ENG 204-001

"Service learning is a form of project based learning in which academic goals are accomplished through community service. Service learning is neither an add-on nor a diversion from the curriculum. It is a powerful approach to teaching that provides students with authentic learning experiences in which they learn academic content in a real-life, real-world context. Properly implemented, service learning develops citizenship, responsibility, and many other positive character virtues, making it a highly effective character education program in and of itself."
-http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/service.html

This year Strawberry Point School is initiating a service learning program at all grade levels. We'd like every teacher to take on at least one service learning project during the year.

The project:
- should satisfy specific curriculum objectives
- should be selected by the students (with appropriate teacher guidance)
- should involve the students in preparation, implementation (action), and reflection
- should be documented

In a properly implemented service learning program the role of the teacher is more supportive and supervisory than directive. The teacher helps the students select an appropriate project, integrates the project into the curriculum, and guides the students through the necessary steps to completion. The teacher assures that activities are structured in ways that promote learning, monitors student activities, and facilitates students' reflection and analysis of their experiences. However, all adult functions should be performed in a manner that is appropriate for the age of the children, and should, as much as possible, encourage student autonomy and creativity.

The role of the Service Learning Committee is to help the teachers get started, monitor progress and provide support during the project, assist with any needed community outreach, help document the students’ activities, and plan an end-of-the-year presentation to the parents.

There are many different kinds of service learning projects for all age levels. A lot of them deal with community needs related to health, poverty, social issues, or the environment. Another popular kind of community-based activity involves the students in documenting local history or culture through interviews, archival research, and photography. Projects like these connect the students more deeply to their communities and help the community at large to maintain a sense of history and identity. Other good service learning activites involve students helping other students through student mentoring and peer or cross-age tutoring.

http://www.bristol.mass.edu/academics/servicelearning/sl_partner_guide.cfm

Summarize the project.
Explain what skills and/or knowledge students obtain from the project. Organization. Meeting deadlines.
Explain how a community or organization benefits from the project. Uses fresh and young perspectives. An organization might not be familiar with the latest technology and a student might.
Provide a definition of service learning.
A mutually beneficial cooperation in which a student uses a service opportunity to learn new skills.
It is a cooperative rapport between a student and a professional organization. The
What commonalities do all service learning projects share?
They help people.

http://www.mssa.sailorsite.net/fea_04_03.html

Five trailer classrooms were delivered to Towson High School and installed behind the main building. After their installation, the disturbed grounds around them pooled excess water, due to the soil's clay base. To prevent potential problems from occurring, the Towson High School Environmental Club and horticulture classes mapped out the land and chose and planted both plants and shrubs that would utilize the pooled water.

The students learned that their rain garden and other plots require daily maintenance in order for the plants and grounds to survive. Students enjoyed participating in this project and learned a great deal about the health and maintenance of the environment and their responsibility for keeping things like area streams clean.

The school benefited from this project because the disturbed area was treated basically for free, other than that, the project was more beneficial for the students involved rather than an organization.

Service learning is where students learn by engaging in a outreach project that benefits the community and themselves. All service learning projects help the community grow and students learn about important things in community service.

1. http://www.paservicelearning.org/Project_Ideas/Halloween.htm

2. This is a project done around Halloween time, in order to promote safety and awareness. Elementary school children create posters about how to be safe and then have a contest to see who’s the best is. When the winner is chosen, their poster is printed and distributed to the local police, fire, and EMS stations for these groups to hand out to individuals and hang up around the community.

3. The children creating the posters learn about Halloween safety and how the community can work together to have a cautious, safe, fun Halloween. They also learn that their safety and the safety of others is a priority and something that needs to be taken seriously.

4. No specific organizations benefit from this project but, the community benefits from this project because, Halloween is always a dangerous time for young children, and this promotes safety and awareness. If more people were told to slow down while driving in neighborhoods and parents were told to make sure to always walk with their children, then there would be drastically less accidents.

5. Service learning is where students learn by actively participating in a community project. The commonalties between service learning projects are that they all help the community grow and students learn about some important topic.

1. http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/primer-10.html
(Denise Eichel, 2001 St. Mary's County, Maryland, Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School)2nd from top

2. Students in the 5th grade went to a home for Veteran's and read to them, planned a social for them, and helped them feel that they were still a part of the community.

3. Students worked on developing responsibility skills, they estabilished community partnerships, and learned how to use technology (such as power points) to reach out to the community.

4. This community benefited from the service project because it was a part of the community that was an older generation, living in somewhat lonely conditions and the students were able to reach out to them and make them feel more like a part of the community. Community unity was definitely increased through this service project.

5. Service learning is a way of teaching that incorporates community service with teaching where students reflect on how they were successful in their project and within the community. All service learning projects tend to better the community by some how providing a service for a specific group of people.

Service-Learning in Disaster Recovery: Rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast

http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7787

The goal of this project was for Ohio State University students to work on city and regional planning to redevelop a plan for certain communities affected by Hurricane Katrina. Then the students were supposed to reflect on what they learned through extensive journals. The overall goal of the service-learning project was for both the students and the communities affected to benefit by becoming involved. The students benefited by learning about how the hurricane influenced these communities and the communities benefited from the students input by getting city planning ideas from young professionals hoping to enter fields of study in city planning, civil engineering, and urban development. This 2006 project was the pinnacle aspect of the class where students, educators, and affected individuals were heavily involved in the future well being of the community. The courses at Ohio State were designed around service learning and in a way, this catastrophe benefited the students by giving them immense impact on society and their own perspective of the event as a whole.

I think of service learning as a way for multiple parties to benefit by student involvement in the community. Service learning is an organized way for students to earn credits by giving the community something that the community needs and in turn, the students are rewarded in a non-monetary form, but in an altruistic sense of gratitude.

1. Projects link: http://www.paservicelearning.org/Project_Ideas/PhysicalEd.html
2. This learning project is for students to increase knowledge to the community about exercising. The students are to get information about certain sports and activities and what the health risks and benefits are for the types of exercise.
3. Students need to obtain knowledge about different sports and exercise and weigh the risks and benefits. Students will need to look thoroughly at each type of exercise until they identify pros and cons. Students will also learn how to post their research in a public place for the local community. They will learn how to make a web site, flyers, or brochures to be distributed. Some skills will be required to know how to make these.
4. The community benefits from this project because they can learn about exercise and sports they are interested in. They can weigh out which ones benefit them the most and which activities they will want to stay away from. The organization benefits from this because they are teaching students how to do these projects, which benefit the community.
5. Service learning is where students learn and develop skills and knowledge in organized service projects/events that meet community needs. All service learning projects share a commonality by providing students with new skills and knowledge and benefit the community. Also doing service projects gives students hands on experience in real life situations while caring for the community.

http://www.nylc.org/pages-resourcecenter-projectexamplelist?emoid=42:380...

Titled: Equity in Computer Program.

Summary: Students take old, used computers are remade and updated, then given to homes that have no computers in order for the residents of said homes to have working computers. The students gain technical knowledge on how a computer works both in software and hardware.

Definition: A learning strategy that incorporates and provides community service.

http://www.nylc.org/pages-resourcecenter-projectexamples-Health_Occupati...

Summary:
High school students in Wisconsin put together the Health Occupations and America Reads Program to improve reading scores in the elementary schools. The Health Occupations class tutored 3rd graders to help them out with their reading assessment exams. Some of the other high school student put together "School, Parents and Reading Connection" bags for the younger students to take home. The students also put together audio recordings to help their fellow classmates who use the high school learning center.

Skills gained:
Students were able to work together and learn how to appropriately interact with one another in a professional setting. The students were introduced to writing in a professional sense, they put together the bags for students to take home. Also, they were able to work with members of the community outside of their own school.

Community Benefit:
The community benefits because the project is done for a public school. Students that would otherwise not receive the proper tutoring and materials are now able to get them because of the project. Students improve their test scores and all the tutoring is volunteer based.

Service Learning:
Method of teaching, learning and reflecting that combines academic classroom curriculum with meaningful service throughout the community. (Wikipedia)
Most service learning projects are volunteer based and you work with non-profit organization.

http://www.hfcc.edu/servicelearning/ceramicsclub.htm

The Henry Ford Community College Ceramics Club teamed up with three class from Lessenger Middle School to make a mural to hang in the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. The middle school students studied tessalations to prepare for the design of the murals, while the ceramics club tested different materials that would be easiest for the kids to use. The ceramics club members brought all materials to the middle school and hung the mural in the children's hospital.

The students had to determine which clay and glaze would work best for the project. They also learned valuable mentoring skills and communication skills to help organize the project with the middle school and children's hospital. This would have taken a lot of time and attention.

The middle school benefitted from this project because the students were able to work with older young adults from the community college towards a common goal. The students could gain good organization and teamwork skills. The children's hospital gained an imaginitive mural to brighten up the atmosphere.

Service learning combines educational learning and community service and works toward a common goal. Service learning projects require good teammwork, respect, and social responsibility.

1. http://www.paservicelearning.org/Project_Ideas/FoodSciences.html

2. This service learning projecti is for students who are involved in culinary studies. They would learn to prepare a meal for Meals on Wheels.

3. Students would learn how to prepare meals. Also, they would have to know how to prepare meals for people with certain dietary needs such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

4. Meals on Wheels would benefit from this service learning project becuase they are always in need of volunteers to cook or deliver meals. The people who receive the meals obviously benefit from a free or reduced price meal since they cannot go out themselves and purchase food.

5. Service learning is where a student or usually a group of students works for an organization to provide a free service that the students learn from and receive a grade for. All service learning projects involve a students and a non-profit organization.

http://service.csumb.edu/site/x24524.xml

This article talks about four different groups from Boys and Girls clubs did service learning projects. One group surveyed why teens use drugs, another surveyed about violence, the third found out how the economy is affecting young people, and the last group researched the building of a youth center.

These students found out that a large majority of young adults use drugs and that they use them for all different reasons. Some for peer pressure, others for pleasure. They found that most young people have been associated with violence or are actually in a gang themselves. They also found that most students and parents are on board for having a youth center.

The communities will benefit from these findings because of knowledge. They now know that there are a lot of drugs being used by young adults and that while some are doing it because they want to, there are still a few that participate only because they feel pressured to. The community can now change this.
They can also work on having some type of system that will help the violence issue. Since they now know how many gangs and how much violence there is, they can start working on ways to get rid of it.
The community can also put forth actions to creating a youth center, since this research shows that most people in the community are for it.

The commonalities in service learning projects is research and hard work. In order to provide complete details and have answers to questions in a community, there needs to be proof. By having a service learning project, students can find out information about all types of subjects. The key to fixing the broken economy, violence, drugs, and other negative aspects of a community, is knowledge. Without it, a community is lost. By having service learning projects, knowledge can be found.

http://www.ecoteach.com/2010/10Custom/10SEESLItin.pdf

This service learning project entails college students traveling to Costa Rica for 12 days to work with the SEE Turtles and EcoTeach organizations to protect leatherback turtle nesting beaches along the Caribbean coast. It is mostly at night that the beaches will be patrolled by the volunteers, while the days will be spent mingling and interacting with other volunteers from around the world or with the locals. The trip will be led by an award-winning young conservationist named Zander Srodes. Not only will students be exposed to different cultures and travel to new places, but they will also participate in environmental protection, gain a new knowledge of sea turtles, learn how to collect scientific data on animals, and hopefully gain a new respect for wildlife. This service learning experience will benefit the individuals who participate with new experiences and as a result new perspectives, which can in turn benefit their home communities because they will carry their experiences and perspectives back with them. The volunteer work will also help the SEE Turtles and EcoTeach organizations by providing many volunteers to assist in the research being conducted. Finally, the learning experience will help a falling population of sea turtles in ever increasing danger of extinction to get their numbers back up by helping newly hatched sea turtles make it safely to the sea, and by providing researchers with as much data as possible on the species so they can better help turtles survive.

Service learning is a way of combining teaching, learning, and community service to simultaneously help students learn and benefit the community. The key parts of service learning, and therefore things that all service learning projects share include linking curriculum and community service, reflecting on what has been learned, learning to tolerate diversity, and developing a ‘youth voice’, which encourages the youth to be educated on current events and issues and to be motivated to take action towards change in these events and issues.

1. http://www.paservicelearning.org/Project_Ideas/English.html
2. Student will read the book "the street lawyer", by John Grisham, then will do some sort of social service, such as: visit a V.A. Hospital, homeless shelter, or soup kitchen. They will learn more about some legal professions like lawyers, law enforcement agencies, or paralegals.
3. Students will learn more about possible career paths in the above mentioned categories. They will witness lives of those less fortunate then them and see that they can help make a difference.
4. Any charity, or social work place that the students choose to attend will be benefited with the help of an entire class toward their organizations goals. Such as having the class pass out food at a soup kitchen.
5. Service learning combines class work with meaningful service to help students learn and gain experience at the same time. All service learning projects combine both class work and a meaningful srevice. They all enrich the learning experience through actual participation rather than just having it taught to them in a classroom.

http://www.paservicelearning.org/Project_Ideas/Technology.htm

This service learning project is about computer pollution and recycling. It basically deals with how to involve and inform students the how old computers and other related equipment can pollute our environment and how they can actually recycle the old or unwanted computers.

Students will learn about how discarding computers can pollute our environment and how they can recycle computers to help eliminate pollution.

A community can benefit from this because this project helps clean the environment and reduce the amount of pollution caused by discarded computers.

Service-learning is a way of teaching and learning that relates the community to students in a meaningful way. It helps student get involved in the community and learn responsibilities and gain useful experience in the real world.