M02-1: SL and Practice

How to bring “Service Learning” in practice?

A) Clarifying

1. Brainstorm: collecting ideas (teachers and learners)

Define the problem (definition phase)

Discuss the problem grounded by information (information phase)

Concreate the problem (new-definition phase)

Concreate ideas (idea phase)

Sort in categories (examination phase)

2. Partner Search: identifying and finding cooperation partners (agencies, grants, institutions, local partners etc.)

3. Curriculum: clarifying the connecting between current and former seminars, expected learning outcome and study aims

B) Setting the primary focus

What should be reached: what are the resources of the group, their prior experiences, their knowledge –> what can be reached?

(e.g. overcoming the theory-practice-gap, supporting to be a participating member of the society, democracy, scientific knowledge, social competences live-long-learning, planning skills, building relationships, getting research results, supporting critical thinking, problem-solving, offering job chances, see M02-2: Service Learning in Educational Domains.

“academic expectancies” (learning growth)

“service expectancies” (social effect)

“Personal growth expectancies” (personal competence gain)

Course:

Give the three months course a structure and keep the Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice in mind (M02-3).

Introductory workshop/seminar (clarifying frame, organisational aspects, scientific and social context: practical aspects / scientific aspects / social aspects)

Connection and trust building to the cooperation partners (getting to know new social fields and acting adequate)

Encouraging active role of the learners (acting, responsibility, problem solving, experiencing something new)

Encouraging teamwork of the learners (sensible in between the students working group and in between the service giver/taker-connection, avoiding disappointing and in transparent events)

Encouraging meta reflection (exploration of the reasons for the main problem and concrete raising problems; bringing the own role, points of views, problems to mind)

Evaluating the pedagogical win, effects, problems of the project (drawing a balance)

Here an overview:

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2f/b3/7e/2fb37e69e503afc8864a0a0cbb7e923f--school-volunteers-student-volunteer.jpg