Community service can be performed at any time for any reason. Although meaningful community service often leads to transformative learning, this connection becomes explicit in service learning. Service activities are embedded within academic classes and are meant to help participants achieve specific learning goals.
Service learning emphasizes mutuality. All participants in service learning should benefit, learn and grow from the experience. Service learning also emphasizes critical reflection on conditions which create the need for various types of community service. In Jesuit terminology, service learning emphasize the unity of charity and justice. Here are a few examples:
Community service
Students participate in a neighborhood cleanup. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts.
Service learning
Students in an environmental studies course study waste collection and recycling services in the city. Students participate in a series of local clean-up projects as a way of learning about accessibility and use of these services in various
neighborhoods. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts and informed recommendations on sustainable waste management.
Community service
Students host an on-campus field day for children from local schools. They organize games and other recreational activities in the quads and the university gymnasium. The community receives a safe and supervised recreational program for youth.
Service
learning
Students in a developmental psychology course volunteer in the recreation program at a local afterschool center. They learn how movement and healthy play affect learning, socialization, and behavior among young children. The community receives volunteer and capacity-building assistance with designing and implementing ongoing recreational programming which maximizes learning, teamwork, and inclusion among youth.
Related Topics
- What are some examples of service learning?
- How is service learning different from an internship?