SERVICE-LEARNING – EVERYBODY WINS!
Service-learning defined:
Following are two widely accepted definitions of service learning:
1. "A method under which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs, that [are] integrated into the students' academic curriculum or provide structured time for [reflection, and] that enhance what is taught in school by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community.” (Corporation for National and Community Service, 1990).
2. Service-learning is "Any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience." (National Society for Experiential Education, 1994).
Service-learning requires the student to make a connection between the service and concepts being studied in the classroom. The result is the student examines an academic concept while performing the service – hence, service-learning. The connection is normally made by requiring a journal, report, class discussion, or other reflective activity.
What Service-Learning is Not;
It is not volunteerism, which engages students in activities where the primary emphasis is on the service being provided and the primary intended beneficiary is clearly the service recipient. Service-Learning benefits both the service recipient and the students. In addition to providing the agency with a strategic or tactical plan to better meet its mission, another major benefit derived from service-learning is the fact that it leads, in many cases, to students later volunteering with one or more non-profit organizations throughout their lives.
Benefits of Service-Learning
The benefits of service-learning are varied and many. Benefits accrue to students, faculty, the school, and most of all to the community. While service-learning has been integrated into different academic curriculums, many schools of business have been slow to incorporate this experiential form of education. So, why should it be part of the business curriculum? The mission of the Craig School of Business emphasizes the fact that we wish to be recognized as an outstanding "applied" business school. In order to achieve this goal, we must continually find ways to allow students to learn by practical application. Internships may be the ultimate application of classroom knowledge, but this may be insufficient or impractical for all students. Therefore, we must find other ways for students to learn by application. Service-learning is one of the solutions to this problem.
Benefits to the students:
· Students expand problem solving, oral and written communication skills.
· Encourages students to engage in active rather than passive learning.
· Provides real life experiences of topics discussed in class.
· Synthesize community outreach with academic experience, thereby providing time to perform effective and meaningful service.
· Enhances communication with different populations.
· Students learn to face and define broader community issues.
· Develops initiative, independent reasoning and independent learning.
· Helps student to understand the relationship between theory and practice.
· Develops organizational skills which transfer to many occupations.
· Allows students to explore values and ethical issues.
· Helps students understand civic responsibility.
· Develops a habit of critical reflection on experiences, which enhances learning.
· Enhances respect and exposure to different cultures and socio-economic conditions.
· Helps students realize they can make a difference.
· Provides students with a rewarding experience to remember for a lifetime.
· On the selfish side, it makes a good line item on student résumé.
Benefits to the community:
· Helps meet some of the human services resource needs of the community.
· Increases the probability that students will become responsible citizens upon graduation.
· Provides agencies resources for problem solving.
· Provides a link to the University by involving the community in the student’s learning process.
· Fosters collaboration on projects or grants.
Summary Of Top Ten Reasons Service-Learning Is Required
Service-Learning:
- Has a positive effect on student personal development such as sense of personal efficacy, personal identity, spiritual growth, and moral development
- Has a positive effect on interpersonal development and the ability to work well with others, leadership, and communication skills
- Has a positive effect on reducing stereotypes and facilitating cultural and racial understanding
- Has a positive effect on sense of social responsibility, citizenship skills, and commitment to service
- Has an impact on academic outcomes such as demonstrated complexity of understanding, problem analysis, critical thinking, and cognitive development.
- Contributes to career development and can influence major and career selection
- Contributes to stronger student/faculty relationships
- Has long-term effects that may surface even years after graduation in terms of public service commitment, willingness to contribute to social causes, and willingness to give back to one’s institution
- Has relevancy—it helps to link the often abstract theory of the classroom with day-to-day experiences of students and community members
- Builds Community—links students, faculty and the institution of higher learning to the local community and beyond.
Marketing 100S – Marketing Concepts
Why Service-Learning? An Introduction
· Service-Learning defined
· What constitutes a service-learning activity?
· What is the difference between service-learning and volunteerism?
· Benefits of service-learning
· Why is service-learning part of the business curriculum?
· Summary of top ten reasons to do service-learning
· Public Attitudes Toward Service-Learning
· What is the value of a volunteer?
· Service-Learning is not “Forced Volunteerism”
Service-learning defined:
Following are two widely accepted definitions of service-learning:
· "A method under which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs, that [are] integrated into the students' academic curriculum or provide structured time for [reflection, and] that enhance what is taught in school by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community. (Corporation for National and Community Service, 1990).
· Service-learning is "Any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience." (National Society for Experiential Education, 1994).
What constitutes a service-learning activity?
While definitions of what constitutes service-learning may vary, it is generally agreed that in order for an activity to be deemed "service-learning", the activity must:
1. Meet the needs of the community or agencies involved.
2. Be carefully organized.
3. Require that the service experience be integrated with the classroom.
4. Require an opportunity for students to reflect on their experience.
5. Foster lifelong connections between students and their community.
In general, the "service" part of service-learning occurs when students apply their classroom knowledge in such a way as to benefit the community. The "learning" occurs when students analyze and reflect upon what took place.
What is the difference between service-learning and volunteerism?
In order for an activity to qualify as a service-learning experience it must be conducted in and meet the needs of the community. The service agency defines what needs to be done not the student or the professor. If the extent of the assignment were to just provide the service, it would be better defined as volunteering or community service. However, if the student engages in an additional activity that provides for structured reflection and an opportunity to connect course concepts with the activity, it normally qualifies as service-learning. The difference between service-learning, community service, and volunteerism can be described using the following example of a marketing student:
Volunteerism engages students in activities where the primary emphasis is on the service being provided and the primary intended beneficiary is clearly the service recipient. A student who assists the local blood bank during an on-campus blood drive is performing a volunteer activity. Community service programs involve more structure and greater commitment than volunteer programs. The same student volunteering on a regular basis also learns more about the needs of the blood bank and what needs to be done to effectively educate the public. He/she may begin to make presentations to encourage individuals to donate blood in their classes. While the primary beneficiaries of the service are still the blood bank and their constituents, the student is receiving some benefit by improving verbal skills and learning about how their service makes a difference. Service-learning takes the process one step further and requires the student to make a connection between the service and concepts being studied in the classroom. The result is the student examines an academic concept while performing the service – hence, service-learning. The connection is normally made by requiring a journal, report, class discussion, or other reflective activity. Our student at the blood bank, who is enrolled in basic marketing, now writes a report that illustrates how the organization attempts to reach donors through a variety of media and promotions. The student has now been "shown" not "told" how this aspect of marketing works. Additional reflective activity asking the student to share personal thoughts on the impact of their experience acts to reinforce the importance of community involvement. It is this equal emphasis on service and learning which distinguishes this experience from community service and volunteering.
Benefits of Service-Learning
The benefits of service-learning are varied and many. Benefits accrue to students, faculty, the school, and most of all to the community. While service-learning has been integrated into different academic curriculums, many schools of business have been slow to incorporate this experiential form of education. So, why should it be part of the business curriculum? The mission of the Craig School of Business emphasizes the fact that we wish to be recognized as an outstanding "applied" business school. In order to achieve this goal, we must continually find ways to allow students to learn by practical application. Internships may be the ultimate application of classroom knowledge, but this may be insufficient or impractical for all students. Therefore, we must find other ways for students to learn by application. Service-learning is one of the solutions to this problem.
Benefits to the student:
· Students expand problem solving, oral and written communication skills.
· Encourages students to engage in active rather than passive learning.
· Provides real life experiences of topics discussed in class.
· Synthesize community outreach with academic experience, thereby providing time to perform effective and meaningful service.
· Enhances communication with different populations.
· Student learns to face and define broader community issues.
· Develops initiative, independent reasoning and independent learning.
· Helps student to understand the relationship between theory and practice.
· Develops organizational skills which transfer to many occupations.
· Explore values and ethical issues.
· Helps students understand civic responsibility.
· Develop a habit of critical reflection on experiences, which enhances learning.
· Gain more respect and exposure to different cultures and socio-economic conditions.
· Helps students realize they can make a difference.
· Gain a rewarding experience to remember for a lifetime.
· On the selfish side, it makes a good line item on your resume.
Benefits to the community:
· Meet some of the human services resource needs in the community.
· Increases the probability that students will become responsible citizens upon graduation.
· Provides agencies resources for problem solving.
· Provides a link to the University by involving the community in the student’s learning process.
· Fosters collaboration on projects or grants.
Why is service-learning part of the business curriculum?
· Students need to be aware of something other than the bottom line. A study sponsored by AACSB registered a concern that while business students may have the required analytical skills, they may be insensitive to factors other than the bottom line. There is a growing need to deal more effectively with the external environments of business. The recommendation was that business faculties need to make sure that students come away from their education with exposure to a wider range of issues than is typical of today’s business graduate. In other words, there is a growing need for greater social awareness and accountability.
· Business students need to be provided opportunities outside of the classroom to apply and develop technical skills.
· Service participation results in a number of long-term positive impacts on behavior. If the business school can contribute to the development of a proactive, rather a passive citizen, it will be fulfilling its obligation to serve the community at large.
· The non-profit or civil sector as a source of employment is increasing in importance. There are currently more than 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the United States with total combined assets of more than $500 billion. Over ten percent of the nation’s total employment is in this sector. While the professional positions with these non-profits may not be among the highest paying jobs, these positions can be among the most challenging and gratifying available in today’s society.
· Business students need more exposure to the growing importance of cultural and demographic factors in the conduct of business. Understanding, accepting, and valuing a diverse workforce is critical for today’s business graduate. Service-learning can expose students to diverse cultures and individual needs. These opportunities allow the student to leave their own personal comfort zone and to learn about and experience the value of diversity.
· Provides for unstructured problem solving and decision making under uncertainty. Effective problem solving ultimately depends upon effective problem identification. Service-learning activities expose students to an environment of making decisions and solving problems with limited information and resources.
Summary Of Top Ten Reasons To Do Service-Learning
Service-Learning:
- Has a positive effect on student personal development such as sense of personal efficacy, personal identity, spiritual growth, and moral development
- Has a positive effect on interpersonal development and the ability to work well with others, leadership, and communication skills
- Has a positive effect on reducing stereotypes and facilitating cultural and racial understanding
- Has a positive effect on sense of social responsibility, citizenship skills, and commitment to service
- Has an impact on academic outcomes such as demonstrated complexity of understanding, problem analysis, critical thinking, and cognitive development.
- Contributes to career development and can influence major and career selection
- Contributes to stronger student/faculty relationships
- Has long-term effects that may surface even years after graduation in terms of public service commitment, willingness to contribute to social causes, and willingness to give back to one’s institution
- Has relevancy—it helps to link the often abstract theory of the classroom with day-to-day experiences of students and community members
- Builds Community—links students, faculty and the institution of higher learning to the local community and beyond.
Roper Public Opinion Poll: Public Attitudes Toward Service-Learning