Resources for Faculty

Service Learning (SL)

There are many ways to incorporate civic engagement into your course instruction. Service-learning is one of those ways. Below you'll find a basic definition and examples of service-learning courses in various disciplines. You will probably find the Civic Engagement in the Classroom link useful as well.

What is Service-Learning?

• "Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts of service-learning." (Jacoby, 1996)

Top Ten Reasons Why Service-Learning is a Valued Part of Higher Education:

1. 1. SL increases the relevance of general education classes and theory-based classes. It grounds knowledge in meaningful experiences. 
   2. SL assists students in assuming responsibility for participation in civic, social, and environmental awareness activities of the communities in which they live.
   3. An important part of the mission of public universities is to educate students to be active citizens in a democratic society.
      • SL increases understanding of community problems at a “personal, professional, and conceptual level” (University of Utah Lowell Bennion Center, 1995).
      • SL increases understanding of how our world is interconnected (Boyer,1990).
   4. SL results in stronger analytical and critical thinking skills and improved communication skills.
   5. SL offers students structured opportunities to work more closely with faculty, often improving learning and retention.
   6. SL students note that they gain a deeper understanding of issues and feel more confident to use the information they have learned (Eyler and Giles, 1999).
   7. SL encourages greater student input and responsibility in deciding what they will learn and how they will learn it (Vernon and Blake, 1993).
   8. SL often yields personal insight, growth, and values clarification; these are considered important aspects of student development.
   9. SL provides students with a way to make a difference in their communities as part of a relevant, credit-bearing class experience.
   10. Universities try to accommodate changes in student learning styles, preferences, and goals:
       • Many students prefer the hands-on, practical methods of active learning, like SL. SL makes everyday experiences the subject matter for learning. SL involves the whole person in learning: knowing and doing, emotions and intellect.
       • SL taps students’ growing interest in service (as seen in the rise of volunteerism).
       • College students today learn well outside the classroom.
       • SL opens students’ job contacts and networks, and provides students with documented experiences for their resume.

Source: Boise State University Service-Learning Program

Examples of Service-Learning Opportunities at SMSU

• Environmental Science: Students enrolled in ecology and environmental toxicology courses work with senior high and junior students to assess changes in stream habitat in the Marshall area and create an improved GIS stream database.
• Wellness and Human Performance: Students enrolled in various wellness and human performance courses provide hearing and vision testing to local public school students, sponsor health fairs, host the Mustang Rodeo for children with disabilities in the region, and provide physical education training for home-schooled students.
• Justice Administration: Students enrolled in Introduction to Justice and Societies, Court and Corrections Management, and Criminal Law courses have the option to sign up for a one-credit service-learning lab focused on developing GIS maps for the area court system's needs.
• Psychology: Students enrolled in selected sections of General Psychology who have an interest in child and adolescent development have an option to be involved with various after-school tutoring programs or help out with the annual Mustang Rodeo event.
• MBA Program: Students enrolled in selected graduate-level business courses have the opportunity to engage in hands-on work that directly benefits surrounding rural communities. Recent courses have included developing uses for vacant buildings and a plan to eradicate curly-leaf pondweed in Lake Benton, MN.

Categories of Service Learning

Faculty interested in creating a service-learning component in their course may contact the Center for Civic and Community Engagement at Civic.Engagement@SMSU.edu or visit BA 161 to review sample syllabi and check out related books and materials.

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