Six Steps to Incorporate Service-Learning
1. Integrate S-L into the syllabus and/or create S-L assignment handout for students. Submit to the S-L office.
• You post all syllabi to the repository, so only assignment sheets should be sent to the S-L office.
• Either way, students should see the ONE S-L course learning “outcome” and your class-specific rationale for service.
• Do they “get” what to do and how it’ll be important to their learning of your material?
• Students who are serving at community sites should do at least 10 hours of S-L. According to research, 20 hours is an ideal amount of “face time” to effect change and significant development in the service-learning student. Serving for 20+ hours also helps our community organizers see the benefits of the training they’ve given students.
• We can help introduce S-L to your class; please email to set up.
2. All S-L students must register online.
• Direct them to our S-L website to get started.
Registration is important. It covers:
1. Liability and Release of student work/likeness
2. Site/community agreement
3. Students doing S-L for more than one class
4. WASC requirements
5. Helps with student scholarships, awards, development of new projects
• We will send you a report after the registration deadline.
3. Facilitate student reflection.
• Offer written and/or oral prompts (see samples).
• As you cover material in class, ask students for insights/examples from their S-L experience.
Whether or not they opted for S-L, all your students should understand why you offered S-L in your course.
4. Follow up: Did we honor commitment to the community? Does the S-L office have complete records of your students’ service hours?
• Attrition? Technical/logistical problems? Just communicate.
The S-L office can help manage the community relationship IF we know what’s going on.
• We’ll send you an end-of-semester report, with everything your students submit.
Please SEND US any other data you may have.
5. Submit evidence to the S-L office.
• Share raw evidence of progress toward
How did students demonstrate that they understood the connection between the service experience and the course content?
• Typically, this is easily assessed through written reflections. All we need is the “raw material” from students.
You don’t have to process anything (except for your own grading purposes).
6. Share work at S-L Day. We can pick up and store anything you have to share.
• Our annual celebration of S-L needs submissions from both Fall and Spring semesters.
• Posters, presentations, photos, etc. are all welcome.
• We can help prepare displays year-round.
General Learning Outcomes
As a result of the Service-Learning experience, students will:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between academic work and real-life situations. [This is a COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME]
2. Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to their role in issues of public concern.*
3. Demonstrate how service-learning increased their interest in being civically engaged.*
*The second and third are PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
