Service-Learning Course Development
To begin organizing and constructing your service-learning course, consider the elements and four basic principles:
(1) Engagement—Does the service meet a real community need? Has that been defined by our local community? How?
(2) Reflection—Do you have mechanisms built throughout the semester to support students in making connections between the course content and service experiences?
(3) Reciprocity—Is the partnership going to provide for mutually beneficial outcomes for students and the community partners? Do both serve as teacher and learner equally?
(4) Public Dissemination—Is the outcome of the service activity/project presented to the organization for current and future use? How?
Heffernan, p.1
As you begin to integrate service-learning into your course syllabus, keep the following in mind and include:
- service listed among the goals for the civic value of contributing to our local or global community, but also to serve as a “text” through which students will learn about the subject matter
- a clear description of how the service experience will be evaluated and what will be measured (see best practices)
- an overview of the nonprofit organization(s), the need(s) being addressed, and the service role(s) and/or project
- Expectations and responsibilities of students (e.g. start and end dates, transportation, time requirements, community contracts)
Heffernan, p.9