have specific learning objectives for their service experience.

• Volunteering  is worthwhile unpaid activity.
• Community service  is volunteering to fulfill an unmet community need. Participants may learn from their experiences, but not in a formal manner. The primary emphasis is on service, not learning.
• Internships  focus on the acquisition of job skills.
• Service-learning  is characterized by a deliberate connection between academic curriculum and community service. Students’ service is a component of course curriculum and becomes a vehicle for learning course material. Students reflect on their service, relate it to coursework, and evaluate what they are learning. Service-learning also provides students the opportunity to hone job skills. College credit is earned for the academic coursework, not the service itself.

Examples of service-learning

Picking up trash on a riverbank is service; studying water samples under a microscope is learning. When science students collect and analyze water samples during their cleanup efforts, document their results, and present findings to a local pollution control agency that is  service-learning .

Hosting a food drive is service; learning about nutrition is learning. When 3rd grade students collect food donations, sort canned food into the basic food groups to make nutritionally balanced meals, and deliver the donations to the local food bank, that is  service-learning .

University service-learning

Most service-learning experiences are incorporated as discrete components or assignments associated with an academic course. ASU’s university service-learning courses are unique in that they are stand-alone, credit-bearing, graded courses. Students provide 70-100 hours of sustained service throughout the semester at an approved community partner site and earn 3 credits by completing academic and reflective assignments that relate to their service.

Learn more: For students For community

Related links

We're here to help.

Contact us for assistance.

Community Education Services PO Box 875511, Tempe, AZ 85287-5511

   106 Farmer (ED), Tempe campus     (480) 727-6382 - voice

    [email protected]

• Columbia University in the City of New York
• Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation
• University Policies
• Columbia Online
• Academic Calendar
• Resources and Technology
• Instructional Technologies
• Teaching in All Modalities

Designing Assignments for Learning

The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning meant that many instructors reimagined their assessment practices. Whether adapting existing assignments or creatively designing new opportunities for their students to learn, instructors focused on helping students make meaning and demonstrate their learning outside of the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting. This resource distills the elements of assignment design that are important to carry forward as we continue to seek better ways of assessing learning and build on our innovative assignment designs.

On this page:

Rethinking traditional tests, quizzes, and exams.

• Examples from the Columbia University Classroom
• Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

Reflect On Your Assignment Design

Connect with the ctl.

• Resources and References

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Designing Assignments for Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/designing-assignments/

Traditional assessments tend to reveal whether students can recognize, recall, or replicate what was learned out of context, and tend to focus on students providing correct responses (Wiggins, 1990). In contrast, authentic assignments, which are course assessments, engage students in higher order thinking, as they grapple with real or simulated challenges that help them prepare for their professional lives, and draw on the course knowledge learned and the skills acquired to create justifiable answers, performances or products (Wiggins, 1990). An authentic assessment provides opportunities for students to practice, consult resources, learn from feedback, and refine their performances and products accordingly (Wiggins 1990, 1998, 2014). 

Authentic assignments ask students to “do” the subject with an audience in mind and apply their learning in a new situation. Examples of authentic assignments include asking students to: 

• Write for a real audience (e.g., a memo, a policy brief, letter to the editor, a grant proposal, reports, building a website) and/or publication;
• Solve problem sets that have real world application; 
• Design projects that address a real world problem; 
• Engage in a community-partnered research project;
• Create an exhibit, performance, or conference presentation ;
• Compile and reflect on their work through a portfolio/e-portfolio.

Noteworthy elements of authentic designs are that instructors scaffold the assignment, and play an active role in preparing students for the tasks assigned, while students are intentionally asked to reflect on the process and product of their work thus building their metacognitive skills (Herrington and Oliver, 2000; Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2013; Frey, Schmitt, and Allen, 2012). 

It’s worth noting here that authentic assessments can initially be time consuming to design, implement, and grade. They are critiqued for being challenging to use across course contexts and for grading reliability issues (Maclellan, 2004). Despite these challenges, authentic assessments are recognized as beneficial to student learning (Svinicki, 2004) as they are learner-centered (Weimer, 2013), promote academic integrity (McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, 2021; Sotiriadou et al., 2019; Schroeder, 2021) and motivate students to learn (Ambrose et al., 2010). The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning is always available to consult with faculty who are considering authentic assessment designs and to discuss challenges and affordances.   

Examples from the Columbia University Classroom 

Columbia instructors have experimented with alternative ways of assessing student learning from oral exams to technology-enhanced assignments. Below are a few examples of authentic assignments in various teaching contexts across Columbia University. 

• E-portfolios: Statia Cook shares her experiences with an ePorfolio assignment in her co-taught Frontiers of Science course (a submission to the Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning initiative); CUIMC use of ePortfolios ;
• Case studies: Columbia instructors have engaged their students in authentic ways through case studies drawing on the Case Consortium at Columbia University. Read and watch a faculty spotlight to learn how Professor Mary Ann Price uses the case method to place pre-med students in real-life scenarios;
• Simulations: students at CUIMC engage in simulations to develop their professional skills in The Mary & Michael Jaharis Simulation Center in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center in the Columbia School of Nursing; 
• Experiential learning: instructors have drawn on New York City as a learning laboratory such as Barnard’s NYC as Lab webpage which highlights courses that engage students in NYC;
• Design projects that address real world problems: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy on the Engineering design projects completed using lab kits during remote learning. Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy talk about his teaching and read the Columbia News article . 
• Writing assignments: Lia Marshall and her teaching associate Aparna Balasundaram reflect on their “non-disposable or renewable assignments” to prepare social work students for their professional lives as they write for a real audience; and Hannah Weaver spoke about a sandbox assignment used in her Core Literature Humanities course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium . Watch Dr. Weaver share her experiences.  

​Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

While designing an effective authentic assignment may seem like a daunting task, the following tips can be used as a starting point. See the Resources section for frameworks and tools that may be useful in this effort.  

Align the assignment with your course learning objectives 

Identify the kind of thinking that is important in your course, the knowledge students will apply, and the skills they will practice using through the assignment. What kind of thinking will students be asked to do for the assignment? What will students learn by completing this assignment? How will the assignment help students achieve the desired course learning outcomes? For more information on course learning objectives, see the CTL’s Course Design Essentials self-paced course and watch the video on Articulating Learning Objectives .  

Identify an authentic meaning-making task

For meaning-making to occur, students need to understand the relevance of the assignment to the course and beyond (Ambrose et al., 2010). To Bean (2011) a “meaning-making” or “meaning-constructing” task has two dimensions: 1) it presents students with an authentic disciplinary problem or asks students to formulate their own problems, both of which engage them in active critical thinking, and 2) the problem is placed in “a context that gives students a role or purpose, a targeted audience, and a genre.” (Bean, 2011: 97-98). 

An authentic task gives students a realistic challenge to grapple with, a role to take on that allows them to “rehearse for the complex ambiguities” of life, provides resources and supports to draw on, and requires students to justify their work and the process they used to inform their solution (Wiggins, 1990). Note that if students find an assignment interesting or relevant, they will see value in completing it. 

Consider the kind of activities in the real world that use the knowledge and skills that are the focus of your course. How is this knowledge and these skills applied to answer real-world questions to solve real-world problems? (Herrington et al., 2010: 22). What do professionals or academics in your discipline do on a regular basis? What does it mean to think like a biologist, statistician, historian, social scientist? How might your assignment ask students to draw on current events, issues, or problems that relate to the course and are of interest to them? How might your assignment tap into student motivation and engage them in the kinds of thinking they can apply to better understand the world around them? (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Determine the evaluation criteria and create a rubric

To ensure equitable and consistent grading of assignments across students, make transparent the criteria you will use to evaluate student work. The criteria should focus on the knowledge and skills that are central to the assignment. Build on the criteria identified, create a rubric that makes explicit the expectations of deliverables and share this rubric with your students so they can use it as they work on the assignment. For more information on rubrics, see the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics into Your Grading and Feedback Practices , and explore the Association of American Colleges & Universities VALUE Rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). 

Build in metacognition

Ask students to reflect on what and how they learned from the assignment. Help students uncover personal relevance of the assignment, find intrinsic value in their work, and deepen their motivation by asking them to reflect on their process and their assignment deliverable. Sample prompts might include: what did you learn from this assignment? How might you draw on the knowledge and skills you used on this assignment in the future? See Ambrose et al., 2010 for more strategies that support motivation and the CTL’s resource on Metacognition ). 

Provide students with opportunities to practice

Design your assignment to be a learning experience and prepare students for success on the assignment. If students can reasonably expect to be successful on an assignment when they put in the required effort ,with the support and guidance of the instructor, they are more likely to engage in the behaviors necessary for learning (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ensure student success by actively teaching the knowledge and skills of the course (e.g., how to problem solve, how to write for a particular audience), modeling the desired thinking, and creating learning activities that build up to a graded assignment. Provide opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills they will need for the assignment, whether through low-stakes in-class activities or homework activities that include opportunities to receive and incorporate formative feedback. For more information on providing feedback, see the CTL resource Feedback for Learning . 

Communicate about the assignment 

Share the purpose, task, audience, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. Students may have expectations about assessments and how they will be graded that is informed by their prior experiences completing high-stakes assessments, so be transparent. Tell your students why you are asking them to do this assignment, what skills they will be using, how it aligns with the course learning outcomes, and why it is relevant to their learning and their professional lives (i.e., how practitioners / professionals use the knowledge and skills in your course in real world contexts and for what purposes). Finally, verify that students understand what they need to do to complete the assignment. This can be done by asking students to respond to poll questions about different parts of the assignment, a “scavenger hunt” of the assignment instructions–giving students questions to answer about the assignment and having them work in small groups to answer the questions, or by having students share back what they think is expected of them.

Plan to iterate and to keep the focus on learning 

Draw on multiple sources of data to help make decisions about what changes are needed to the assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or rubric to ensure that it contributes to student learning. Explore assignment performance data. As Deandra Little reminds us: “a really good assignment, which is a really good assessment, also teaches you something or tells the instructor something. As much as it tells you what students are learning, it’s also telling you what they aren’t learning.” ( Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 337 ). Assignment bottlenecks–where students get stuck or struggle–can be good indicators that students need further support or opportunities to practice prior to completing an assignment. This awareness can inform teaching decisions. 

Triangulate the performance data by collecting student feedback, and noting your own reflections about what worked well and what did not. Revise the assignment instructions, rubric, and teaching practices accordingly. Consider how you might better align your assignment with your course objectives and/or provide more opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills that they will rely on for the assignment. Additionally, keep in mind societal, disciplinary, and technological changes as you tweak your assignments for future use. 

Now is a great time to reflect on your practices and experiences with assignment design and think critically about your approach. Take a closer look at an existing assignment. Questions to consider include: What is this assignment meant to do? What purpose does it serve? Why do you ask students to do this assignment? How are they prepared to complete the assignment? Does the assignment assess the kind of learning that you really want? What would help students learn from this assignment? 

Using the tips in the previous section: How can the assignment be tweaked to be more authentic and meaningful to students? 

As you plan forward for post-pandemic teaching and reflect on your practices and reimagine your course design, you may find the following CTL resources helpful: Reflecting On Your Experiences with Remote Teaching , Transition to In-Person Teaching , and Course Design Support .

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help!

For assistance with assignment design, rubric design, or any other teaching and learning need, please request a consultation by emailing [email protected] . 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework for assignments. The TILT Examples and Resources page ( https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources ) includes example assignments from across disciplines, as well as a transparent assignment template and a checklist for designing transparent assignments . Each emphasizes the importance of articulating to students the purpose of the assignment or activity, the what and how of the task, and specifying the criteria that will be used to assess students. 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Diagnostic) tools ( https://www.aacu.org/value-add-tools ) to help with the creation of clear and effective assignments that align with the desired learning outcomes and associated VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). VALUE ADD encourages instructors to explicitly state assignment information such as the purpose of the assignment, what skills students will be using, how it aligns with course learning outcomes, the assignment type, the audience and context for the assignment, clear evaluation criteria, desired formatting, and expectations for completion whether individual or in a group.

Villarroel et al. (2017) propose a blueprint for building authentic assessments which includes four steps: 1) consider the workplace context, 2) design the authentic assessment; 3) learn and apply standards for judgement; and 4) give feedback. 

References 

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., & DiPietro, M. (2010). Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching . Jossey-Bass. 

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2013). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 39(2), 205-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 .  

Bean, J.C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Frey, B. B, Schmitt, V. L., and Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7275/sxbs-0829  

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., and Oliver, R. (2010). A Guide to Authentic e-Learning . Routledge. 

Herrington, J. and Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48. 

Litchfield, B. C. and Dempsey, J. V. (2015). Authentic Assessment of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015), 65-80. 

Maclellan, E. (2004). How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 29(3), June 2004. DOI: 10.1080/0260293042000188267

McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, J. (2021). Assessments in a Virtual Environment: You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Faculty Focus. June 2, 2021. 

Mueller, J. (2005). The Authentic Assessment Toolbox: Enhancing Student Learning through Online Faculty Development . MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1(1). July 2005. Mueller’s Authentic Assessment Toolbox is available online. 

Schroeder, R. (2021). Vaccinate Against Cheating With Authentic Assessment . Inside Higher Ed. (February 26, 2021).  

Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., and Guest, R. (2019). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skills development and employability. Studies in Higher Education. 45(111), 2132-2148. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582015    

Stachowiak, B. (Host). (November 25, 2020). Authentic Assignments with Deandra Little. (Episode 337). In Teaching in Higher Ed . https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/authentic-assignments/  

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Authentic Assessment: Testing in Reality. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 100 (Winter 2004): 23-29. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S, Bruna, D., Bruna, C., and Herrera-Seda, C. (2017). Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 43(5), 840-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396    

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice . Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Wiggins, G. (2014). Authenticity in assessment, (re-)defined and explained. Retrieved from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/authenticity-in-assessment-re-defined-and-explained/

Wiggins, G. (1998). Teaching to the (Authentic) Test. Educational Leadership . April 1989. 41-47. 

Wiggins, Grant (1990). The Case for Authentic Assessment . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 2(2). 

Wondering how AI tools might play a role in your course assignments?

See the CTL’s resource “Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom.”

This website uses cookies to identify users, improve the user experience and requires cookies to work. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University's use of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the Columbia University Website Cookie Notice .

for Education

• Google Classroom
• Google Workspace Admin
• Google Cloud

Easily distribute, analyze, and grade student work with Assignments for your LMS

Assignments is an application for your learning management system (LMS). It helps educators save time grading and guides students to turn in their best work with originality reports — all through the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education.

• Get started
• Explore originality reports

Bring your favorite tools together within your LMS

Make Google Docs and Google Drive compatible with your LMS

Simplify assignment management with user-friendly Google Workspace productivity tools

Built with the latest Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standards for robust security and easy installation in your LMS

Save time distributing and grading classwork

Distribute personalized copies of Google Drive templates and worksheets to students

Grade consistently and transparently with rubrics integrated into student work

Add rich feedback faster using the customizable comment bank

Examine student work to ensure authenticity

Compare student work against hundreds of billions of web pages and over 40 million books with originality reports

Make student-to-student comparisons on your domain-owned repository of past submissions when you sign up for the Teaching and Learning Upgrade or Google Workspace for Education Plus

Allow students to scan their own work for recommended citations up to three times

Trust in high security standards

Protect student privacy — data is owned and managed solely by you and your students

Provide an ad-free experience for all your users

Compatible with LTI version 1.1 or higher and meets rigorous compliance standards

Product demos

Experience google workspace for education in action. explore premium features in detail via step-by-step demos to get a feel for how they work in the classroom..

“Assignments enable faculty to save time on the mundane parts of grading and...spend more time on providing more personalized and relevant feedback to students.” Benjamin Hommerding , Technology Innovationist, St. Norbert College

Classroom users get the best of Assignments built-in

Find all of the same features of Assignments in your existing Classroom environment

• Learn more about Classroom

Explore resources to get up and running

Discover helpful resources to get up to speed on using Assignments and find answers to commonly asked questions.

• Visit Help Center

Get a quick overview of Assignments to help Educators learn how they can use it in their classrooms.

• Download overview

Get started guide

Start using Assignments in your courses with this step-by-step guide for instructors.

• Download guide

Teacher Center Assignments resources

Find educator tools and resources to get started with Assignments.

• Visit Teacher Center

How to use Assignments within your LMS

Watch this brief video on how Educators can use Assignments.

• Watch video

Turn on Assignments in your LMS

Contact your institution’s administrator to turn on Assignments within your LMS.

• Admin setup

Explore a suite of tools for your classroom with Google Workspace for Education

You're now viewing content for a different region..

For content more relevant to your region, we suggest:

Sign up here for updates, insights, resources, and more.

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

What Is Service Learning And Why Should We Use It?

Updated: July 15, 2022

Published: May 31, 2020

Service learning is all about using your skills and drive to learn how to best help the community. But it’s not just the community that benefits — students do too, as well as the university that assigns the service learning. Learn from us how to implement service learning, what the benefits are, what to include in the service learning unit and all about service learning assessments. What is service learning? It’s much more than just volunteering for class: it’s a way to learn and grow.

What Is Service Learning?

Service learning is all about experiential learning — that is, learning through experience, but by way of community service. Universities partner with local groups and organizations that are willing to have students as a part of their programs. The service is usually in line with what the student is learning, and that learning is incorporated into the classroom by way of assignments, discussions, and more.

Service Learning Differs From Traditional Education

Service learning is not your typical education, or your typical internship, and it’s not work-study either. Service learning differs from other traditional types of experiential learning because it is service-based, but also fits the learning needs of the student. In this way, it works to further both the community and the student’s education.

Photo by  Athena  from  Pexels

Service learning in action: what does it look like, types of service learning.

Speaking broadly, there are two major types of service learning — co-curricular and academic.

Co-curricular service learning is when students engage in planned service activities that meet a community need. Students reflect on personal values and community needs as a result. An example would be if a business school decided to create a program for high-risk youth to explore their entrepreneurial side. Students from the business school would help with the all aspects of the program voluntarily, from implementation to program design to outreach.

Academic service learning is course-specific and helps advance students’ understanding of course content. Students reflect on the connection between their service and the curriculum, as well as needs and values. An example of this would be as part of an education course, a student works weekly, on their own, at a local high-risk school as a teacher, facilitator, or other needed position.

Breakdown: How To Integrate Service Learning

What to include in a service learning unit, 1. pre-reflection.

Before beginning a service learning assignment or introduction to the unit, instructors should ask the students to reflect upon their own past experience with service work, their opinions on the community and their personal values, and how these may tie in to their education and career path.

2. Research

Either before or during the service learning, students should engage in research. This can be as simple as researching the area they will be service learning in or the organization they will be with. Or it can be as extensive as an entire research project based on the topic of their service learning.

3. Presentation

Students should become comfortable presenting their research findings and their experiences with their classmates.

4. Reflection

One of the most important aspects of service learning is reflection. Students engaged in service learning opportunities should reflect often on their experiences, how they relate to what they are learning in class, and how they relate to their own values and plans for their future.

Ideas for Including Service Learning into an Existing Course

1. group service projects.

This is where for one day or one period of time, an entire group completes a service project together. This can be done as part of a course or as a graduating class, or with an entire cohort.

2. Optional Within A Course

If service learning is optional within a course, students should be able to substitute service learning for other portions of the class.

3. Required Within A Course

This is a commonly used method, where all students are required to complete a service learning project on their own for the duration of the course.

4. Action Research Projects

Students can complete service learning and research as well. Students may choose to research a topic that might benefit the community, and then present it to a relevant organization.

5. Capstone Projects

Service learning is a great option for a capstone project. This allows students to show a culmination of their knowledge to the university, by using it to do good within the community.

6. Multi or Cross-Course Projects

Service learning projects may be broader than just one class. They may extend over multiple semesters, or may be a part of the degree as a whole.

Photo by  fauxels  from  Pexels

Assessing service learning, community assessment.

The community partners involved should be given the opportunity to evaluate both the student and the program as a whole.

Teacher Assessment

Teachers may assess the students’ participation, but also their ability to link their experiences to class.

Student Assessment

Students may self-assess their own service learning. This can be a powerful activity mid-course so that students may change their actions if they feel they could do better.

Effective Qualities and Elements of Service Learning

1. integrative.

Service learning should holistically integrate class objectives into the service, and vice versa, the service should be worked into the course content as well.

2. Reflective

One of the most effective parts of service learning is the structured reflection provided by teachers. Students should be given time to think critically about their experience and build opinions, values, and goals based on these reflections.

Service learning should allow for students to be able to apply their learning within the context of their own community.

4. Strength-based

Service learning should be based upon the strengths of a community, not its deficits. The strong programs that help the community do well should be the ones that students are helping to build up.

5. Reciprocal

Of course, both the organization and the student should benefit from the service learning. It should never be one-sided.

6. Lifelong

Engaging in service learning is something that will remain with the student for life. It can be career or mind altering and shape the student for many years to come.

Photo by  Christina Morillo  from  Pexels

Volunteering, internships, community service or service learning.

Service learning is not to be confused with volunteering, and it is also distinct from an internship. Where community service and volunteering are valuable , they are service-based and community needs based. Service learning also incorporates the educational needs of the individual completing the service learning.

Internships are focused on fostering education, but may not take into account the needs of a community. Service learning helps both students and the community.

Service Learning Benefits

Student benefits.

• Learning Outcomes: Students are better able to understand the course content with a real-world understanding.
• Personal Outcomes: Students learn commendable values such as using your strengths to help your community.
• Social Outcomes: Students are less likely to stereotype, and may be more open to other cultures and have a higher sense of social responsibility.
• Career Development: Students learn valuable skills that translate to the work they will be doing. They also may decide on career paths based on service learning.
• Relationship With The Institution: Students who complete service learning may feel a greater connection to their university and faculty.

Photo by  Andrea Piacquadio  from  Pexels

University benefits.

Universities benefit from allowing and encouraging teachers and programs to implement service learning. They may have a better relationship with the community as a result, and also have better student relations as well.

Faculty Benefits

Faculty benefit from service learning by feeling an overall sense of accomplishment and pride from their students doing good in their community. It is also rewarding for faculty to see students apply class learning to the real world, and vice versa.

Community Benefits

Of course, the community benefits from service learning as well. They have bright minds of local university students working to uplift the community through service learning. Many of these organizations rely on the universities for the support of students’ service.

Overall, service learning is one of the most valuable things a student can do during their university career. What is service learning? It is working to better both the student and the community at the same time.

Related Articles

• Prodigy Math
• Prodigy English
• Is a Premium Membership Worth It?
• Promote a Growth Mindset
• Help Your Child Who's Struggling with Math
• Parent's Guide to Prodigy
• Assessments
• Math Curriculum Coverage
• English Curriculum Coverage
• Game Portal

The Teacher's Guide to Service Learning [+ 5 Examples]

Written by Laney Kennedy

Teachers 🧑‍🏫

Help inspire your students to love learning math with Prodigy's online learning platform.

• Teaching Strategies
• The definition of service learning
• How service learning compares to other forms of community service
• The benefits of service learning
• An outline of what service learning looks like when used
• 5 service learning examples you can use in your classroom

Involving your students in community service can feel like an impossible task when you already have endless piles of curriculum to cover during the school year.

But what if you could accomplish both of these at the same time?

You’ve probably heard of service learning, a form of experiential education widely implemented in elementary classrooms right through to high schools and higher education. Maybe you’ve even wanted to use it in your classroom, but aren’t exactly sure what it is or how to go about it.

When done properly, service learning is a fantastic form of experiential learning the whole class can enjoy. Including service learning projects in your curriculum encourages students to learn about relevant issues, get involved in community service and engage with academic content — all at the same time!

Let’s start with the basics.

What is service learning?

According to the National Youth Leadership Council , it’s "a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.”

In simpler terms, service learning is an educational method that combines academic goals with community service projects . Lessons about relevant community issues are combined with existing course content to optimize the academic experience.

At the same time, students gain hands-on experience doing service projects to tackle community issues and make positive changes.

The beauty of service learning is that something real and concrete is occurring. Learning takes on a new dimension. When students are engaged intellectually and emotionally with a topic, they can light up with a revelation or make a connection between two previously separate ideas. What they’ve learned in school suddenly matters and engages their minds and their hearts. Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A.  Author of  The Complete Guide to Service Learning

Teachers can provide real-world examples of the curriculum they’re teaching. Students are given a fresh perspective on what they’re learning and can apply it to the projects they work on.

Entire classrooms make positive changes to the community, and everyone reaps the rewards.

How is service learning different from community service?

It’s great to get children involved in community service as soon as possible, but service learning adds an extra layer to make it even more beneficial for students.

Service learning is a more student-centered approach than other forms of community service, such as volunteering. The focus is on student experiences, and the entire service project is designed around providing as much education as possible every step of the way.

Most kinds of community service help the community more than the person providing it, but the benefit is reciprocal with service learning. Students and members of the community can both be equally satisfied.

What are the benefits of service learning?

Sure, it sounds good, but at this point you may be wondering, “can this really benefit my students?”

The simple answer: yes, it can! There are many proven benefits of adding service learning to your curriculum. Research from the University of South Alabama found that around 80% of students who took part in a service learning project found the experience “highly beneficial.” These students saw improvements in their communication skills, self-awareness and knowledge of community needs, making it an effective service-learning strategy.

In another study , service learning programs improved the grade-point averages of students 76% of the time. Students in the program were more engaged, punctual and interested in course content.

In addition to the above findings, service learning can:

• Help students make connections between different academic subjects by using an  interdisciplinary teaching  approach
• Encourage students to positively contribute to their communities, while also aligning to class curriculum
• Improve learning outcomes, attendance rates and class engagement
• Increase awareness of community needs and local or global issues
• Improve problem-solving ability, including in real-life skills
• Boost levels of self-esteem, empathy and responsibility
• Reduce the risk of behavioral problems in the classroom
• Allow for a hands-on learning experience
• Promote mutual respect and kindness
• Strengthen classroom communication
• Deepen critical thinking skills

The ideas and examples of service-learning provided below will help you bring it to your classroom and see many of these benefits come to life for your students.

What does service learning look like?

An effective service-learning experience follows a specific format so education can occur throughout the entire process. Creating a detailed plan for each step of the way will make it easy to introduce your program and keep students engaged, while meeting basic standards to ensure success.

The general guidelines for a service-learning course or program include:

• Preparation —  This is the stage where you prepare yourself and your students to take on their service project. You can start by deciding on a project to tackle, figuring out how to tie it in with your curriculum, and forming community partnerships with local organizations your class can work with. Then you can teach your students about the community issue to prepare them for action. Make sure you choose a project that is  relevant to your community. Tip: Give your students a voice during this stage to keep them interested. For example, you can have the class vote on which community issue they want to support or on individual roles within the project.
• Action —  This is the hands-on component where the class gets to use what they’ve learned and apply it to a real service project. Students will now directly help community partners and those affected by the issue with actual community service work.
• Reflection —  This stage lets students reflect on their service project, consider what they learned from it, and apply their learnings to the curriculum. Reflection is encouraged during every step, but this stage allows for a more in-depth process where students can consider what they’ve learned and how they feel about the service they provided.

Example of a reflection worksheet for younger grades. Image source: Scholastic

• Demonstration —  Students can show what they’ve learned about the issue to their class, school or community. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and what others can do to help.
• Celebration   —  Students can congratulate themselves and each other for their hard work and positive contributions.

There are a number of things you can do with your students throughout the program. Below are some ideas you can use for each stage of your service learning plan.

Preparation: Students can learn about the issue they are going to tackle using:

• Class and small group discussions
• Visual brainstorming sessions
• Web-based research
• News clippings
• Infographics

Action: Students can serve their communities by taking part in:

• Various service projects (cleaning, building, gardening etc.)
• Awareness campaigns
• Research projects
• Tutoring sessions
• Fundraisers
• Field trips

Reflection: Students can reflect on their experiences with:

• Visual art submissions
• Group discussions
• Poems or songs
• Journal entries

Demonstration: Students can demonstrate what they’ve learned about the issue by creating:

• Final presentations
• Books or portfolios
• Graphs or charts

Celebration: Students can celebrate their hard work and success by:

• Making thank-you cards or gifts for peers and community partners
• Being recognized at the next school assembly or on social media
• Discussing the impact their efforts have made
• Having a class pizza party

The possibilities are endless when making a service learning plan, so feel free to get as creative as you like. Just remember: a successful service learning program allows for cooperative learning and encourages constant communication and reflection.

Possibly the most important part of your plan is choosing an actual service project to take on. Get inspired by the examples below.

Five service learning examples for your classroom

When picking your service learning project, be sure to focus on an issue that’s relevant to your community members. It’s also important to ensure that necessary material can be embedded into your student learning.

Below are five examples of projects you can use in your class , including some ideas for literature to accompany your lessons. Use them as a guide when designing your own plan.

1) Issue: literacy

Action : Collect books to donate to low income schools or (for older grades) tutor younger students to read. Partner with a local community organization that supports literacy in youth. Local libraries are often great starting points for community engagement in literacy.

Preparation : Teach learners about the importance of literacy and the implications of low literacy rates for the individual and the community.

Books you can use :

• Read Me a Book  by Barbara Reid
• The Library Card  by Jerry Spinelli

2) Issue: animal welfare

Action: Collect pet food and toys for animals at your local humane society, then take a class trip to deliver the items and visit the animals.

Preparation : Teach students about shelters, adoption, rehabilitation and how to prevent animal cruelty. Ask them to brainstorm what providing meaningful service to animals could involve.

• Can I Be Your Dog ? By Troy Cummings
• Saving Winslow  by Sharon Creech

This picture book is written in letters from Arfy the dog, hoping he will persuade someone to adopt him. Great for younger grades to help them understand the importance of pet adoption.

3) Issue: poverty and hunger

Action : Hold a canned food drive or collect items to make care packages for the homeless. Enroll your class into helping a local organization that works to combat poverty.

Preparation : Teach students about hunger and poverty in their community and its negative effects on child development and health. Talk about what others can do to help.

• Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen  by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
• Maddi’s Fridge  by Lois Brandt

4) Issue: the environment

Action : Work to improve recycling efforts at school. Educate staff and students about what can and can’t be recycled. Make quick reference posters. Collect bins from classrooms.

Preparation : Talk about advocacy on environmental issues and their relationship with civic responsibility. Discuss the impact waste has on the earth and ways you can help the environment through actions and advocacy. Teach students the importance of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” why recycling is effective and how it benefits the environment. Motivate them on how young people can help shape the future for the better.

Books you can use:

• The Wartville Wizard  by Don Madden
• Me and Marvin Gardens  by A. S. King

This book tells the story of Obe Devlin, a boy who makes an unlikely friendship after his land is taken over by developers. It includes a heartwarming tale while bringing attention to environmental issues. Good for middle grades.

5) Issue: diversity and inclusion

Action : Have the class plan and host a “celebrate diversity” day at school, to educate each other on different cultures or groups that face adversities like those with disabilities. Encourage students to embrace differences among their class. Partner with a local organization that promotes diversity and inclusion.  

Preparation: Teach students about inequality. Define and explain the importance of diversity and tolerance. Explore ways students can support diversity in their everyday lives or through service activities.

• All Are Welcome  by Alexandra Penfold
• Fish in a Tree  by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Final thoughts on service learning

No matter what project you choose, service learning is a great way to accomplish academic goals, promote teamwork and communication and contribute to a positive school culture by inspiring students to give back.

You now have the necessary tools to bring service learning to your class. Use these ideas to plan a service learning program tailored to your curriculum, and enjoy the awesome results.

Create or log in to your teacher account on Prodigy  – a fun and engaging game-based learning platform that assesses student progress and performance as they play. Aligned with curricula across the English-speaking world, it’s been used by more than  a million teachers  and  100 million students .

Teaching Commons Conference 2024

Join us for the Teaching Commons Conference 2024 –  Cultivating Connection. Friday, May 10.

Rethinking Online Assignments

Main navigation.

Assignments and assessments designed to be used in person might be less effective when adapted for online learning. These strategies for rethinking learning activities for online courses can help you address these issues.

Clearly communicate assignment instructions

We often take for granted the many informal interactions that occur in a face-to-face setting. Simple clarifications, adjustments, and reassurances about assignment due dates, requirements, and expectations can be lost when going online. Consider the following strategies to address this:

• Make instructions clear and explicit. Provide students with clear guidance about exactly what needs to be done, when assignments are due, and how this will affect their grades.
• Allocate more time to communicating with students. Be prepared to spend more time communicating assignment instructions, sending reminders, answering questions, or clarifying requirements.
• Be meticulous with assignment instructions. Keep assignment instructions consistent in how and where they appear in the online learning space. Be sure to highlight any changes.
• Keep it simple. Avoid elaborate assignments that require overly complex instructions. Or, if such an assignment is important to your course, dedicate extra time to reviewing the instructions.

Make assignments easy to manage

Online coursework, particularly with asynchronous elements, gives learners more choices around how they can engage with the course. This can provide more flexibility and freedom, but it requires students to effectively and proactively manage their own learning. Help your students focus more on learning and less on managing their workload with these strategies:

• Chunk big assignments.  Large assignments put a lot of stress on particular weeks, so losing a week of work for any reason can heavily impact student success. A well-designed online course spreads the workload out as evenly as possible. With a little planning, it is also easy to accommodate extended time for short assessments . 
• Create routines and habits.  Consider repeating assignments that occur regularly, like weekly reading reflections, daily problem sets, or regular discussion forums. Create predictability by having regular due dates and instructions.
• Make the content needed for assignments convenient. If students need a particular article or weblink for an assignment, make it available with the assignment instructions. Clearly label files and materials so students can easily identify what they need to complete an assignment.

Be intentional about community and student input

You may find that meaningful engagement and connection happen differently in online learning than in traditional learning. Students can become disconnected from learning if the assignments are not meaningful to them, especially with asynchronous formats. These strategies can help you to get students more engaged with assignments:

• Try group projects, if it makes sense.  While group projects can be more difficult to organize, they are a great way to get students in the course to know each other and build a learning community. 
• Introduce low-stakes community-building assignments.  Try starting students off with something very simple, like a self introduction exercise, that lets them share something about themselves and connect to one another. Then, perhaps create spaces for students to get to know each other and deepen connections around shared interests, experiences, or communities.
• Let students influence assignments.  Consider assignments that connect to topics and issues that students care about. Include an element of student choice and gather feedback from students on the design of the assignment. You might even have students contribute to rubrics or grading criteria.

Using Service-Learning in Writing Courses

Service-learning unites students, faculty, and community members to benefit the community while advancing educational goals and enhancing students' academic development.

This guide provides practical information on service-learning in college classrooms, with an emphasis on writing and writing-intensive courses.The following sections are provided.

Introduction to Service-Learning

• Service-Learning in Writing Classes

Implementing Service-Learning

Importance of student reflection, additional resources.

• Citation Information

With roots in colonial education and industrial-age rethinking of community, service-learning has become a formal component of undergraduate education.

Definition of Service-Learning

Service-learning practitioners emphasize the following elements in formulating a definition of service-learning:

• Service-learning involves students in community service activities and applies the experience to personal and academic development.
• Service-learning occurs when there is "a balance between learning goals and service outcomes" (Furco 3). Service-learning differs from internship experience or volunteer work in its "intention to equally benefit the provider and the recipient of the service as well as to ensure equal focus on both the service being provided and the learning that is occurring" (Furco 5).
• Service-learning course objectives are linked to real community needs that are designed in cooperation with community partners and service recipients.
• In service-learning, course materials inform student service and service informs academic dialogue and comprehension.
• Service-learning engages students in a three-part process: classroom preparation through explanation and analysis of theories and ideas; service activity that emerges from and informs classroom context; and structured reflection tying service experience back to specific learning goals. (Jeavons 135)

Justification for Service-Learning

The justification for adopting a service-learning approach involves pedagogical and practical considerations.

Pedagogical Implications of Service-Learning

Public administration professor Thomas H. Jeavons identifies several ways in which service-learning is more effective than traditional presentational modes in supporting the goals of liberal education.

As an experiential and collaborative mode, service-learning:

• enhances critical thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis by involving students in identifying and framing problems in settings that transcend disciplinary boundaries.
• involves students in assessing outcomes in a way that reveals the practical implications of chosen theories, research tools, analysis techniques, and presentation modes.
• prepares students for life-long learning by connecting formal education more fully with real-world experience.
• prepares students for citizenship by engaging them in dealing directly with community problems, challenging their assumptions and requiring them to integrate multiple points of view.

Benefits to Participants

Colorado State University's Office for Service-Learning (OSL) identifies the benefits of service-learning to the groups listed below. The benefits listed in each section are adapted from OSL's Service-Learning Faculty Manual (6-7) and other sources, as indicated.

Benefits to Students

Students benefit from service-learning through:

• Hands-on application that increases the relevance of academic knowledge
• Accommodation of different learning styles
• Interaction with people of diverse cultures and lifestyles
• An increased sense of efficacy and social development
• Practical career preparation
• Meaningful involvement in the local community
• Moral and ethical growth (Lisman 40)

Benefits to Faculty

Instructors benefit from service-learning through:

An enhanced teaching repertoire

• Increased contact with students
• New perspectives on learning and increased understanding of how learning occurs
• Increased awareness of community issues and their relationship to instructors' academic interests
• Identification of current trends and issues that might inform research
• Potential for interdisciplinary collaboration
• Contribution to tenure and other review files

Benefits to Community

The community benefits from service-learning through:

• Increased awareness of and ability to articulate community issues
• Short and long term solutions to community problems
• Access to campus resources
• Relationship opportunities with academic institutions
• Opportunities to contribute to the educational process
• Opportunities to foster future active community members

Benefits to Academic Institutions

Academic institutions benefit from service-learning through:

• Enhanced teaching, research, and outreach activities
• Faculty and student engagement in local and state issues
• Opportunities to extend campus resources
• Positive community relationships
• Increased preparation of graduates

Service-Learning Participants

Colorado State University's Office for Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs (SLVP) identifies the following participants in service-learning. Click on each link to view the roles of each participant as identified in SLVP's Service-Learning Faculty Manual (16-17).

• Community partners
• Campus service-learning office

Faculty Role in Service-Learning

As an instructor implementing service-learning in your classroom, you will likely have the following responsibilities:

Create a syllabus that clearly articulates the relationship between service-learning and academic objectives and outlines the process by which students will engage in service activities.

• If you are working with a campus service-learning office, provide them with a copy of your syllabus.
• Select and contact community partner(s) to initiate the service-learning relationship.
• On the first day of class, inform students of the service-learning course component and their required commitment. Emphasize the importance of finding placements early to allow for flexibility in meeting hour requirements.
• Consider asking students to complete a commitment form indicating their understanding and agreement to participate in service-learning.
• Become familiar with the service site(s) and monitor student participation throughout the semester.
• Provide a structured forum for student reflection.
• If you are working with a campus service-learning office, you might be asked to attend workshops, participate in online discussions, provide your campus office with any news articles featuring your course, and/or administer student evaluations for return to the service-learning office.

Students' Role in Service-Learning

Students are expected to:

• Find placement and arrange hours with a service site by the deadline established in class.
• Be prompt, willing, and respectful at their service site.
• Be willing to learn about cultures and lifestyles that differ from their own.
• Fulfills all duties agreed upon in their commitment form and with their site supervisors.
• Respect confidentiality of the people they serve.
• Speak with site supervisors if they are uncomfortable with or uncertain about their responsibilities.
• Participate in class discussion regarding the service-learning experience.
• Participate in the course evaluation process.

Community Partners' Role in Service-Learning

Community partners are expected to:

• Orient students to agency mission and goals.
• Provide work that is meaningful and valuable to students.
• Provide training, supervision, resources, and feedback.
• Ensure a safe work environment and reasonable hours.

Service-Learning Office's Role in Service-Learning

If you are working with a campus service-learning office, they might serve any or all of the following functions:

• Provide resources and consultation based on course objectives articulated by faculty.
• Create a community partners list and recommend placement sites specific to course objectives.
• Refer new faculty to experienced service-learning practitioners.
• Assist faculty with research efforts, including support for presentations and publications.
• Inform faculty of resource and recognition opportunities.
• Maintain and share service-learning course roster.

Service-Learning in Writing Courses

Composition scholars have noted a natural alliance between service-learning and writing. The following sections provide discussion of that alliance and associated benefits and caveats. Material in these sections is adapted from the American Association for Higher Education Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines, Composition Volume and Michigan State University's Service-Learning Writing Project (see Resources ).

Service-Learning and Writing: A Happy Marriage

Composition scholars point to several features of both service-learning and writing instruction that support a convergence of service and writing in college-level courses:

• The critical awareness demanded for college-level writing is similar to that required for effective community participation.
• Like service-learning, writing instruction bridges academic and nonacademic communities because communication and writing skills are in wide demand and are frequently observed in assessing higher education.
• Multidisciplinary in nature, service-learning and composition programs are in positions to facilitate institutional and community cooperation; conversely, both are challenged to secure their positions without strong ties to a single discipline.
• Both service-learning and composition are relatively undertheorized, and their union helps to raise questions about each, as well as about larger issues.

Benefits of Service-Learning in Writing Courses

Advocates of integrating service-learning and writing frequently speak in terms of transitions. Consider the following potential transitions:

• Class members make the transition from students to writers and from commentators to collaborators.
• Instructors make the transition from drivers to facilitators of student-directed and collaborative writing.
• Writing moves from private to public. The investment of an audience outside the classroom raises the stakes of writing, and writing becomes a record that can inform continuing collaboration.
• The traditionally isolated classroom becomes a member of a connected community. The promotion of connections rather than divisions is especially important in composition classes because they are among the earliest taken and contribute significantly to students' academic expectations and identities.
• The academic institution and surrounding community move toward greater awareness of their ties to one another and to larger social systems.
• The academic experience becomes an opportunity to bridge the gap between theory and practice. The marriage of service-learning and composition and rhetoric, which view communication as an interaction aimed at producing effects, challenges the traditional theory/practice dichotomy promoted by a view of communication as a means of revealing static concepts.

Caveats of Service-Learning in Writing Courses

Courses that combine service-learning and writing are particularly vulnerable to the following constraints:

• Temporal constraints: The academic schedule is one factor that tends to separate academic institutions from the rest of the community. Community-based writing projects generally place more complex demands on students than do traditional writing assignments, and what can be accomplished in a single course during a single semester does not effectively address the needs of students or the community partners they serve.
• "Spatial" constraints: Traditional disciplines tend to regard programs like service-learning and composition-programs that refuse to fit neatly into departmental structures-as competitors for resources and recognition. To gain institutional support, service-learning and composition programs generally must operate within a traditional framework that might not meet the needs of those "both inside and outside the academy who view the world in terms of issues and problems that cannot be neatly divided or fit into problems of Sociology, Composition, History, Engineering, and so forth" (AAHE).
• Instructor as sole evaluator: Writing for service-learning courses involves a real audience of community members whose stakes in the writing produced are at least as high as the instructor's. Thus, some instructors have experimented with various ways of involving community members in evaluating student writing.
• Evaluating individual performances: Much of the writing done in service-learning courses is collaborative, and it is often difficult to evaluate any individual's participation. Furthermore, the content of a service-learning course frequently challenges beliefs in individualism and meritocracy that are perpetuated by the common grading system

Sample Service-Learning Assignments for Writing Courses

Michigan State University's Service-Learning Writing Project offers the following examples of service-learning assignments for writing courses:

• A series of articles for a local non-profit environmental agency newsletter, informing citizens of new policies covering trash pick-up and yard waste management
• A report on strategies for leasing and managing public land for use as a summer community garden, for use by a local food bank
• Brochures for a housing resources center, detailing rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants under state residential housing laws
• Standardized entry forms and a state-wide index of self-help programs and 12-step recovery groups, prepared for a state referral service based on interviews and research

In general, consider how any of the following might provide meaningful writing opportunities for students involved in service-learning:

• Newsletters
• Public service announcements for broadcast
• Press releases
• Grant proposals
• Pamphlets or brochures

The following tips will help you put service-learning into practice in your classes:

Allowing Ample Planning Time

According to Colorado State University's Office for Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs, it's common for enthusiastic faculty to scramble to integrate service-learning into an upcoming course when it might be wiser to wait a semester and devote more time to planning. Because service-learning is not a supplemental activity but an alternative teaching method, thoughtful planning is required to develop a unified package of syllabus, orientation, reflection and assessment.

Determining Course Objectives

Seasoned service-learning practitioners caution against making every course a service-learning course. Course objectives should drive teaching methods, and some courses more than others lend themselves to service-learning. Articulate objectives in writing to determine the suitability of service-learning. Having decided to implement service-learning, identify community needs that are related to course objectives.

Considering Class Make-up

Factors such as students' ages, academic levels, living situations, and background experiences will influence the effectiveness of any approach to service-learning. Traditional undergraduates, for example, are less likely to be familiar with the community and will tend to benefit from a more structured approach. Graduate students are likelier to have existing ties to community agencies and will appreciate greater freedom in deciding how-or even whether-to enhance their learning through community service. Commuters will have greater difficulty scheduling service hours with local agencies, while lack of transportation might restrict younger students to agencies within walking distance of campus. Taking these factors into account will promote a beneficial service-learning experience for each unique group of students.

Considering Class Size

Class size will influence the number and diversity of community partnerships formed. Larger classes generally require the cooperation of a greater number of community partners, which can enrich learning by bringing several perspectives to class discussions. Smaller classes, on the other hand, might glean deeper understanding and work toward more lasting goals through a group partnership with one agency. Keep in mind that different agencies can absorb different numbers of student volunteers and plan accordingly.

Contacting Community Partners

Because arranging community partnerships typically requires a considerable time investment, early contact is recommended. Initial contact involves communicating course objectives and class particulars (make-up, size, timeline, etc.) and gathering information regarding agency needs, contact person(s), location, number of volunteer positions available, orientation and training requirements and hours of operation. When partnerships have been formed, consider inviting agency representatives to address the class during its first or second session. Maintain contact with community partners throughout the semester and attempt to visit the service site(s) at least once.

Drafting a Syllabus

A service-learning course syllabus should clearly articulate service requirements and communicate their relationship to course objectives and other course content such as writing assignments, readings, discussions, and presentations. It should include a timeline that factors in agencies' required training period and a description of how students will be assessed. It should allow flexibility for students with special needs and should incorporate reflective assignments and activities.

Anticipating Time Requirements

Service-learning courses require significant out-of-class time commitments for both instructors and students. To provide students with a realistic estimate of time requirements, mentally take on a student's role and walk through orientation and training, service hours, class attendance, and other class assignments. To estimate instructor time commitment, account for contact with community partners, class visits from agency representatives, discussion and written comments acquainting students with service-learning objectives and addressing students' fears and concerns, and preparation of academic content that complements service activities.

Considering Assessment Methods

Assign grades to reflect the processing of students' experience and not the service hours alone. Look for ways to evaluate analytical skills, communication skills, and critical thinking and judgment through paper, presentation, and discussion grades. Create assignments that require students to integrate course content and service experience. Consider asking service supervisors to submit student evaluation forms that may or may not contribute to students' course grade through incentive points. As in any other course, students' final grades in a service-learning course should reflect academic development and skill application.

Considering Collaboration

When multiple sections of the same course adopt a service-learning approach, instructors and their students will benefit from instructor collaboration. In freshman composition courses, for example, one instructor acting as coordinator can spearhead syllabus changes that fulfill composition program objectives, form ties with the campus service-learning office, establish a pool of initial agency contacts, recruit and train other freshman composition instructors to implement service learning, and monitor service-learning sections for continuity between sections and within the larger composition program.

Precluding Student Objections

Service-learning is not productive when students view service as a chore; distinguishing service-learning from volunteerism will help students understand how they will benefit from the exchange. Repeatedly highlight connections between service and other course content and emphasize the contribution of service activities to course objectives. Other preventative measure against complaints about service requirements include:

• Designating service-learning courses in the course catalog
• Allowing for flexibility
• Reserving class time for critical reflection of assumptions about service

Recognize that students might have legitimate grounds for objecting to service requirements and consider offering optional opportunities for involvement or directing them to traditional sections or courses that will fulfill their degree requirements. On the other hand, don't assume that students will complain. A recent UCLA study found that freshmen entering U.S. colleges and universities were the most service-oriented class in the thirty-one years the nationwide survey had been administered (CIRP). Students may well be seeking opportunities for community involvement and will be enthusiastic about a course that facilitates that desire.

Challenging Stereotypes

One benefit of service-learning is its potential to challenge students' stereotypes about persons whose backgrounds are different from their own. Inadequate preparation for diversity issues, however, can result in an experience that reinforces rather than breaking down stereotypes. Literacy tutoring, for example, can enhance students' visions of themselves as "saviors" bestowing their services upon undeserving "others" (Schutz & Gere 133).

Addressing stereotypes in class is the most effective safeguard against the perpetuation of stereotypical beliefs. Set parameters to discourage inappropriate comments in class as well as at service sites, but do provide an open forum for students' sincere questions and concerns. For example, students might fear entering an environment where they are uncertain what constitutes acceptable speech or behavior. In addition to classroom discussion, reflective writing can challenge students to articulate and examine their beliefs and enable to instructors to respond to individual concerns.

Reflection, a key component of many writing classes, is vital to the success of a service-learning course. Reflection is a process of examining and interpreting experience to gain new understanding. The following sections highlight this important element of service-learning:

Benefits of Reflection

Reflection is integral to the service-learning experience in the following ways:

• Reflection transforms experience into genuine learning about individual values and goals and about larger social issues.
• Reflection challenges students to connect service activities to course objectives and to develop higher-level thinking and problem solving.
• Reflection works against the perpetuation of stereotypes by raising students' awareness of the social structures surrounding service environments.
• By fostering a sense of connection to the community and a deeper awareness of community needs, reflection increases the likelihood that students will remain committed to service beyond the term of the course.

Facilitating Reflection

The following tips for facilitating reflection are adapted from Colorado State University's Office for Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs:

• Schedule regular opportunities for guided and purposeful reflection.
• Communicate in writing students' responsibilities for reflection and provide well-defined criteria for evaluating their participation.
• Seek to engage each student in both group and individual reflection activities.
• Challenge each student to assess the knowledge, values, and skills he or she brings to the project.
• Establish norms of behavior and a framework for reflection that guides students from objective observations and subjective responses to interpretation, awareness, and action.
• Devote some reflection time to orienting students to people and problems they will encounter and allowing students to practice skills that will be required, such as active listening and observing.
• Seek closure on emotional issues by the end of each reflective session.
• Leave some cognitive and topical issues open for ongoing discussion to encourage reflection between class sessions.

Reflection Activities

Reflection activities may include any or all of the following:

• Reflective papers
• Class discussions
• Small-group discussions
• Presentations
• Responses to course readings
• Responses to outside readings, media content, and experiences relevant to the issues surrounding the service activity
• Electronic discussions (e.g., chat, e-mail, online forum)

Varying activities will accommodate multiple learning styles and will help students understand reflection as part of the learning process, not as an isolated activity.

Visit the following links for additional reading and resources:

Works Consulted

The following sources were consulted in preparing these pages:

Adler-Kassner, Linda, Robert Crooks, and Ann Watters, eds. American Association for Higher Education Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines, Composition Volume. Washington, D.C.: AAHE, 1997.

Cooper, David D. and Laura Julier. "Writing in the Public Interest: Service-Learning and the Writing Classroom." Curriculum in the Academy and the World Series. East Lansing: Writing Center at Michigan State University, 1995. 

Furco, Andrew. Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education." Building Connections. Washington, D.C.: Corporation for National Service, 1996.

Higher Education Research Institute. "Volunteerism Among U.S College Freshmen at All-Time High, UCLA Study Finds." Los Angeles: UCLA, 1997. 

Jeavons, Thomas H. "Service-Learning and Liberal Learning: A Marriage of Convenience." Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. Fall 1995: 134-140.

Lisman, C. David. "Ethics in the Curriculum." Community College Journal. Dec. 1999/Jan. 2000: 37-41.

Office for Student-Learning and Volunteer Programs, Colorado State University. Service-Learning Faculty Manual, 2nd ed . Fort Collins: 2002.

Schutz, Aaron and Anne Ruggles Gere. "Service Learning and English Studies: Rethinking "Public Service." College English. 60 (1994): 129-147.

Sample Syllabi

The following syllabi illustrate how several instructors have integrated service-learning into their writing or writing-intensive classes:

• ESL Syllabus
• Service-Learning Project for American Poetry
• WORDSHOP Project

Select your location

• North America English
• Brazil Português
• Latin America Español

Asia Pacific

• Australia English
• Germany Deutsch
• Spain Español
• United Kingdom English
• Benelux Dutch
• Italy Italiano

Best Learning Management System (LMS) Solution for Schools, Colleges, and Universities.

Canvas LMS is an open-source Learning Management System that serves as a central hub for online, hybrid, and in-person classrooms. As a modern education tool, Canvas LMS connects teachers and educators to their students. Its easy-to-use interface facilitates a two-way flow of communication between instructors and learners, taking teaching and learning to the next level of engagement. Canvas LMS is the best and most forward-thinking Learning Management System, providing equitable access and personalized learning from K12 to Higher Education.

What is a Learning Management System?

A Learning Management System is an educational platform that allows schools, colleges and universities to manage their online learning materials and interactions in one place. Also known as LMS, a Learning Management System gathers all course content, daily lessons, assignments, tests/quizzes, feedback, and grading. In addition, an LMS handles student-educator communications and serves as a place for instructors and learners to meet virtually. A good Learning Management System offers an easy-to-use interface accessible from a computer or mobile device.

Learning Management Systems can be installed (self-hosted) or cloud-based platforms. An installed LMS is a software application hosted locally and managed through the institution's internal servers. While a cloud-based LMS is hosted in the cloud, making it easily accessible from the internet.

Most reliable Learning Management Systems follow the IMS Global Learning Consortium , among other organizations that standardize the edtech industry. This helps assure efficient integration and communication between e-learning tools and applications. A robust LMS facilitates integration while providing security through preventative and detective mechanisms. It also has secure processes, controls, and tools. As with any other technological application, an LMS must follow data privacy laws to protect user information and ensure it's used only to support students, institutions, and education.

What are the benefits of using an LMS in your school system?

Whether learning happens fully online, hybrid, or in-person, an LMS, or Learning Management System, is the foundation of modern classroom management. It speeds up teaching and learning, provides scalability for schools, colleges and universities, and can improve student retention rates.

Here are 10 benefits of using an LMS in your school, college or university:

an LMS saves money by automating daily tasks

Productivity

an LMS saves student and teacher time by assembling all e-learning materials, tools and communications in one place

Process Acceleration

an LMS speeds up regular tasks, like grading and feedback, giving teachers more time to teach

Profitability

one way an LMS can boost institutions profitability is by providing broad access and flexibility to students, helping institutions take their businesses beyond their local markets

Student Retention

an LMS has several tools to keep today’s learners interested in learning and engaged, helping drive retention rates

Tracking of Student Progress

analytical data and reporting are generated in an LMS in order to measure student achievements

Personalized Learning

an LMS provides customized learning paths, instructions, and assignments, respecting student needs and pace

Equitable Access

in an LMS, all materials and instructions can be accessed online anywhere, anytime

Consistency

an LMS enables learners to keep learning alive even during unusual life events, helping students create a consistent learning experience

an LMS speeds up institutions digital transformation, keeping them relevant in a very competitive and constantly changing market.

Is there an online employee training LMS like there are for schools, colleges and universities?

Yes, you can leverage LMS for schools to help train your employees for your small business or enterprise. Learning Management Systems have the same digital infrastructure required to manage corporate learning programs. However, when choosing a LMS for your company, make sure it has a dynamic set of learning and development tools that helps deliver employee training and engagement at any scale. Consider an LMS that is capable of expanding as your business grows.

An efficient Learning Management System for corporate training programs allows organizations of any size to integrate their systems to support employee training around the globe. An open source LMS provides flexibility for companies to use their current and new training tools. Top LMS platforms have years of experience, a growing community, and are committed to innovation.

During the 2020 pandemic, many in-person employee onboarding and training programs were converted to online, opening the doors for companies to foster virtual training growth . Today, the adoption of Learning Management Systems continues to expand due to the need for reskilling and upskilling workers in a rapidly changing business environment.

What does an open source LMS mean?

In a nutshell, an open source LMS means that the source code of a Learning Management System is open for all users to look at and modify.

An open source LMS allows users to access its source code to customize their learning platform. With an open source LMSs users have the flexibility to create a personalized e-learning solution with a unique look and exclusive capabilities.

One of the main benefits of open source LMS is the transparency and assurance around system security and code integrity. When a source code is open, anyone can test it for vulnerabilities—and talk about it. Otherwise, there is no way for users to check if vulnerabilities are fixed. A trusted Learning Management System shows transparency not only in its code but also in terms of costs.

There is a common misunderstanding of the terms “free” versus “open source” LMS platforms. Free means that “it does not have a price tag,” while open source means “users can access the source code.” Although users can view most open source Learning Management Systems code at zero cost, every LMS implementation involves investment. Whether it is related to servers, additional software, hardware upkeep, or security, some LMSs can become a scalable investment. An LMS that provides an all-inclusive cost structure is an excellent alternative to prevent potential hidden costs .

What benefits does a cloud based Learning Management System or LMS offer over the other options?

A cloud-based Learning Management System, or LMS for short, is a platform that users access on the web, just like any other website. By typing the LMS platform URL on the Web browser, the user will easily access the homepage of the Learning Management System and enter the platform by placing its user and login information. It is possible because all the platform data is hosted on the cloud, so all users need is an internet connection to log in from their computer or mobile device.

Another option schools have is a self-hosted LMS, which is a software that is installed on the school's servers. In this case, users need to download an application on their device to access their Learning Management System. A cloud-based Learning Management System is definitely more accessible than a self-hosted LMS.

6 benefits of a cloud-based Learning Management System over a self-hosted LMS:

a cloud-based LMS is hosted online, with no need for servers

a cloud-based LMS usually comes with a lower upfront cost since schools will not need to invest in servers, perpetual licenses, IT team, hosting services, etc

Accessibility

a cloud-based LMS can be accessed from anywhere, on any device without any software installation required

the best cloud-based LMSs deliver 99.99% uptime since it doesn’t need to be unavailable for server maintenance, software upgrades, etc

the best cloud-based LMSs have an easy-to-use interface that readjusts to any device, helping drive adoption

Scalability

the best cloud-based LMS are multi-tenant and designed to scale to tens of millions of users

What is Canvas LMS?

Canvas LMS is a cloud-based, open source Learning Management System with advanced LMS functionalities. It can be easily accessed from any device, from anywhere, anytime. With more than 30 million active users around the globe, Canvas LMS is used by people of all ages, from kindergartens to all Ivy League Universities in the United States.

Canvas LMS is the number one Learning Management System. It helps educators streamline their education experience to support students achieve success. Canvas LMS makes online learning, in-person, or a mix of the two, more efficient by serving as the central hub for all classroom materials and interactions.

Through open APIs and adherence to LTI standards, Canvas LMS provides easy integration with a network of 600+ education technology partners including Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Adobe. It allows administrators and faculty to innovate and customize courses while giving students a personalized and engaging experience.

As a commercial open source platform, Canvas LMS maintains and develops one source code tree, but offers two licenses —providing transparency (anyone can view its code) and enterprise-level support. With the commercial license, Canvas LMS is able to migrate clients’ courses, integrate with their SIS and advance their institution into the 21st century of learning management technology. All this is under an all-inclusive cost structure, with no hidden fees or extra costs as your school community grows.

Why is Canvas LMS the best Learning Management System for schools, colleges and universities?

There are many options to choose from in terms of Learning Management Systems, but your institution deserves the best. Canvas LMS is the best Learning Management System with more than a decade of experience, 30 million active users around the globe, advanced capabilities, an easy-to-use interface, and an array of tools for integration and customization, not to mention a huge community of enthusiasts worldwide that is always ready to collaborate.

Canvas LMS streamlines interaction and builds strong relationships between teachers, educators and students, across a physical, hybrid, or fully online classroom. Canvas LMS is part of the Instructure Learning Platform , an open, reliable, extensible learning ecosystem that offers the best educational tools and applications. The Instructure Learning Platform includes: Canvas by Instructure , Mastery by Instructure , Elevate by Instructure and Impact by Instructure . Combined, these solutions support all aspects of education for schools, colleges and universities.

Canvas by Instructure encompasses Canvas LMS, Canvas Studio, Canvas Catalog and Canvas Credentials. With Canvas Studio educators can make video learning more engaging and interactive, utilizing a variety of features that enable content creation, in-video discussions, embedded quizzes, and more. Canvas Catalog is a great application for administrators to promote courses. It streamlines and modernizes registration and enrollment. Canvas Credentials enriches higher education by supporting students as they map their academic and skill-building journeys for job readiness.

Instructure Awards

Instructure, the creators of Canvas LMS, has been recognized over the years for trustworthiness, openness, commitment, innovation, and more. In 2022, we received the following exciting awards: Best LMS by G2 Learning Hub, Best LMS Software by Online Degree, Best Academic LMS by Talented Learning LMS Awards, among others. Nothing makes us prouder and more fulfilled than making a difference in every student and teacher's life, ultimately contributing to a better world. Being recognized for our commitments to the educational community means everything to us!

Telly Award

TrustRadius

G2 Learning Hub

The best schools in the united states choose canvas lms as their learning management system, some schools.

• Penn State University Logo
• Southern University Logo
• California Community Colleges
• Salt Lake Community College eLearning software development services, educational software development services

Innovation in a Hybrid Environment: Champlain College and Canvas LMS

Canvas LMS is a versatile partner for Champlain's upside-down, outside-the-box learning philosophy serving a half on-campus and half online student population. Watch the video to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Is Canvas LMS an open source learning management system?

Canvas LMS is an open-source Learning Management System. It means Canvas LMS’s technology runs in one digital environment (digital platform) to provide students and teachers with learning tools. In this environment or platform, an open-source (code available to anyone to view) application enables teachers and students to manage educational materials and interactions.

What is an LMS?

LMS is the short form for Learning Management System. An LMS is an application that helps teachers and students store, manage and personalize all online learning materials and interactions. An LMS can be a software application hosted locally in the school/corporation's server or cloud-based, hosted in a web server. An LMS can have its source code available to anyone to view and inspect (open source) or closed (no one has access besides its developers).

What is an example of LMS?

Canvas LMS is an example of a Learning Management System (LMS). Canvas LMS allows teachers to organize their classrooms from course management to grading and feedback and collaboration with colleagues to communicate with students and families. Canvas LMS simplifies activities while amplifying teaching so that educators can impact student achievement in-depth and at scale.

What is a cloud-based Learning Management System?

A cloud-based Learning Management System is a web-based technology that is hosted in the cloud on a web server. A cloud-based LMS allows students and teachers to access their online courses and materials from anywhere, anytime, on any device. Users only need an internet connection to log in to a cloud-based Learning Management System.

What are the advantages of the Learning Management System?

A Learning Management System (LMS) offers schools and corporations many competitive advantages while bringing innovation to any learning environment. An LMS simplifies teaching and learning with technology; it is the central hub for online, hybrid, and in-person classrooms. A Learning Management System (LMS) can give students the flexibility to learn from anywhere, anytime, while allowing institutions to expand their offerings to a broader range of learners.

Is there a free version of Canvas LMS to try out?

Yes, Canvas LMS offers Free-for-Teacher , providing basic functionality to students and teachers to explore courses and learn basic Canvas LMS features. Educators can deliver courses, create content, and personalize learning with Mastery Paths, Outcomes, and standards-based gradebooks. Users can also utilize Canvas mobile app suite and integrate external applications to its free Canvas LMS version.

Is Canvas LMS a cloud-based or self-hosted Learning Management System?

Canvas LMS is a cloud-based learning platform. Canvas LMS was born in the cloud to provide education for all . Canvas LMS was built to deliver the best possible end-user experience and unparalleled reliability and security. Canvas LMS has been a native SaaS from the start and has stayed true to its promise of delivering 99.99% uptime.

Can students use Canvas LMS for free?

Yes. Canvas LMS is 100% free for students. You can access your free Canvas LMS student account if your school uses Canvas or through a free (non-school-associated) Canvas LMS account. Students can log in to their learning management system account by clicking here .

Is Canvas LMS a SaaS?

Yes. Canvas LMS has been a native SaaS (Software as a Service) from the start and has stayed true to its promise of delivering 99.99% uptime. Canvas LMS is a reliable learning management system. It offers a multi-tenant SaaS architecture supported by Amazon Web Services providing seamless hosting, security, backups, and hands-free updates requiring no downtime.

How long has Canvas LMS been around?

Canvas LMS was launched in 2011 by Instructure. In 2012, Instructure began offering open, online courses for everyone, everywhere. It soon became the leading learning management system, unseating the most popular LMSs in the educational industry.

Related LMS Articles

Blog Articles

Uncovering the Costs of a “Free” LMS

On-Demand Webinars

Leveraging Canvas for Student Engagement

How Behavior Management Integrations Help Your LMS Engage Everyone

• Service-Learning
• Design Your Service-Learning Course
• Develop Your Syllabus

Assignments

Many faculty integrate service-learning reflection questions into traditional assignments, while other faculty develop assignments explicitly to help students apply theory to service. See also Sample Rubrics .

Assignments specific to SL

SL assignment template (for project-based SL) this lists all elements to include in SL assignments.

SL Exhibition: If your class includes a final assignment (a final reflection, project summary, or presentation), the Service-Learning Exhibition can help your students present their achievements to a wider audience.

Specific SL assignments

• Journals  or logs
• Outreach project  (GENDER 300)
• Interview, meeting, letter to public official  (EDUC 525)
• Individual Civic Engagement Projects (if community partners are not available)

Traditional assignments

(These are samples; use them to generate ideas.)

• Canvas discussion board posts ( GENDER 300 ,  ENGL 401 )
• Presenting chapter of text ( EDUC 524 )
• Interview assignment  EDUC 525
• Final Poster ( Featured Examples )

Readings to help frame the SL experience

• Pre-service readings   (a selection of quick articles or chapters)

Service Learning

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has" ~ Margaret Mead

Service Learning Directions for Students

“Community service is such a great thing, and I think it should be included in more college classes. Students hear about what’s going on around the world, but they should also experience it.  It gives you a different feeling compared to learning in the classroom”. – Palomar College Service Learning Student

Step-by-Step Directions For Service Learning

1. learn from your instructor* about the service learning assignment requirements for your class. .

• Browse through our Service Learning List of Community Partners to pick a service learning site that supports your academic, career, and/or personal goals. If you would like to volunteer at a community organization that is not on this list, contact your professor to get approval.

2. Before you begin your Service Learning hours:

• Download and read forms in the Service Learning Packet for Students
• Meet with your Service Learning Supervisor.
• Sign the Service Learning Agreement Form (p. 3).
• Turn in a copy of this form to your instructor.
• Complete the  Online Registration Form for Service Learning on our Service Learning website.

3. After completing your Service Learning hours:

• Turn in your Service Learning Timesheet (p. 4) to your instructor.
• Complete the Online Completion Form for Service Learning on the Service Learning website.

Our Service Learning Students do amazing work in our community!

• Visit our Awards and Recognition page to learn about other options of recognition you may be eligible for! If you completed at least 15 hours of service per class in a single semester, you may request a Service Learning Certificate 

*NOTE: If you are doing Service Learning for more than one class you must complete separate hours and assignments for each class. Please fill out two separate timesheets, two online registration forms, and two online completion forms. Using the same service hours for 2 classes is a “duplication of assignments” which is a violation of academic integrity. Please see the Palomar College Student Code of Conduct  paragraph A.

Thank you for representing Palomar College and making a difference in our community!

Contact information.

Palomar College, San Marcos Campus Location : P-8 1140 W. Mission Road ,  San Marcos, CA 92069

Service Learning Office

Email : [email protected] Phone : (760) 744-1150, ext. 3734

Angela Kong, Ph.D.

Service Learning Coordinator Email : [email protected]

Gina Wilson

Faculty Coordinator Email : [email protected]

Upcoming Events

• There are no upcoming events.

What are you looking for?

Search this site.

Integration of Service-Learning Into the Course Syllabus

Chapter 7. Service-Learning

To clarify expectations and processes for your students, and to emphasize the integration of service into your course, be sure to write service-learning into each component of the course syllabus. Instructions for doing so and excerpts from a sample syllabus follow. This toolkit also provides a full Sample Course Syllabus to use as a model.

Instructor’s contact information

If you have a teaching assistant, list his or her contact information and office hours along with your information on the syllabus.

Course description

Mention service-learning and describe its role in the course. This description should also be used by the registrar’s office so that students understand service-learning will be part of the course before they enroll.

Sample language: Students enrolled in this course will engage in a service-learning project that will involve hands-on service in a local community health clinic. The purpose of this assignment is to link coursework on the importance of oral health integration to team-based, patient-centered health care.

Course goals

Articulate how service-learning will advance the students’ learning while also meeting the needs of the community. Benefits of service-learning will vary according to the specific profession. Goals should clearly incorporate both learning and community outcomes.

Sample language: The goals of this course are: (1) to understand the best practices for delivering comprehensive, team-based, patient-centered care; (2) to build clinical skills for the implementation of appropriate patient-centered preventive oral health interventions; (3) to build clinical skills for the implementation of strategies that are responsive to the needs of the service-learning partner organizations.

If service-learning is not a course goal, but rather a course method, you may simply state service-learning as a separate objective.

Sample language: Through case studies, service-learning experiences, reading, discussions, and other class assignments, this course will help you meet the following objectives: 1) to understand how to identify factors that impact oral health and overall health (HRSA, 2014); 2) to apply interprofessional practice principles that lead to safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable planning and delivery of patient and population-centered oral health care (HRSA, 2014); 3) to implement appropriate patient-centered preventive oral health interventions and strategies (HRSA, 2014).

Instructional methods

Whether service-learning is an objective or a method, provide a clear description of how it will function as a teaching tool in your course. This explanation is just as important as providing students with a list of course textbooks.

Sample language: This course encourages active learning through a service-learning experience. Your participation in the service-learning assignment is a critical component of this course. You will be expected to attend all service-learning sessions and contribute to all service-learning experiences. You will be asked to participate in class discussions and complete reflective assignments to help you connect your service to the course content.

Policies and expectations

Clearly outline what is expected for service-learning attendance, including daily or weekly hours and transportation. In addition to other time commitments, you will need to make a statement regarding other service-learning expectations.

For a recurring service commitment.

Sample language: You will earn 10 points for your participation in each service-learning commitment and no points for lack of attendance. If you plan to miss a service-learning commitment, you must notify your site supervisor ahead of time. Two missed sessions will result in a grade of “0” for the service-learning portion of your course grade (15%). This may put you at risk for an overall failing grade.

For a project-based service commitment.

Sample language: This course will utilize service-learning as a form of experiential education. Students will work in groups of three throughout the semester to collaborate on a research project for a community health center. Some homework assignments will relate directly to this project in order to help you build your knowledge and skills over time. This project is worth 15% of your grade.

Hours out of class.

Sample language: As with any class, plan to spend approximately three hours working outside of class for every hour you spend in class (i.e., nine hours of homework per week). For this course, those nine hours will encompass a minimum of two hours of service per week plus time spent blogging, reading, studying for tests, and preparing for your presentation.

Academic honesty

Do not assume that students understand how academic honesty policies apply to service-learning. Lying about participation in service should be treated as a form of academic dishonesty. Remind students that community partners will provide end-of-semester evaluations that include notes on student attendance and that you will be in regular communication with these partners throughout the semester.

Communication

Communication is key to the success of service-learning. If students need to miss service for a legitimate reason, they are expected to notify the community partner and the appropriate faculty member beforehand. Students should understand that when a problem or issue arises at the service site, it is their responsibility to notify the appropriate faculty member immediately so that the problem can be addressed in a timely way.

Course assignments and grading rubric

Clarify what is expected of students and how they will be evaluated. Provide a grading rubric that sets clear guidelines and demonstrates the integral role service will play in student learning and evaluation. Remember that students are accustomed to being graded on more traditional assignments, so they will benefit from detailed explanations about the service-learning grading process. Be sure to spell out specific expectations and link them to grades.

Sample rubric:

Course Grading: (100 points = 100%)

An additional statement about class participation may be required. Make it clear how service-learning will play a role in the participation grade.

Your class participation is based upon your performance in the following areas: class discussion, classroom activities such as role playing, classroom sharing of service-learning experiences, and completion of other home-learning assignments.

Course schedule

Make sure your course schedule includes service-learning paperwork deadlines, service start and end dates, service project deadlines (if applicable), and dates of major reflection exercises and assignments. When applicable, be sure to include check-ins and intermediate deadlines throughout the semester so that students do not fall behind on their projects.

Establishing this structure on your syllabus will allow you and your class to spend the semester focusing on the substance of service-learning rather than getting caught up in clarifying deadlines. In addition, this structure will help ensure high-quality student projects that you will be proud to present to your partners.

Below is an example of how course syllabi should include specific service-learning activities and deadlines.

< Previous Page: Community Partnerships

First Published: 11/2015 Last updated: 03/2016

Next Page: Integration of Service-Learning Into Course Assignments >

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Free printable Mother's Day questionnaire 💐!

30 Meaningful Service Learning Projects for Kids and Teens

Inspire a sense of community and generosity.

Service learning projects have become an important part of school culture, and for good reason. These activities get kids involved in their communities, developing empathy and a sense of generosity. We’ve got project ideas that are ideal for kids of all ages, whether they’re working on their own, as a class, or with their families. Take a look and get inspired!

New to service learning projects? Start here.

• What Is Service Learning?
• Service Learning 101: Making Learning Real and Relevant

Discover volunteer opportunities

Volunteering lies at the heart of many service learning projects, and the activities are pretty much endless. Check out our whole list of 50 volunteer opportunities for kids here. These are some of our favorites:

• Arbor Day Tree Campus K-12 : Join the program and turn your school campus into an arboretum, while teaching other students to become tree stewards for the future.
• Guide Dogs for the Blind : Train or foster guide dogs or help with administrative tasks. Puppy raisers can be any age, whether you’re 9 or 90. No prior experience is necessary!
• Habitat for Humanity : The Habitat Youth Programs instill a love of volunteering from an early age by providing a variety of volunteer opportunities for those as young as 5.
• Operation Gratitude : Say thank you in a meaningful way to troops serving overseas by volunteering to assemble care packages.
• Project Linus : Make security blankets for children in hospitals. Perfect for crafty kids!

Take the 30 Days of Service Challenge

This challenge not only brings service learning to the forefront of every day, it also exposes kids to a variety of service activities. After they complete the challenge, encourage them to try adding one or more of these activities to their schedule on a regular basis going forward. Learn about the 30 Days of Service Challenge here.

Support a park

Start by taking a field trip to a nearby local, state, or national park . Explore what it has to offer, but also consider what it needs to be even better. More picnic tables? Better interpretive signs? Inclusive playground equipment? A general litter cleanup? Students can propose these ideas to park officials and come up with ways to make them happen!

Run a food drive

Food insecurity remains a major issue in our country, and organizing a food drive is a classic service learning project. Visit Feeding America to find organizations that need your help.

Serve at a food pantry

Many kids can’t imagine what it’s like not knowing where your next meal will come from. Help develop their sense of empathy by volunteering at food pantries or soup kitchens. Make it a regular activity so they can form bonds with the local community members. FoodPantries.org has a list of places that welcome volunteers.

Sculpt empty bowls to feed the hungry

This idea is part art project and part service learning. Kids sculpt and decorate ceramic bowls, then use them to host a fundraising event that raises money for local food pantries and other organizations. Learn more about the Empty Bowls project here.

Start a school recycling program

Go green! Get all the resources you need to set up and run a stellar school recycling program here. Already have one? Encourage students to find ways to make it even more effective.

Create a school or community garden

Even when food insecurity isn’t an issue, healthy eating often is. Junk food is often cheaper than healthy food, and many people don’t have ready access to a place to grow their own fruits and veggies. A school or community garden lets kids dig their hands into the soil and help provide some much-needed fresh produce for others. The USDA has some tips here to help you get started.

Beautify your school

Does your school have a graffiti, trash, or vandalism problem? Even if it doesn’t, we bet your hallways and grounds could be a little brighter and more welcoming. Give students a sense of ownership by having them paint murals , decorate the hallways , or spruce up the bathrooms .

Collaborate on community art

Take a look around your neighborhood and find a place that could use an injection of creativity. Then plan a project where students work with members of the community to make something beautiful! Check out our collection of fun collaborative art projects here.

Participate in citizen science

Citizen science projects are terrific service learning ideas! Plant a milkweed monarch waystation , start a pollinator garden to help bees , or help track the progress of migrating species . You’ll find even more citizen science projects for kids here .

Fight bullying by creating student upstanders

The most meaningful anti-bullying programs are the ones that students start themselves. Start a service learning project that inspires others to stand up to bullying when they see it. Here’s more about empowering student upstanders.

Host a St. Jude Trike-a-Thon

Preschool and day-care children will learn about trike and riding-toy safety and the importance of helping others, all while having fun and earning prizes. Launched in 1983, St. Jude Trike-a-Thon fundraisers provide educators with a weeklong curriculum that includes a series of interactive lessons with two charming characters, Bikewell Bear and Pedals the Bunny. Educational materials—storybooks, videos, and coloring books—that support learning are also provided. All of this adds an educational bent to your big trike event and your efforts for St. Jude! Click here to find out more.

Walk for Water

Open students’ eyes to what it means to live without easy access to clean water with a 5K like no other. Participants complete the race carrying a gallon of water, like so many people around the world must do multiple times each day. Learn about this incredible service learning project from H2O for Life here.

Take part in the St. Jude Math-a-Thon

The St. Jude Math-a-Thon is designed to work with your school’s existing curriculum. Students raise money from friends and family and solve math problems in grade-specific Funbooks, developed by Scholastic. Students also learn how math plays an important role in the lifesaving work happening every day at St. Jude.

Hold a hygiene drive

Food isn’t the only necessity that some people struggle to provide for their families. They also need soap, toothpaste, deodorant, period products, and other hygiene supplies. Work with local shelters to find out what they need, and hold a drive to collect those items. Or order a Soap Saves Lives Box and assemble kits to be distributed at local food pantries or other locations.

Support mental health in your school or community

Kids today face a variety of mental health challenges, but they’re also more aware of the importance of good mental health than previous generations. Students who want to support mental health among their peers can develop a service learning project that makes a real difference. Discover empowering mental health activities for teens here.

Socialize with senior citizens

Getting older can sometimes be lonely, especially for those in nursing homes and other senior facilities. There are lots of ways for kids to help, from sending letters and cards to spending time reading with or to a senior buddy. Find more ways for kids to volunteer with seniors here.

Knit for charity

Knitting helps kids build their manual dexterity and improves hand-eye coordination. Combine those benefits with charitable giving to create a fun, creative service learning project. Organizations like Hats 4 the Homeless and Warm Up America take your knitted goods and get them to those who need them. Find a whole list of knitting charities here.

Organize a book drive

Reading Is Fundamental believes that every kid deserves to learn how to read and to have books to enjoy. Team up with the organization to run a local book drive , and check out some of their other volunteer opportunities too. Books for Africa is another terrific organization that needs your book donations.

Provide translation services

Chances are, your school produces its communications in English alone. But it’s likely that not everyone in your community speaks English fluently. Reach out to all members of your community by translating your school materials into other languages spoken locally. Kids in foreign language classes can do some of the work themselves, or they can seek out neighbors and friends who might be able to help.

Tutor or set up peer mentoring programs

Older kids helping younger kids—what a great way to build a sense of community! Pair students to create a buddy system, or organize a tutoring program run entirely by kids. Learn more about peer mentoring programs here.

Help a local animal shelter

Animal-loving kids will be thrilled to help local pets in need. Some shelters have minimum age requirements for volunteers, but they often desperately need supplies and toys that kids can help collect. Plus, their animals are always looking for good homes! Challenge your kids to come up with creative ways to match homeless pets with their forever families . Contact your local shelter, or visit the ASPCA’s website for ideas .

Build Busy Boxes for hospitals

Sick kids who spend lots of time in the hospital welcome new ways to keep busy. That’s where Busy Boxes come in! Run a drive to collect small toys, games, puzzles, and more. Then package them up (for even more fun, decorate the boxes!) and donate them to children’s hospitals and other facilities that help sick kids. ( via That After School Life )

Start Meatless Mondays

Meatless Mondays aren’t about promoting vegetarianism or veganism. They’re simply a way to encourage us all to consider the impact eating meat has on the planet (it might surprise you!). Kids can try Meatless Mondays at home, plus work with their school cafeteria to offer meals without meat that day too. Learn about the Meatless Monday campaign here.

Welcome a refugee family

Thousands of people flee their homelands and seek asylum in the United States every year. Getting here is just one part of a long and often difficult journey. Communities can help refugees settle in and feel at home by working with Refugee Council USA . This is a wonderful project for students and parents to work on together.

Start an awareness campaign

Once kids find an issue near and dear to their hearts, they’ll jump wholeheartedly into spreading the word. The great thing about awareness campaigns is that the topic can be just about anything: anti-bullying, healthy lifestyles, environmental issues, and on and on. Kids really get a chance to be creative with these campaigns, with something to build on everyone’s strengths. Learn how to plan an awareness campaign here.

What are your go-to service learning projects? Come share your experiences and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out 50+ simple social-emotional learning activities for all ages ..

You Might Also Like

50+ Ideas (One for Every State!) for Volunteering With Your Children and Teens

Volunteerism and social-emotional learning go hand-in-hand. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256