ENG 204-001

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/programs/servicelearning/docs/...

In this service learning project, students from Milton Somers Middle School were tasked with crafting ceramic bowls for an outside-funded dinner. Guests of the event were allowed to keep the bowls, as both a symbol and reminder of world hunger.
Students who participated in this event had the opportunity to work on their ceramic skills, as well as learn about poverty and hunger. They also learned the value of community service and how volunteering for these kinds of projects helps everyone. On top of this, students explored various world cultures and used this knowledge to create appropriate, culturally relevant ceramic bowls.
Paraphrasing the site, the community need that was recognized was the problem of world starvation. By participating in this service learning project, students rose awareness of the issue to their community and peers.
One common theme of service learning projects is the aspect of community. These projects recognize and try to solve, or at least raise awareness, for certain issues and problems. Also, service learning projects help out the students who are involved with them, either by challenging students to learn about problems in society, or by letting them actively use their skills to help with these problems.

A new twist on spring break

In this particular service learning project, 57 Hillel members from seven college campuses in Florida passed on partying on the shores of Daytona Beach to volunteer in a youth center in the Overton district in Miami. They spent their days working with underprivileged children and building benches and tables for an outdoor classroom at Dunbar Elementary School. The trip is known as "Hillel's Alternative Spring Break program," which invites college students around the world to spend their vacations participating in Jewish service learning projects.

The students obtain a better understanding of the difficulties experienced by the children living in this particular area. In doing so, they are more grateful for the blessings they have.

The community benefits in an obvious way; these students are volunteering so all their help is free to the Overton district. The students are donating their compassion and time in hopes they will inspire hope and beautify the area.

Service learning is an instance of learning in which students are provided with authentic, real-life events and are expected to offer their support. The commonality is the term "community" because these projects are geared to an outreach typically from a more privileged community to a community that is less fortunate.

Comics Against AIDS/HIV Prejudice

The students learned about HIV and AIDS by researching local health organizations. They obtained a comic book artist and wrote story lines that they felt would teach younger children to learn the acceptance of the disease that they had found. They put all of the comics into one booklet and passed it out during a community fair.

The community of younger students in the school benefitted by learning the information from the older children. Using a comic book was an interesting way to keep children interested in the topic. The harsh subject matter was also presented in a way that was non-threatening and easy to understand. Younger students will now be more likely to fight against prejudice of people with HIV/AIDS.

Service learning is a way to combine academics with community outreach and aid. They encourage students to take civic responsibility and to be engaged in their communities throughout their lives. All service learning projects allow the people participating to learn new skills and harness old ones while making a difference to the people they are assisting.

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

The oldest students in the school bus were behaving not responsibly and frightened the youngest. As a consequence, many parents decided to drive their children to the school instead of taking the bus. But some of the 3rd graders decided to do something in order to change the situation. They listed the 5th graders responsible of uncivilized actions, made modifications in the school policy, and also incited the bus drivers to be involved in the community.

Hence, the situation improved and students gained skills through this experience. For example, they learned how to deal with threats coming from more powerful people, how to assemble forces to struggle against them, and how to think and act globally to resolve the problem. They also needed to be brave and good communicators to obtain support from the other members of the school community.

The community clearly benefited from the project because now the buses are safer and the links between people appear to be stronger. By working together to achieve the same objective, everyone learns to understand and know each other, and this leads to a more unified group of people.
I think that all service learning projects share commonalities of values such as knowledge, morality, devotion. They assemble groups of people around a defined project and missions that are aimed to improve their lives.

http://www.highlandernews.net/news/students-string-for-strength-1.2191860

Students at Misericordia University, led by Dr. Corine Coniglio, are creating and selling bracelets to raise funds for Haiti relief. Each bracelet features the word "Hope". They are using the money to purchase tents for homeless survivors of the Haiti disaster. They chose to donate tents because it is an immediate need that they can easily and directly fulfill through fundraising.
Coniglio explains that part of her students' genuine concern for the Haitians stems from their required reading in their Modern World Literature classes. In addition to wanting to help change the world, these students want to make an impact on a country similar to the developing nations they read about in class.
Dr. Coniglio used this metaphor to describe why she chose bracelet-making as a service learning project: "You string beads one at a time and that’s also how we learn – that’s how education works". The students are benefiting from the experience as well, learning that supporting one's community can mean your own town or another country, because we are all citizens of the same world.
All service learning projects are meant to have a positive impact on the students, helping them to grow as people and learn the importance of helping those who need it. The people, communities, and structures that receive the benefits of service learning are also impacted, no matter how big or small the project may be. They appreciate everything they have, which is something we should all remember to do.

1. http://www.servicelearning.org/nslc/success_stories/he.php

"College Students and Joven Students Dance on Stage"

2. San Antonio College. Students in groups go to JOVEN (community program for underpriveleged children) and teach young people (ages 4-14) a style of dance. Students are divided into three groups. Each group has a day of the week for teaching, therefore lessons are three times a week. Teams select music, design warm up, and choreograph a dance. Class meets once a week to discuss class structure, learning styles, technique, and safety issues. Each semester there is a joint dance performance of JOVEN and San Antonio College students.

3. San Antonio College Students produce material within groups that is consistent and yet original. They conduct class and are able to experience what works and doesn't work in a teacher/student situation and have a chance to reach out to younger people of different ethnicities and economic backgrounds.

4. Students at JOVEN are given an opportunity that they may never have had otherwise. The children learn a new skill and share it with friends and family. They are also given the opportunity to perform and receive community recognition.

5. All service learning projects are the result of a teaching/learning situation (like college classes, for example). Service learning benefits the community in some way, but also benefits students by providing them with real-life, hands-on experience, allowing them to grow with and through the project. It incorporates civic engagement, instruction, and reflection.

http://www.nylc.org/objects/DiscoverSL/HighSchoolProjects.pdf

In this service learning project, high school biology students tested the water in a local lake. When they found out it was polluted, they developed a plan, with the help of the Chamber of Commerce and State Department of Natural Resources, to clean up the lake. Students reached out to the community using various media, including pamphlets distributed to residents at an annual town event. They also made videos of the lake, attempted to pinpoint the sources of the pollution, and tested the quality of the water at various times, noting the quality in their journals. As a result of this project, the students learned ways to reverse the effects of pollution and the most effective ways in reaching out to and dealing with the community. The community as a whole received a less-polluted lake and learned how their careless ways can have real consequences. The students also trained various residents to test water quality for future upkeep of the lake.

I think it is best to define service learning in contrast to community service. When students are assigned community service, they find any opportunity and simply get it done, not really learning anything. Service learning, on the other hand, leads students to work together and tie their curriculum into something tangible that can actually help the community. Most service learning projects benefit both the students and the community, whether through gaining knowledge or skills or improving the quality of the community's resources.

http://www.servicelearning.org/sites/default/files/download/slice/Be_Nice_to_Spiders.pdf

When second grade students witnessed an adult killing a spider for no reason other than it being a spider, they decided to do something. The class studied spiders extensively and preceded to make posters to educate others. Their goal was to prove how beneficial spiders could be. Through the project, students learned more about the good that spiders provide for their environment and how not all of them are dangerous. They were allowed to express their creativity in a way that would help to teach others, giving them valuable skills to teach and inform which they will use for the rest of their lives. Not only did the students learn something from this project, but the whole community learned more about spiders and how helpful they can be. The posters were given to local parks and gardens.

The National Youth Leadership Council defines service learning as "a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards."

All service learning projects must help students learn valuable skills and knowledge that can be used in other fields outside of school.

Community Trail Project

The service project involved one hundred middle school students going to their local community center and making a community trail around the center.

The students obtained knowledge of real world application of the concepts they are learning in class. The students were required to use math and science skills to figure out how much stone and paper they needed to make the trail. They also were required to use writing skills by writing letters to community partners. The students also learned valuable teamwork and leadership skills while completing the task. Two of the students also learned how to work a video camera to record their accomplishment.

It is very obvious how the community would benefit from this project. Residents now have a safe place to go for a walk and enjoy the outdoors. This trail that was built is also supposedly much safer than the alternate trail.

I would define service learning as applying in the real world the skills you have been studying in school and getting feedback from this experience to learn from. All service learning projects share the fact that you are learning from applying some skill in a setting outside of the classroom.

http://www.nylc.org/objects/DiscoverSL/HighSchoolProjects.pdf

In the water quality improvement service learning project, a high school biology class tested the water of a local lake. After the testing, they discovered it was polluted. The class proceeded to research water pollution as well as ways to fix it. Students created a 5 year plan to fix the lake's pollution. In the first year, the class joined with the Chamber of Commerce and the state Department of Natural Resources in order to develop a pamphlet to be distributed at an annual celebration to all of the town's residents. Students also tracked pollution sources, kept water-quality journals, and made videos of the lake. They worked with the town council in order to put into action pollution reduction plans and develop a presentation to train residents of the town to test the quality of water. After two years of their work, students and the town celebrated cleaner water.

After completing this project, students understood pollution, how it can affect their local water sources, and how to reverse it. They also gained real life experience while working with the Chamber of Commerce, the state Department of Natural Resources, and the town council.
The community benefited from this project with the success of cleaner water. Also, with the pollution reduction plans that were implemented, the town will be more likely to have cleaner water in the future. The residents of the town were trained to test water quality, which will help them in the long run as well.
Service learning is the incorporation of community service into an educational environment. Students take knowledge that they have obtained from a course and put forth that knowledge into a real world situation. All service learning projects include the involvement of learned knowledge with real life experience.

Stuff-a-Bus

http://www.mssa.sailorsite.net/fea_01_04.html

For this particular project, county schools (k-12) and organizations collected necessity items (canned goods, blankets, tolitery items, etc.) for their local shelter.
The participants of this service learning project learned about poverty, hunger,health issues, and displacement in their communities. Doing a project like this also teach students the satisfaction of giving to those in need.
Doing a project like this obviously has immidiate benefits for the shelters that recieved donations, but will have future benefits from those who participated and have now practiced charitable donations.
Service Learning is a way a participant (students) applys tasks learned in an educational environment and put to use for their community. A service learning project should use devices learned in a classroom or curriculum setting then put forth to the community.

Teens Against Teen Pregnancy

In this service learning project, a group of six eighth-grade students took on this project as part of the curriculum for their English class. They began by researching the prevalence of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among teenagers. They then used this information to launch an informational pamphlet and a thirty-second public service announcement that was on television.

The students used many skills to complete this project. Part of the project was to survey their classmates and members of the community to obtain their opinions about teen pregnancy. The students used writing skills, video production skills, and skills in health education and social studies.

The community of the students benefited greatly from this project because it tackled an issue that is relevant to all teenage girls. It stressed the importance of practicing safe sex, and this information can change the lives of many young women.

Service learning can be defined as a project that educates the student performing it at well as benefits other in the community. All service projects should be relevant to the curriculum of the class in which the project is being conducted. It should also have a tangible impact on members of the student’ community.

http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/primer-10.html

In this service learning project, students from Britton's Neck High School, South Carolina conducted a community assessment and noticed that a rural fire department was needed for the local area. Teachers at the school integrated safety curriculum into their core courses. As the service project, the students constructed a fire station on a property secured from a member of the community. From the project, students learn more about what can benefit their community and notice things that can improve their overall state of living. Through the project, students also become reconnected with the community and unite as one group with their fellow students. With the new fire station in the rural area, ISO ratings for homeowners will be re-evaluated for the establishment of a fire department. The lower rating will lower the cost of homeowner's insurance for the residents within the fire district. Service learning can be described as students performing a service in a community, local or foreign, that integrate and reflect on what they will learn in the classroom. All service projects have aspects in common like performing a meaningful service of some type and students learning with the extension of learning outside of the classroom.

Learn-and-Serve is an ongoing service learning program that began in the Website Design classes at Mission Bay High School, in San Diego, CA. In this program, students have to create websites for non-profit clients. The first website, students designed and programmed, in this program was for a local community service organization that feeds the homeless. The program continues to have students design websites and work with local non-profit organizations in San Diego. The program allowed them to learn not only how to design websites but about different non-profit organizations and their community. The organization benefited because they had their website designed for free, which raises the awareness of their organization. The community benefits because they now have a place to go to learn more about the different organizations in their area. Service learning is a project that allows students to work with an organization or business in their community and apply the skills that they have learned in the classroom to “real-life”. The commonality is that all service learning projects work worth the community and help better the community.

http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/primer-10.html#6-12

In this particular service learning project, over 100 5th grade students from Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School in St. Mary's County, Maryland participated in a project that provided friendship and social interaction for veterans at the Charlotte Hall Veteran's Home. The students visited the veterans, wrote letters to them, and learned about them. They also organized a Valentine Social where the veterans would be invited to by the students. By doing this the students learned about the veterans and their lives. The students developed responsibility through the project. The students benefited by helping and learning from the veterans throughout the project.
Service learning is a way to combine academics with community outreach to help others less fortunate than our selves that encourage students to take responsibility and to be engaged in their communities. All service learning projects allow the participating people, the 5th graders, to learn new skills and make them use old ones while making a difference to the people they are helping such as the veterans in this project.

http://www.goodcharacter.com/SERVICE/primer-10.html

Students in Maryland grade schools participate in several different projects, ranging from visiting local shut-ins to restoring buildings (storm gutters, etc.). Each project varies with the skills and age level each grade represents. The skills the students learn revolve mainly around interacting with people in the community. The students learn how to reach out to people less fortunate, and apply that inspiration to their schoolwork. This directly benefits the community, because it's helping people who wouldn't normally have as much interaction with others. It's also priming the students to be exemplary community members when they are older. Service learning as a definition can be reduced to applying social skills in the community and within the schools. All service learning projects involve helping other people and benefitting within from doing so.

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

This service learning project took place at a middle school in Wisconsin. 6th grade students identified an area of local wetlands that had become polluted and poorly maintained. The students interviewed experts and gathered information in order to develop a plan to restore this area. Later they discovered this area to be a lake that was drained almost a century earlier. They put their plan into action and built a small pond and planted prairie grasses and wildflowers to form a buffer zone and trap the harmful pollutants.

The students no only learned how to take initiative and impact their local environment but also learned about different habitats and various methods to restore and preserve them. They also learned how to interview and collect information from local experts and scientists. In order to be allowed to do this work on the land they had to ask permission from the local village. This was a very comprehensive project involving not only environmental work itself but also alot of government and local cooperation that provides useful experience.

The community benefits from now having a safe and attractive wetland in their village.

Service learning projects should not only benefit the students in a educational way but also benefit the community or other outside party at the same time.

LINK
In this service learning project, high school students in Wisconsin collected out-of-date computer components and used them to construct simple computers to be given to families in the community that had no computer in their home and had students in need of its use.

The students involved in the service learning project learned the skills associated with computer building. These include skills involving computer hardware and software. Motherboards, hard drives, sound cards, or any other hardware comes with its own specifications and must be installed correctly in order for the computer to work properly. The students had to learn the skills necessary to install them properly. Additionally, the students learned about software including operating systems and the basic functional programs used by basic computer users.

The beneficiaries of the project, the families that received computers, benefitted not by just having the computers in their home, but by using them. The families who previously would have had little knowledge of the practical uses for computers in the home gained the knowledge necessary to use them in their everyday and academic lives.

Service learning is a process by which students gain skills and other knowledge by doing hands-on work for people and organizations in need. They share a commitment to bettering the community and that they are mutually beneficial to both the learner and those they serve.