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SERVICE-LEARNING IN ACTIONService-learning is a teaching method that combines meaningful service to the community with curriculum-based learning. Critical to this type of learning is building in time for students to reflect on their service experience. Reflection time helps students make the connection between classroom and community learning, and ensures they understand the extent to which they can impact positive change. Service-learning builds stronger academic skills. First, students take an active role in determining how the projects are accomplished, creating interest and excitement for learning. Second, service-learning accommodates many different learning styles. By teaching students early-on about the role they can play in their community, service-learning also encourages life-long civic participation. Furthermore, by relating activities to real-life experiences, service-learning improves workplace skills and enhances personal development among youth. Finally, service-learning gives students a sense of competency; they see themselves as active contributors rather than passive recipients of adult support. Below are examples of Service-Learning In Action from around the country.
Service-learning helped students in Buckley, Washington, bring the Chinook King Salmon back from near extinction. Through a program called "Long Live the King!" students conducted DNA fingerprinting using gel electropheresis equipment and employed Calculator-Based Laboratory Systems for stream monitoring to help preserve the endangered fish. Related class activities included writing and producing a biannual newsletter informing the community about the health and history of local waters, presenting research results to the Buckley City Council, and working as salmon experts with youngsters at the Mountain Meadows Elementary School. While helping save the King, students in the General Science classes found new meaning in school - feeling that they did something significant. And they did. In the White River, less than a 15-minute walk from the school, the Chinook was near extinction 10 years ago. The White River Salmon Hatchery now records almost 1,000 Kings returning every year. Malcolm Shabazz City High School Service-learning enabled Shabazz students to engage with hundreds
of youth and adults at the local, national and international levels.
Through one such project, English students interviewed local immigrants
who escaped or were exiled from their homelands. Students researched
areas of the world from which their neighbors fled and wrote Academy for Science and Foreign Language Through service-learning, students from Huntsville, Alabama, rewrote African-American history. Students first researched 17th Century African-American history and culture, and documented and commemorated African-American contributions to Huntsville. In doing so, students strengthened their communication skills through interviews and preparing biographical sketches; used math and science skills to orient, identify vegetation, determine and analyze environmental changes; wrote their own stories; and developed computer-generated lesson plans and multimedia kits to accompany the stories. What started out as a school-based project to document the contributions of 19th century African-Americans, expanded into a community-wide effort that resulted in greater understanding, and appreciation and respect for cultural differences and contributions. Sharon Public Schools Sharon Public School students used service-learning to understand the inner workings of, and issues that affect, the communities in which they live. Through one project, third grade students divided into five groups to research various elements of their community: housing, government, communication, environment and food. By studying these areas and visiting local sites, students learned about the interdependency and relationships between business, government and private citizens. Students then applied what they learned and built their own model community called "Alternative Town." At the end of the school year, the students presented a replica of their model community. Another project involved eighth grade students using the election process as a context for writing editorials about state and national political issues. High school writing mentors reviewed the editorials, which were sent to newspapers. A panel of editorial writers from state and local newspapers discussed editorial writing with the students. Voter Empowerment Workshop Through the "Voter Empowerment Workshops" project, fifth grade students worked in teams of ten with a teacher-mentor to plan workshops on various political, social and economic topics related to elections. The workshops were presented to adults, which included parents, guardians, community members, etc., by the students during a special evening event. Specific workshop themes varied but included: "We the People: The Importance of Communicating with Government Officials," "The Right to Vote: A Play about South Africa," "Bilingual Workshop: Where are your taxes going?" and "Surf the Vote: Using the Internet to Find Out About Candidates." The project stimulated participation in the democratic process and brought adults into the school through a meaningful forum. Phenix City Schools Through service-learning, students in Phenix City Schools helped to raise awareness among members of the community around important health issues. Their efforts were made possible through a partnership between the Healthcare Science and Technology (HST) Department and the western district medical/dental associations, whereby preventative health skills, including hand washing and oral hygiene, were provided to all kindergarten, first grade and special education students in the Phenix City School System. The students developed and prepared all materials used in their teaching programs, and provided educational programs on diabetes (Type I and Type II). In addition, they offered blood sugar screenings to the community. Fund-raising for the Diabetes Association provided students another opportunity to help with the research of this deadly disease. This project enabled students to develop leadership abilities while using skills and knowledge from their own classroom experiences. Students also worked directly with people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, abilities and disabilities, genders, and economic backgrounds. John Marshall Middle School At John Marshall Middle School, students improved their understanding
and appreciation of cultural differences through service-learning.
As "Diversity Ambassadors," students trained in peer mediation,
cultural diversity, tolerance and conflict resolution conducted
workshops on these issues for fellow students and hosted an assembly
on school violence in partnership with the Long Beach Police Department's
Gang Unit. A program that grew from an ad hoc problem-solving approach
to a mechanism for linking classroom curriculum with service, Marshall
Middle School teachers and students credit the Diversity Ambassadors
with improving the school climate. By bringing together students
of different ethnic backgrounds to address their differences and
solve their problems outright, the school helped students create
tools for communicating across racial and ethnic barriers, and serve
one another by delivering resolution to immediate and pressing situations.
As one student observed, "I guess arguments will come up, but
we'll have the skills to help solve the problems." Service-learning afforded at-risk youth attending the Beard Alternative School with the opportunity to address important community issues such as hunger, domestic violence, the criminal justice system, racism and gender issues. In partnership with the Center for Community Alternatives, students worked with Communities United to Rebuild Neighborhoods - a grassroots community group - to construct and maintain a flower and vegetable garden on the city's southwest side. The students also published a bi-annual student newspaper (Beard News) that dealt with topics relevant to their lives. In addition to their service projects, students participated in classroom learning experiences that drew upon their volunteer activities. Linking education with community experiences increased students' participation and overall commitment to school, and offered a useful tool to help them transition to the world of work. |