Service Learning Bulletin Board
Why should I be interested
in service learning?
Philosophy of Service
Learning
Courses Offering
Service Learning Opportunities
Service
Learning Connections at the University of Pittsburgh
Tell Me & I Forget,
Show
Me & I Remember,
Involve
Me & I Learn.
For those unfamiliar with the term service-learning, it is a philosophy methodology through which educators incorporate community service opportunities into the curriculum, allowing the students to learn and develop through active participation in the community service projects. The application of knowledge through demonstration becomes the "hallmark" for learning. It is a win/win/win situation: 1) the schools and students address community needs. 2) The students become active and aware participants in the community. 3) The learning occurs through "thoughtfully organized service experiences that are integrated into the academic curriculum." (Corporation for National Service, 1990)
Essentially, service-learning enhances learning through action. It provides students with concrete opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their communities. This experience instills the value of service in the lives the students by developing a commitment to making a difference in the community. In his State of the Union Address , President Clinton explained the importance of service and the responsibilities we bear to our communities and our future. He envisions "An America…where government provides opportunity and citizens honor the responsibility to give something back to their communities. An America which leads the world to new heights of peace and prosperity. This is an America we can leave to our children, if we join together to finish the work at hand."
Service-Learning addresses this responsibility and the hope for our future by empowering our young people and promoting feelings of concern, care, and commitment to the community and the nation. Service-Learning promises to reform and to strengthen education in this country. Working together with an understanding of successful service-learning models, educators, administrators, and community partners will improve opportunities available to schools and universities.
The Purpose of the Bulletin Board
As a graduate student in the School of Education’s Administrative and Policy Studies program at the University of Pittsburgh, I am very interested in the philosophies and methodologies of service-learning. Dr. Maureen Porter, an Assistant Professor at the university and my academic advisor, introduced me to service-learning last summer when she proposed that I design the service-learning component of her Gender and PreK-12 Education class. Through our work with this class, Dr. Porter and I became 2 of the 4 members of the International Service-Learning Experience 1998 (ISLE ’98) teaching team. This new and exciting new course introduced University of Pittsburgh students to service-learning at the global level. I also became the graduate student researcher at Generations Together for a nation-wide grant, "Building an Intergenerational Service-Learning Infrastructure in Gerontology" which integrated intergenerational service-learning into gerontology courses at 10 post-secondary schools across the country.
With my experience in planning and implementing service-learning projects, I have come to realize the value of service-learning. Along with making service-learning the focus of my graduate study, I have made a commitment to the dissemination of information about service-learning. Therefore, as part of my comprehensive exams, I have designed this resource guide. After assessing relevant contributions, unique roles and sifting through mounds of information about service-learning, I have condensed the information and developed this "bulletin board" as a workable resource to introduce, to explain, to inform, and/or to clarify the term service-learning. This bulletin board will assist you in designing and implementing your own projects as well as introduce you to some valuable resource people and organizations who can aid you in this process.
Using the Bulletin Board
Please use this bulletin board as a resource. I designed the bulletin board at your left to help move you quickly through the process and to your particular area of interest about service-learning. Each "tag" or "post-it note" represents a link to valuable information about service-learning or to resource people and organizations who are making service-learning opportunities available. However, this page is just a start, remember that there is an abundance of information on the web about service-learning and the exciting challenges and learning opportunities it offers. I have compiled a list of "Cool Links" to some of the sites that taught me about the benefits and opportunities that service-learning programs provide. Investigate and enjoy!!!
This
page was created by Sarah C. Johnson
Last Update: July 28, 1998