Service Learning Project
For the final unit of the course, students are required to involve themselves in serving the commuity.
Utilizing the Placement Model, students choose from among several placements within the community. They usually work at these sites 2-3 hours per week throughout the unit. The service students provide is the conduit to their learning; they gain access to the populations or issues related to their courses and, in return, provide needed assistance to the organizations and/or their clientele.
VolunTEENS-Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo identifies options and offers opportunities for service learning.
Objectives
To enhance students' learning by enabling them to practice skills and test classroom knowledge through related service experiences in the local community.
To appreciate people from diverse backgrounds.
To exhibit a commotment to social justice.
To demonstrate a commitment to be an involved citizen.
Placement Selection
Service Learning placements are carefully chosen to complement the content. Finding these specialized placements often requires both an extensive knowledge of community organizations and a fair amount of creativity.
In addition to the sites offered by the program for this course, students are also able to locate their own placements, with the approval of the teacher (and as not to interfere with their Group Problem Solving Assignment). These are known as independent placements.
Student Placement
Student Preparation
Student Monitoring and Assisting
Reflection
Service Learning is like no academic assignment that you have had before. Through service we are asked to confront our own values and vulnerabilities, the inequality of our society, and harshness of marginalization. We will be asked to learn from the city and apply our new knowledge to coursework. Instead of only reading about theories and concepts in class, we will be asked to test, feel, and observe those concepts in real life. This new experience is bound to take you out of your comfort zone. Veteran service learning students will share some of their own reflections of how they made sense of their experience. Participants in this session will explore their own emotions, reservations, prejudices, hopes, and goals for this semester of service.
Utilizing the Placement Model, students choose from among several placements within the community. They usually work at these sites 2-3 hours per week throughout the unit. The service students provide is the conduit to their learning; they gain access to the populations or issues related to their courses and, in return, provide needed assistance to the organizations and/or their clientele.
VolunTEENS-Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo identifies options and offers opportunities for service learning.
Objectives
To enhance students' learning by enabling them to practice skills and test classroom knowledge through related service experiences in the local community.
To appreciate people from diverse backgrounds.
To exhibit a commotment to social justice.
To demonstrate a commitment to be an involved citizen.
Placement Selection
Service Learning placements are carefully chosen to complement the content. Finding these specialized placements often requires both an extensive knowledge of community organizations and a fair amount of creativity.
In addition to the sites offered by the program for this course, students are also able to locate their own placements, with the approval of the teacher (and as not to interfere with their Group Problem Solving Assignment). These are known as independent placements.
Student Placement
- Inform students about placement possibilities
- Match students with a school or agency that provides service experiences complementing material learned in class
Student Preparation
- Familiarize students with the Service Learning Program
- Orient them to their placement site
- Instruct them in the tasks they will be performing
Student Monitoring and Assisting
- Insure that students get to placement sites and fulfill their service commitment
- Provide an avenue for students to address placement-related problems
- Enable students to reflect on service learning experience.
Reflection
Service Learning is like no academic assignment that you have had before. Through service we are asked to confront our own values and vulnerabilities, the inequality of our society, and harshness of marginalization. We will be asked to learn from the city and apply our new knowledge to coursework. Instead of only reading about theories and concepts in class, we will be asked to test, feel, and observe those concepts in real life. This new experience is bound to take you out of your comfort zone. Veteran service learning students will share some of their own reflections of how they made sense of their experience. Participants in this session will explore their own emotions, reservations, prejudices, hopes, and goals for this semester of service.
