Service Learning
What is Service Learning?
Service learning is exactly what it sounds like, learning by serving. In this model students reach out to their community, identify a need, and find the solution to the need. It looks like this:
Service learning is exactly what it sounds like, learning by serving. In this model students reach out to their community, identify a need, and find the solution to the need. It looks like this:
- Step 1: Prepare the students. What is service learning? How is this different from community service?
- Step 2: Action. Investigate the needs, and research solutions. Investigate cause and effects of the need, identify possible solutions, design a plan, create an action plan, and implement the plan.
- Step 3: Evaluation: Revisit and analyze the project, what skills were developed, what was learned about self, others, community? Evaluate the success of the project. What went well, what was a challenge?
- Step 4: Celebration. Share the outcomes, inform the community, present to the school, hold an awards ceremony.
- The most important step is to reflect after EVERY step. Reflection keeps you in the present, allows you to make changes, helps you to foresee disruptions or potential problems, and it allows you to maintain your focus on the goal.
Service learning is a viable option to use with gifted students. This model of learning combines classroom instruction with a service to their community. This learning is heavy on the reflection aspect, civic mindedness, and personal responsibility.
Strengths:
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Limitations:
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Service Learning is a cycle, we reflect after each step