Two Activities on Service Learning
Developed for National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, 2006
Activity One:
Practitioners develop a sense of what service learning is, what service learning projects look like, and key elements for successful activities.
1. Read:
National Youth Leadership Council: Discover Service Learning (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.nylc.org/discover.cfm?oid=3152
Describes service learning in 5 short steps = what is service learning; what makes it work; how do I use it; the service learning cycle; let’s get going. Also has approaches and examples of projects.
2. Review and Browse:
Service Learning: Getting Started (n.d.) Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/service/getstarted.html.
Includes overview, approaches, and examples of project ideas.
3. Write a memo, present, or discuss:
If you, or your organization, does not currently do service learning: How could our agency (or I) engage youth in service learning? What would be key components to include in the strategy? How would it fit into what we (or I) already do with youth? Would we need to make changes to how we work with youth? How might it be challenging or beneficial? Cite the sources you found in your web research to back up your statements.
If your agency does currently engage youth in service learning: What are the key things we do that engage youth in service learning? What projects have been particularly successful and why? What projects have been less successful and why? How do we measure up to the effective service learning principles outlined on the Getting Started (or other) site? Cite the sources you found in your web research to back up your statements.
Activity Two:
Practitioners engage a group of young people they work with in a service learning project. Practitioners may do this activity individually or with a group of practitioners who would check in at regular intervals about how the project is going, helping each other, and assessing impact at the end.
There are a number of strong web resources that walk practitioners through every step of a project, from inception to evaluation. Practitioners can pick one or more that appeal to them to help them design a project outline and evaluation strategy. (Two of these are the ones featured above.)
National Youth Leadership Council: Discover Service Learning (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.nylc.org/discover.cfm?oid=3152
National Youth Leadership Council Resource Center: Project Examples (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.nylc.org/rc_projectexamples.cfm
Richardson, S. (2006). The Power of Service Learning. Techniques, 38-40. Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.servicelearning.org/filemanager/download/Jan_2005_(Service_Learning).pdf
Service Learning: Getting Started (n.d.) Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/service/getstarted.html.
Service Learning Toolbox: Work Pages and Checklists to Help You Get Started and Keep Going (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.nwrel.org/ruraled/learnserve/resources/SL_Toolbox.pdf
Students in Service to America: Getting Started Resources (n.d.) Retrieved January 12, 2006 from
http://servicelearning.org/resources/links_collection/index.php?popup_id=356
Youth Service California Service Learning Tools for Teachers (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2006 from http://www.yscal.org/resources/sltools.html
G:\Disability NCWD-Y\KSAs\Curriculum Outline\Online Curriculum Documents\Service Learning Activities.doc