Service-Learning, service learning, service-Learning, Service-learning

What is Service-Learning?

You may or may not have noticed the slight differences, but the small changes in case and punctuation can mean a big difference when working with Service-Learning.  Many times what is offered to students varies depending on the semester and the opportunities available.  But understanding the differences in Service-Learning, service learning, service-Learning and Service-learning can truly impact what the students and community agency gets in return for the experience.

In 1994, Robert Sigmon introduced a typology to help differentiate the types of Service-Learning.  This form helps to distinguish the the goals of the experiences and what the participants – students or community agencies, may receive through the experience itself.

• Service-LEARNING: Learning goals primary; service outcomes secondary.
• SERVICE-Learning: Service outcomes primary; learning goals secondary.
• service learning: Service and learning goals completely separate.
• SERVICE-LEARNING: Service and learning goals of equal weight and each enhances the other for all participants.

This typology helps clearly express the differences among other types of experiential education such as community service and internships and helps establish criteria for the Service-Learning experience itself.  While many definitions exist for Service-Learning, the typology may help you better understand the Service-Learning you wish to employ in your classroom.

For additional information on the Service-Learning differences, check out what Andrew Furco has written.

Picture credit z6p6tist6

How is Service-Learning like Punxsutawney Phil?

Punxsutawney Phil

As a young child I would rush to get up in the morning on February 2 to find out what Punxsutawney Phil had to say about the weather.  Would we have six more weeks of winter or an early spring?  My usual hope was for the ol’ groundhog to see his shadow and scurry back in to his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob.  Six more weeks of winter always meant the possibility of more snow days from school.  I was always amazed at how that unusual little creature could predict the weather – and he was always correct!   (How does this relate to Service-Learning?)

So yesterday while I was getting ready for work I began thinking about Punxsutawney Phil.  Every year hundreds of people gather in Punxsutawney (as many as 35,000 one year) to partake in the festivities.  If the sun shines bright during the morning light, then Phil retreats to his burrow for another six week stint in hibernation.  (Again, how does this relate to Service-Learning?)

Service-Learning

So, how is Service-Learning like Punxsutawney Phil, you may wonder.  Well, Punxsutawney Phil comes out once a year to predict the weather.  Once he has done so, he retreats to his comfy burrow hoping not to be bothered again until the spring weather arrives.  Oh, yes, he makes his occasional appearances on television and the Oprah show.  But we usually hear of his escapades only once a year, in the cold morning on February 2.

Is that how Service-Learning is viewed?  Is it really only addressed once a semester or so?  What is it really all about?  I mean Punxsutawney Phil surely has other things going on in his life besides what he does on February Two.  Isn’t there more to Service-Learning than the announcement that there is grant money available and examples of what students have accomplished through Service-Learning?  Of course there is!!

So why not start a blog to help share some of that information?  Through this blog you will find some useful information regarding Service-Learning – what it is, how to incorporate it into your course, what impact it has on student learning, and more.  On the right you will find various links to sites and information you might find useful and we will continue to update you with new and interesting items.

So join us on this Service-Learning – uh, journey? expedition? cross-country trek? - as we begin to explore the many facets of Service-Learning.  Hopefully, next year when Groundhog Day rolls around, we will no longer be comparing Service-Learning with Punxsutawney Phil and Service-Learning will no longer be a once a semester announcement.

Picture credit ~Sage~