The History and

Evolution of

Service-Learning

By Charlson Joseph

Jeffrey Scharoun

Chelsea Montrois

Learning Objectives

Recognize the framework of urgent

social necessity within which service-learning

in higher education was developed in the United

States.

Understand the general pedagogical/theoretical

elements of modern service-learning.

Identify the impact of service-learning

programs in the college & university setting on students, faculty, and served communities.

1 2 3

““It is not learning, but the

spirit of service that will

give a college a place in the

annals of the nation.”

-Woodrow Wilson, 1902

President of Princeton

The Lane Debates- February, 1834

� 18 nights of debates over slavery� Over several months, almost all students

adopted abolitionist views

Anti-slavery Society

� Students organized activities and educational outreach work among Blacks in Cincinnati

� Worked to achieve emancipation by “approaching the minds of slaveholders with the truth, in the spirit of the Gospel.” (Fletcher, p. 154)

� Deemed “non-educational” by trustees, so students and faculty fled for Oberlin

Lane Theological Seminary’s

Anti-Slavery Society

Extension program� Students built school houses in

the community and promoted prolonged school year

� Taught agricultural methods� “The evils of the mortgage

system”� Buying on credit, saving, the

importance of owning a home� How to build a one-room cabin� How to improve moral and

religious conditions

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute

Booker T. Washington

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute’s

Traveling School

Service-Learning in the 20th Century

Early 1900sProgressive education and

settlement house activities.

1960sCivil Rights Movement

causes surge in popularity of service-

learning

1969Southern Regional Education

Board defines service-learning in publication.

“The accomplishment of tasks that meet genuine human needs in combination with

conscious educational growth”

1970sMany colleges

establish campus based service

programs.

1961JFK launches Peace Corps

1965VISTA (Volunteers

in Service to America) founded

1985Campus Compact: The Project for Public and

Community Service by The Education Commission of

the United States.

1994President Clinton asks college and university

presidents for their help in “inspiring an ethic of

service across our nation”

Pedagogical

Elements of Modern

Service-Learning

What are we trying to accomplish?

“As a pedagogy, service-learning is education that is grounded in experience as a basis for

learning and on the centrality and intentionality of reflection designed to enable

learning to occur.”

(Jacoby, 1996, p. 9)

Kolb’s Concept

The Experiential Learning Cycle

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Reflection on the

Experience

Concrete Experience

Synthesis and Abstract

Conceptuali-zation

Active Experimen-

tation

“Although one may enter the cycle at any point, a person engaged in service learning often begins with concrete service experience and then embarks on a

period of reflection on that experience.”

(Jacoby, 1996, p. 9)

Concrete Experience

“Reflection stimulates the learner to integrate observations and implications with existing knowledge

and to formulate concepts and questions to deepen the learner’s understanding of the world and the root causes

of the need for service.”(Jacoby, 1996, p. 10)

Reflection on the Experience

& Conceptualization

“The learner tests concepts in different situations. This experimentation leads the learner to begin the cycle

again and again”

(Jacoby, 1996, p. 10)

Active Experimentation

https://vimeo.com/67149773

Principles of Good Practice

1. Academic credit is for learning, not service2. Do not compromise academic rigor3. Set learning goals for students4. Establish criteria for the selection of community service placements5. Provide educationally-sound mechanisms to harvest the community learning6. Provide support for students to learn how to harvest the community learning7. Minimize the distinction between the student’s community learning role and the

classroom learning role8. Rethink the faculty instruction role9. Be prepared for uncertainty and variation in student learning outcomes

10. Maximize the community responsibility orientation of the course

Jeffrey Howard in Paxis I (1993)

Ways to Integrate Service Learning into Curricula

� One-time group service projects: ○ Entire class is involved in a one-time service project○ Arrangements for service projects can be made prior to the semester○ This model affords the opportunity for faculty and peer interaction

because a common service experience is shared

� Option within a course: ○ Students have the option to become involved in the community-based

project○ A portion of the normal coursework is substituted by the community-

based component (For example, a traditional research paper or group project can be replaced with an experiential research paper or personal journal that documents learning from the service experience)

Ways to Integrate Service Learning into Curricula

� Action research projects:

○ Involves students in research within the community

○ The results of the research are communicated to the agency so that it

can be used to address community needs

○ Action research and participatory action research take a significant

amount of time

○ Can support the ongoing research of faculty

� Disciplinary capstone projects:

○ Builds upon students’ cumulative knowledge in a specific discipline and

demonstrates the integration of that knowledge with real life issues

○ Students can explore ways their disciplinary expertise and

competencies translate into addressing community needs

SUNY Buffalo State’s

First Service-Learning Trip to Haiti

The Purpose of Service-Learning Trip to Haiti

� While in Haiti (experiential learning) students will engage in volunteer projects and experiences based on community needs

� Utilizing a social justice lens, prepare Buffalo State students for participation in an increasingly global society by learning the cultural norms, needs and values of Borgne

� Students will learn historical cultural, economic, political, and spiritual aspects of Haiti. In partnership with the nonprofit organization Haitian Outreach Pwoje Espwa (www.hopehaiti.org)

Intended Outcomes of the

Service-Learning Trip to Haiti

� Demonstrate enhanced civic responsibility through relationship created in the community of Borgne

� Have a daily log/blog/journal of reflections regarding traveling, meeting and working with a culture and population that is different from their own

� Have acquired practical experience in international travel and cross cultural communication that can be applied on a local and global level

� Student will acquire readiness skills, such as teamwork, leadership, and critical thinking

� Present a Powerpoint sharing specific learning experiences

Which Departments at Buffalo State Offer

Service-Learning Courses?

Visit the Volunteer Service Learning Department located in Cleveland Hall 306... � CEL 301 Community engaged learning (newest course)

� EDU 211 Introduction to Literacy. Instructor: Dr. Kim Truesdale

� SWK 319: Dynamics of Poverty. Instructor: Dr. Christopher Aviles

� COM 308: Public Relations Writing. Instructor: Dr. Deborah Silverman

� ...and more!

How Does Service-Learning Correlate to

Student Retention ?

According to the journal article titled “ The Role of Service-Learning on the Retention of First-Year Students to Second Year”...

The findings of this study confirmed the expectation that first-year students

completing a service-learning course had higher intention to re-enroll at their campus

Benefits to the Student

� It broadens perspectives and enhances critical thinking skills

� It provides guidance and experience for future career choice

� It enhances students’ self-esteem by allowing them to make a difference through their active and meaningful contributions to their communities

Benefits to the Faculty Member

� Service -learning enriches and enlivens teaching

� Faculty can enjoy a new relationship with their students and a new understanding of how learning occurs

� Applied learning enables their students to learn the course material more effectively because it shows the relevance of what their teaching in society

Learning Objectives

Recognize the framework of urgent

social necessity within which service-learning

in higher education was developed in the United

States.

Understand the general pedagogical elements

of modern service-learning.

Identify the impact of service-learning

programs in the college & university setting on

both students and served communities.

1 2 3

References

� Bandy, J.. What is Service Learning or Community Engagement? https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-through-community-engagement/#models

� Bringle, R. G., Hatcher, J. A., & Muthiah, R. N. (2010). The role of service-learning on the retention of first-year students to second year. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 16(2), 38.

� Jacoby, B. (1996). Service-Learning in Higher Education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.� Stanton, T., Giles, D., & Cruz, N. (1999). Service-Learning: A Movement’s Pioneers Reflect on Its

Origins, Practice, and Future. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.� Thelin, J.R. (2011), A History of American Higher Education (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns

Hopkins University Press.