About Service Learning

Service Learning holds up a mirror for us to see ourselves, a microscope for us to examine our society, and binoculars for us to see what lies ahead.

Community service serves as the vehicle for the achievement of specific academic goals and objectives. Service learning provides structured time for students to reflect on their service and learning experiences through a mix of writing, reading, speaking, listening and creating in small and large groups and individual work.

It fosters the development of those "intangibles" - empathy, personal values, beliefs, awareness, self-esteem and confidence, social-responsibility and a sense of caring for others. Finally, service learning develops a reciprocal relationship in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service.

Credit is awarded for learning, not for a requisite number of service hours. 

How does Service-Learning differ from community service, internships, cooperative ed., etc?

Service learning uses community service as the vehicle for the attainment of students' academic goals and objectives.

Community service fills a need in the community through volunteer efforts.

Service Learning also fills that need, but uses that need as a foundation to examine our society, our future, and ourselves. Further, service learning provides students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real life situations.

• Identifies in advance and tracks specific learning objectives and goals (as well as the intangible ones).
• Students perform valuable, significant, and necessary service that has real consequence to the community.
• The goal of the service is to empower students and those being served.

The needs of the community dictate the service being provided.

At  Delta State

Delta State University began exploring service-learning in 1992, and now there are more than 30 service-learning courses in the university catalogue.  They range from social work to the social sciences, from biology to English composition and literature, from nursing to community development.

For additional information on Service-learning and the DSU Service-Learning faculty committee visit http://www/pages/262.asp.
 

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