To ensure the success of your program, make certain your students know what they are signing up for and take steps to prepare them. With prior notice, students can plan their schedules, prepare relevant questions for faculty, and begin class with a positive attitude.

Introducing service-learning in your course

Before the first day of class.

• Write service-learning into the registrar’s version of your course description and into your syllabus so students will see it as a legitimate aspect of the course before class begins.
• Communicate with all registered students through your preferred means of communication to announce the use of service-learning in the course. Even if service-learning is mentioned in the course description and syllabus, students may not notice or understand what service-learning entails.

On the first day of class.

• Alert students to the form and function of service-learning in your course and explain any service-learning requirements.
• Address service-learning during the presentation of the course syllabus. Set clear expectations for students, so they understand the specific ways they should connect service experiences with course content.
• Schedule at least 30 minutes for a “Welcome to Service-Learning” presentation. Use this time to outline the service-learning assignment(s) and to respond to student questions and concerns.
• Provide students with specific instructions for initiating service-learning to help ease student anxieties.

Preparing students for service-learning

Use “pre-flection” to encourage students to think about community contexts, best practices of service, and student or community partner expectations and assumptions. This instructional strategy asks students to reflect on an upcoming assignment before it has begun. Pre-flection helps students prepare to serve effectively and with sensitivity to the community, so they may learn as much as possible from their service-learning experience.

Pre-flection activities may run from 40 to 90 minutes and should take place during class time. They may include:

• Classroom presentations
• Community walking tours
• Other interactive activities

Pre-flection is best implemented before or soon after students begin serving, typically during the first four weeks of the semester. Determining appropriate pre-flection activities will depend on course level, profession, type of service to be performed, and community or population to be served.