What is Service-Learning?
Service-Learning is a strategy that enables an individual to gain valuable knowledge, while they engage in meaningful community service. Service-Learning provides student with the opportunity to integrate academic curriculum with meaningful community service to enhance learning, and promote civic engagement.
The emphasis in service learning is on the reciprocity of the experience, by which all parties learn from and are of service to one another. Student service learning is most often performed as part of an academic course. But our office offers learning opportunities as well, with Reflection Sessions for our work study students and opportunities to post written reflections on Volunteer Solutions. Click here to learn more about our Reflection Sessions.
Service learning differs from volunteering in two important ways. First, the service activity purposefully engages students with diverse groups in local communities, to promote awareness of the complexity of social problems. The second part is reaching beyond helping individuals to addressing the larger social structures that produce problems such as poverty, domestic violence, illiteracy and other social ills.
