Service learning is an opportunity to make a difference in our community.
This program is an instructional methodology that integrates community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical and reflective thinking and civic responsibility. Students are involved in organized community projects that address local needs while developing their academic skills, sense of civic responsibility, and commitment to the community.
- Service learning is similar to internships and cooperative education in that it is student-centered, hands-on, and directly applicable to the curriculum. It differs from an internship by balancing student learning with community needs that may otherwise go unmet.
- Students who sign up for the program are required to complete 20 hours of community service. In addition to the obvious benefits, participants can earn extra credit or use the service learning to replace an existing course requirement, such as an oral presentation.
- Service learning offers a win-win situation for everyone involved. For students, the program increases the relevance of their academic studies. It also accommodates different learning styles, encourages students to interact with people of diverse cultures and lifestyles, and gives them an increased sense of civic responsibility.
- There are more than 30 programs in the community from which to choose, including but not limited to tutoring services, youth enrichment centers, museums, and health care facilities, soup kitchens, animal shelters and many others.
- Service learning encourages students to take their learning a step further and think about how they’re going to use their new knowledge to enhance their educational, career and personal goals.
- Instructors benefit from service learning by linking their course objectives to meaningful human, safety, educational, and environmental needs that are determined with community partners and service recipients. Furthermore, both the College and the community benefit from service learning.
- Service learning connects the dots of a program’s curriculum by bridging first- hand knowledge with classroom lectures.
For more information contact:
Coordinator for Disability Support Services
Student Activities Advisor and Counselor