for
Fullerton College
:www.fullcoll.edu
321
E. Chapman Ave
Fullerton,
CA 92832
(714)
992-7000
Table of
Contents
Service learning is
receiving unprecedented recognition for its value to students, higher
education, and community. Service learning programs consist of four main
elements: the student, the college instructor, the service learning program
staff, and the community. The importance of the community service site cannot
be underestimated. In fact, successful service learning is largely dependent
on the level of partnership and collaboration between community agency and
educational institution.
This handbook is about understanding and developing this critical
partnership. This requires a considerable commitment of time, resources, and
effort on our part; however, the results for your agency, the service learning
students and our community can be dramatic
and transformative.
Please review this handbook
carefully as it is the first step in the process of becoming a service
learning partner and placement site.
EXPECTATIONS
OF SERVICE LEARNING AGENCIES
Being
a service-learning placement site is not for every agency. Our experience has
shown that a high quality placement depend on the following five critical
areas. We ask that you keep these things in mind as you consider service learning opportunities for Fullerton College
students.
1.
WHAT KIND OF ORIENTATION / TRAINING IS PROVIDED?
·
Is it structured? Comprehensive? Well organized?
·
Are any written materials provided?
·
Will the student understand the agency’s mission and
how his/her service learning assignment will contribute to that mission?
·
Will student feel welcome and appreciated?
·
Will students be encouraged to bring a copy of the course
assignment?
2.
TYPE AND QUALITY OF SUPERVISION
·
Will the student feel comfortable and be encouraged to
talk/share issues and problems with the agency supervisor?
·
Does the supervisor view him/herself as a “partner in
education”?
·
Will other agency staff understand the role of the
service as a part of curriculum?
·
Will staff be friendly and help make the student feel
comfortable?
·
Will staff be committed to assisting students in creating
an academically relevant/significant experience?
3.
RECOGNITION
·
What will the agency do to show appreciation to the
student?
4.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
·
Will the student be challenged to learn from the
experience?
·
Will the experience strengthen the student’s commitment
to service and the community involvement?
·
Will the student gain a better understanding of the
relationship between service and citizenship?
5.
ASSESSMENT
·
Will the agency staff demonstrate flexibility to adapt
procedures/policies in effort to increase program success?
·
Will the agency be willing to participate in program and
student assessment?
·
Will the staff be willing to engage in ongoing dialogue
with the course instructor?
·
Service learning uses community service
as the vehicle for students to reach their academic goals and objectives by
integrating learning objectives with community needs.
·
Service learning is integrated into the academic
curriculum and provides structured opportunities for students to reflect
critically on their experience through a mix of writing, reading, speaking,
listening, and group activities.
·
Service learning provides students with
opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life
situations in their own communities.
·
Service learning fosters a sense of caring for others and
a commitment to civic responsibility.
·
Service learning is based on a
reciprocal relationship in which the service reinforces and strengthens the
learning, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service.
·
The combination of focusing on meeting community needs,
identifying learning objectives, and intentionally
reflecting on what is being learned makes service learning unique and
fundamentally different from community service, volunteerism, and experiential
education.
·
Community service
helps meet community needs through volunteer efforts. While meeting these
needs, service learning also allows students to use the service experience as
a foundation to better understand the curricular objectives of the course.
·
The goal of service learning is to educate those who
serve. This is not necessarily the goal of
volunteerism, community service, or experiential education.
·
Service learning gives academic credit
for demonstrating learning achieved through the service, not just for putting
in hours.
SERVICE LEARNING:
RECIPROCITY
The
service and learning must be worthwhile for both the student and the community
agency. There must be a mutual engagement between the server and those served.
DEVELOPMENT
Service
learning occurs in different stages: from observation, to experience, to
mastery, to leadership.
MEANINGFUL SERVICE
Service
tasks need to be relevant and challenging in order to strengthen students'
critical thinking.
DIVERSITY
Service
learning students are challenged to interact with a broad cross-section of the
population within the community.
REFLECTION
Intentional, systematic reflection about the experience must take place in order to accomplish course objectives.
SERVICE LEARNING REDEFINES THE CLASSROOM PARADIGM
From the concrete product of Å-------------------------Æ
To a continuous circle of traditional silos of activity
learning that integrates key
spheres of
influence & activity
The CLASSROOM
is seen as the physical space on the college campus.
EThe Student -
is a passive participant in the classroom setting with limited input into
what shapes
the
learning environment.
EThe Faculty Member -
is
the knowledge expert & authority figure with control over the inputs
that
shape the learning environment.
EThe Community -
contribution
to the learning environment is extremely limited with total
dependence on the faculty member through invited presentations or
perhaps being
part of a community advisory group for specific college programs.
EThe Institutional role -
is
one of support and policy with limited actual impact on what shapes
the learning environment.
From
To
È
The
CLASSROOM is seen as a circle of learning, that places equal value on the
knowledge that
each
key member brings to the learning environment. It is not constrained by
physical space nor location.
It requires different contributions and roles from key
players.
EThe Student - must become an active learner contributing to the
learning of every other
member of the class.
EThe Faculty - member must become the
facilitator of this learning
environment in a manner
that aggressively
maintains academic rigor.
EThe Community - must become an integral co-instructor for the student, deeply
committed
to the student's learning.
EThe Institution -
must
become an active collaborator with the community to identify
appropriate community needs and issues and then connect them with the
academic curriculum.
All Service Learning Programs are Composed of the Following Roles:
v
Service learning enriches student learning of course
material by moving them from the margin of the classroom experience to the
center. It “brings books to life and life to books.”
v
It
enhances critical thinking skills and broadens perspectives.
v
Students come to see the relevance and importance of
academic work in their real-life experience.
v
It improves interpersonal and human relations skill which
are increasingly viewed as the most important skill in achieving success in
professional and personal spheres.
v
It
provides guidance and experience for future career choice.
v
It enhances students’ self-esteem by allowing them to
“make a difference” through their active and meaningful participation to
their communities.
v
Service learning initiatives provide the community with
substantial human resources to meet its educational, human, safety, and
environmental needs. The talent, energy and enthusiasm of our college students
are applied to meet these ever-increasing needs.
v
Community agencies gain the opportunity to participate in
an educational partnership.
v
Service
learning creates a spirit of civic responsibility that replaces the current
state of dependence on government programs and altruism by the experts. It
results in a renewed sense of community and encourages participatory
democracy.
v
Many students commit to a lifetime of volunteering after
this experience, creating a democracy of participation.
v
Service
learning supports the Fullerton College mission, philosophy, and strategic
goals, especially those relating to the development of partnerships with the
larger community and the promotion of public relations and community
development.
v
Service
learning improves student readiness for transfer and/or employment.
v
The tracking of students who participate in service learning
programs shows an increase in student satisfaction and retention.
v
Service learning changes our role from the expert to the
resource, and with that change we enjoy a new relationship with our students
and a new understanding of how learning occurs.
v
As we connect the community with the curriculum, we become
more aware of current societal issues as they relate to our academic areas of
interest.
v
Service learning enriches and enlivens teaching by helping
students move from being passive recipients of information to those who are
actively engaged in the learning process by helping students master course
content, and by increasing course retention rates.
v
We identify new areas for research and publication and thus
increase our opportunities for contribution to the profession.
THE MECHANICS OF SERVICE LEARNING
Faculty members incorporate a
service leaning component within their class curriculum. Service learning offers
a continuum of possibilities ranging from a one time service experience (e.g., a
half day beach clean-up), to working with the same agency for 2-4 hours a week
over the course of a semester (e.g., tutoring at risk youth one afternoon a week
for 12-13 weeks). The range of appropriate placements is guided by the learning
objectives of the particular course. For example, helping a YMCA
increase the number of children served would be a very appropriate placement for
a marketing class, while tutoring at-risk-youth would not.
The faculty member sets a minimum
number of hours to be completed and develops a reflective component that
may include assignments such as journals, readings, class discussions, writing
assignments, class presentations, and group activities about the service
experience.
At the beginning of each
semester, the faculty member introduces the service learning component to his or
her class. Students fill out necessary forms for placements and are given
information about placement options. Students
choose one of these “approved” placements based on their interests,
schedule, and location. Contact is then made with the agency. At the end
of the semester, the instructor disseminates assessment forms to his/her
students and participating agency(ies).
Because the service is
integrated into the class structure, students must be able to complete their
placement within the semester time frame (14 weeks, maximum). Although the fall
and spring semesters are 18 weeks long, it takes a couple of weeks to get
students assigned, oriented, and started. In addition, the last week is devoted
to exams. Agencies are asked to adjust by scheduling orientations and training
at the beginning of each semester and by developing placements that can be
completed in one semester. Below is an overview of the Fullerton College
academic calendar indicating when classes begin and end. (Remember, student
placements generally begin during the second and third weeks of the semester,
and end one week prior to the completion of the semester.)
If
scheduled, attend an agency service learning training session.
