for
Fullerton College
:www.fullcoll.edu
321
E. Chapman Ave
Fullerton,
CA 92832
(714)
992-7000
Formatted
by Nanci Schrieber-Smith
Table of
Contents
| Take a Moment to Consider the Following | |
| Introduction | |
| What Is Service Learning? | |
| Service Learning Benefits | |
| How Do I Get Started? | |
| Keys To Success | |
| Student Comments About Service Learning |
TAKE A MOMENT TO CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING:
Consider your answers to these questions as you read this
handbook and as you engage in your service learning experience!
1.
What is the best way to really learn and remember
something?
2.
How can you get the most out of this class and make a big
difference in the community at
the
same time?
3.
Are you
interested in:
v
Motivating
yourself to be a more successful student?
v
Learning
course material in a new and interesting way?
v
Retaining
information that you have learned in your courses?
v
Understanding
the connection between what you are learning in your
courses and the real
world?
v
Gaining
invaluable job experience?
v
Exploring
your intended major or career?
v
Helping
to make a difference in the community?
4. What does civic responsibility mean to you?
DID YOU KNOW?
·
The
average American watches four hours of TV a day.
·
Americans
are less likely to vote, serve on a PTA, or be involved with the
community groups than they were 30 years ago.
and
DID YOU
KNOW?
There are over 150 agencies
in Orange County that want your help!
Welcome to service learning at Fullerton College. Service learning is about helping you master course content and explore the needs of your community. Although we realize that your service-learning project will require you to place yourself in an environment that may be new to you, we can almost guarantee you that you are about to embark upon an experience that will make a major contribution to your learning. You will be joining thousands of college and university students all over the United States who are involved in service projects designed to enhance classroom learning, foster civic responsibility, and meet community needs. It is very important that you review this handbook carefully as it will guide you through the experience, as well as provide you with answers to frequently asked questions.
On
behalf of Fullerton College, the service learning program, and the agencies you
will be assisting, we offer our appreciation and encouragement.
“I was taught that . . . service is the rent each of us pays for living – the very purpose of life and not
something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal
goals.”
-Marian Wright Edelman
Director, Children’s Defense Fund
Service learning is the process
of integrating community service, combined with active guided reflection, into
the curriculum to enhance and enrich student learning of course material.
Service learning is now a national movement and is utilized in the majority of
colleges and universities in the United States.
Service
learning builds on the tradition of activism which was popular in the 1960s but
which greatly subsided during the 1970s and 1980s. The tradition of volunteer
service saw a rebirth in the late 1980s as cultural, educational, and civic
leaders challenged higher education to fulfill its historic mission to promote
civic responsibility. Many colleges accepted this challenge and created a
support network (Campus Compact) to develop and promote service learning as a
pedagogical strategy.
The
philosophical antecedent and academic parent of service learning is experiential
learning. As in all types of experiential learning such as cooperative
education, internships, and field placements, service learning directly engages
the learner in the phenomena being studied with the hope that richer learning
will result. The critical difference and distinguishing characteristic of
service learning is its twofold emphasis on both enriching student learning and
revitalizing the community.
To
accomplish this, effective service learning initiatives involve students in
course-relevant activities which address the real human, safety, educational,
and environmental needs of the community. Students’ course materials such as
texts, lectures, discussions, and reflection inform their service, and the
service experience is brought back to the classroom to inform the academic
dialogue end the quest for knowledge. This reciprocal process is based on the
logical continuity between experience and knowledge.
The
pedagogy of service learning represents a substantial change from the
traditional lecture driven, content based, and faculty centered curriculum.
Despite the fact that research has shown that we remember only 10% of what we
hear, 15% of what we see, and a mere 20% of what we see and hear, these remain
the basic sense modalities stimulated in most educational experiences. Service
learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we
do with active guided reflection, and 90% of what we teach or give to others.
It views education as a process of living, not a preparation for life. It
also rejects the notion that students are empty vessels waiting to be filled. In
a culture characterized by information overload, effective teaching must
encourage information processing as well as accumulation. In a complex society,
it is almost impossible to determine what information is necessary to solve a
particular problem. All too often the content students learn in class is
obsolete by the time they’ve finished their degree. With this in mind, it
seems much more important to “light the fire” than to “fill the bucket.”
Service
learning does this by providing students with real-life, meaningful experiences
that, by their very nature, force critical thinking. In service, students
encounter events that may conflict with their assumptions. They deal with issues
or incidents that challenge their competency or understanding. These experiences
create perplexity or dissonance, which is often the beginning of learning.
In
service learning courses, real life comes tumbling into the classroom as
students’ service experiences provide the content for purposeful dialogue
leading to real understanding of academic concepts. Unlike most pedagogy which
are deductive, relying on presenting theory and then encouraging application to
specifics, service learning is more inductive, using experience provided by
students to lead to conceptual or theoretical understanding.
Service learning is best
understood in the context of a continuous learning cycle where meaning is
creating through concrete experience, reflection or assimilation, abstract
conceptualization or theory building, and active experimentation or problem
solving.
Learning
is not a predictable linear process. It may begin at any point in the cycle.
Students may have to apply their limited knowledge in a service situation before
consciously setting out to gain or comprehend a body of facts related to that
situation. The discomfort experiences from the lack of knowledge may encourage
further a accumulation of facts or the development or changing of a personal
theory for future application. To assure that this kind of learning takes place
however, skilled guidance in reflection on the experience must occur. This
facilitation of reflection is the critical responsibility of the service
learning teacher.
Based
on the belief that learning is the constant restructuring of experience, service
learning exemplifies the continuity that exists between experience and
knowledge. By providing students the opportunity to have a concrete experience
and then assisting them in the intellectual processing of this experience,
service learning not only take advantage of the natural learning cycle, but also
allows students to provide a meaningful contribution to the community. This
twofold emphasis on both learning and civic responsibility is the overall
objective of the strategy, and our success in meeting this objective leads to
the fulfillment of the general mission of higher education.
ACTIVE LEARNING: The best way to learn is through
active participation.
v
only 10%
of what we hear
v
only 15%
of what we see
v
and only
a mere 20% of what we see and hear
Yet
we retain>>>>>>>
v
60% of
what we do
v
80% of
what we do with active, guided reflection
v
and 90%
of what we teach or give to others.
CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY:
Our country was
founded on an ethic of service. The health of our democracy depends on service
and community involvement. Working toward the common good is something we must
all practice.
Global Responsibility: Service learning develops and
individual’s understanding of,
and
commitment to, . . . “an awareness of our obligations in the global
environment.”
-Fullerton College Mission Statement
Critical Thinking: Service learning enhances
critical thinking skills and broadens
perspectives
by asking students to negotiate the meaning of an unmediated experience.
Relevancy: Students come to see the relevance and importance
of academic work in
their
real-live experience.
Communication Skills: Service learning improves
interpersonal and human relationship
skills
which are increasingly viewed as the most important skills at achieving success
in
professional and personal spheres.
Career Development: Service learning provides
guidance and experience for future
career
choice.
Professional
Networking: Service learning
students network within professional
communities and gain meaningful
work experience.
A.
TALK TO YOUR PROFESSOR
1.
What are the deadlines?
2.
How many hours are required?
3.
How will the service learning be assessed (journals,
class presentations,
class
discussions, reading assignments, etc.)?
4.
Which agencies are approved for this class (your service
experience must
be
related to your class)?
SERVICE
LEARNING SITE
1.
Choose a service learning site if your instructor has not
done so for the
class already. If choosing your
own site, review the list of service learning sites provided on the Fullerton
College service learning website at www.fullcoll.edu. The list of agencies can
be found by clicking on “departments” when on the home page. Next, click on
“service learning” which will bring you to the service learning page where
you will see “service learning agency directory.” This is the list you want
to access to research different agencies. Carefully read all the information
about agencies you are interested in—including “minimum requirements” and
“hours needed.”
C. MAKE
CONTACT WITH THE AGENCY
1.
If
placing yourself at an agency, identify yourself as a Fullerton College
service
learning student and clarify any questions you may have and
provide
any related information to the agency about the service
learning
assignment.
2.
Take any
necessary forms with you to the service site, as guided by
your
instructor.
3.
Turn in
all required forms and materials to your instructor by their
assigned
deadlines!
4.
GET
STARTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,
as a successful service learning experience sometimes requires changes
and amendments that only time can help facilitate.
 |
KEEP
TRACK OF YOUR HOURS,
AND
COMMUNICATE REGULARLY WITH YOUR
SUPERVISOR AND YOUR INSTRUCTOR.
1.
If part of a semester-long service learning project, fill
out the
“ Service Learning Hour
Report” to record your hours. You must turn this in to your instructor by the
deadline.
2. Have your supervisor complete the “Agency Evaluation of
Student” form.
E.
PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAM
ASSESSMENT
1.Fill out assessment forms as given to you by your instructor.
2.Be sure that participating agency is given all assessment forms to fill
out
before
the end of the semester.
 |
v
Procrastinating when setting up your service will almost
always result in an
unsuccessful
service learning experience. Proactivity means taking charge of
your
own experience. You are responsible for making your experience one
that
is meaningful, positive, and allows you to learn course material.
v
If you are bored, feel like your aren’t doing something
worthwhile, or are in
any
way dissatisfied with your service, immediately talk to your supervisor
candidly
to resolve the problem, as 99% of the issues you might face can be
solved
with open and frank discussion.
v
Keep your instructor abreast of any changes, challenges
or concerns you have
about
your service.
v
The
agency is counting on you, so don’t let them down!
v
Treat your service learning assignment like a job:
*Be
prompt for your interview/orientation.
*Set
up a schedule and stick to it.
*Call your supervisor ahead of
time if you can’t attend—and arrange
to
make up the missed hours.
v
Remember
that as a service learning student you are representing:
yourselfŽyour instructorŽ the service learning program ŽFullerton College
v
If you drop the class or stop doing your service for any
reason, please inform
both
the agency and your instructor.
About Their Service Learning Experience
When
prompted to reflect anonymously on their service learning project, here is what
a few students
chose to say:
I would describe service learning as:
…priceless lifelong learning.
…a great tool in education.
…productive! It
teaches you a lot more about the real world than any
classroom
will.
Students chose their service learning reflection essay as their favorite
essay project because:
…I learned the most.
It made me apply what I want to do in the future.
…it really stirred a sense of further commitment and
involvement within
my
community.
…I really enjoyed the service I did and when you write
about something
you
enjoy or are interested in it makes the paper more fun.
…it allowed me to dig deep within my soul to find a true
answer to a
major obstacle
in life. I came face-to-face with a
dilemma that really
touched my
heart and allowed me to find a way to contribute to its
solution.
Perhaps [I’ve found a] purpose in life!
…it enabled me to do service for a kindergarten class,
which I would not
have done on
my own so soon in my curriculum.
…I learned so much and was so relieved I volunteered.
I felt I was so
needed and I
was actually excited about writing the essay, which is
strange.
…not
only is it research, but I got to interact with my research.