Reflection Of Service Learning

It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).

The critical difference of service learning and the traditional learning style is that students are learning and addressing real needs in the community. Which connect students to the community through meaningful interactions with others, safety, and educational needs. This specific course includes readings, discussions, and activities to support

Before deciding where I wanted to do my service learning, I knew I wanted to do something that had some relevance to my degree that I will be receiving in healthcare management. I was eager to gain more experience and become more knowledgeable of how an organization operates as it relates to healthcare management. I was able to secure an opportunity to volunteer at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. After completing the required VA forms, I got partnered with Mr. Alonzo Price Jr. who is a Management Analyst in Ambulatory Care, which is the department that oversees the Primary Care Providers.

I did not know what service-learning was until I read the articles assigned for class. The articles along with going to the Harpers Ferry Job Corps orientation really showed me what it was all about. The reading and the class presentation have challenged my first thoughts by giving me a better understanding of what service learning is. Service-learning goes a couple of miles further than community service. Service-learning allows students to help the community, as well as learn about something. For example, my Education class is going to be tutoring students at Job Corps. Our class is providing the Harpers Ferry community a free service of tutoring to those who need it while hopefully my peers and I will gain a solid understanding of what it would be like to teach one-on-one. Service-learning has three main components: community service, instruction, and reflection. Those components work well together and make service-learning seem like the perfect answer to helping education grow into a more progressive way. However, students need to have a high responsibility, they have to take the initiative, as well as make choices. If students do not do that, the success of service-learning will be lacking.

“Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities” (Learn and Serve America National Service-Learning Clearinghouse). This assignment gave students the opportunity to go outside of their comfort zone, which is typically the classroom and see what the “real world” is like. As Gandhi would say “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” (Gandhi). I believe that this project really allowed us to appreciate what we have because many people are not as fortunate. During this service learning project I had certain expectations going into the project, but in the end, my results were not exactly as I expected.

My service learning experience opened my eyes to many new ideas and supported the information that I have been learning in class. For my service learning, I went to West Elementary school and worked in an all girls first grade classroom. West is located in a very urban neighborhood right outside of East Lansing. In the beginning of my service learning, I was in culture shock due to the size of the school, make up of the students/teachers, and the social economic status of the students. All of these components were drastically different from the school I came from. At first, I didn’t know what to think of the school or students, but I eventually realized that their goals and priorities were different from the elementary school I went to. The three main concepts that stuck out to me during my service learning experience include, the social construction of gender, special and gifted education, and funding.

I was assigned to work for America Learns at an elementary school in Roxbury for my service learning placement. America Learns works with students from kindergarten to third grade, the program is structured to offer both tutoring and an additional activity each session. The activity is intended to teach the children critical thinking skills, diversity and cultural awareness, and experiential learning, as well as help to improve basic reading skills. Twice a week each tutor works with a student through the entire program, both homework help, and the activity. The goal is that throughout the weeks of the program the tutor and student will build a relationship that benefits both parties involved.

The research is based on two different groups of service learners that work with different types of people: one with elderly and one with disabled individuals. Although the study takes both groups into consideration, the results are the same in that service learners gained greater appreciation of diversity and a greater level of responsibility. And the exchange of knowledge, which allows service learners to recognize the contributions they make, motivates and inspires them. Nancy Laplante talks about service learning and reciprocity as the key term in her article about the study with nursing students. She says, “every individual, organization, and entity involved in service-learning functions as both a teacher and a learner” (Laplante, 6) by depicting the mutually beneficial environment that service learning creates. Students learn and improve while sharing their experiences while the communities serve well by taking advantage of service learners’

The service learning projects were able to be a new experience for me since I have never done volunteer work in my life. I have never volunteered at a church or for the homeless population here in Las Vegas. I have never even volunteered for any event so this was definitely like a whole new world to me. At first it was an irritation because you have to fill out volunteer forms and find somewhere that fits within your schedule, but I made it work, the experiences were definitely something that I had many thoughts about and different reactions to while I was being a volunteer. I appreciate the experience even though I have definitely come to the conclusion that volunteering for the homeless population is not something I enjoy doing,

As a service learning coordinator, I worked with faculty to implement service learning in the classroom by helping teachers develop and adapt current curriculum, lead and co-teach classroom lessons, educate and train faculty in the field of service-learning. In addition, my role was to serve as community liaison for the purpose of identifying sites for individual student’s service-learning placements and larger, multi-student project sites. I worked with local businesses and community leaders interested in exploring new ways to connect students with the community and bring the community into the public school

“Service Learning is a form of practical experience that enhances learning in all areas of a nursing program, and the experience of service learning reinforces the moral and civic values inherent in serving others (Ferris State University School of Nursing, 2015, p. 1). Consequently, to enhance my learning I completed my service learning at the Interprofessional Wellness Clinic, which focuses on diabetes education at Ferris State University. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to reflect in detail about my service learning experiences and how this service learning helped me achieve the nursing BSN program outcomes.

According to Kathleen Flecky and Lynn Gitlow, service-learning is defined as, “learning that occurs in experiences, reflection, and civic engagement” (Flecky & Gitlow, 2011). In recent years more universities are implementing service learning into their curriculum. A key concept of service learning is civic responsibility. Civic responsibility can simply be defined as your responsibilities as a citizen. As will be shown later in this paper, service learning can have many benefits not only to a student, but also to the community members

Making volunteering a requirement can set many up for failure and service learning’s initial goals of providing a charitable commitment in exchange for a viable learning experience can become threatened if the experience is forced. People should consider service-learning as an option only if individuals have the time and possess the want to contribute.

Working to improve the lives of others is often noted as one of the most remarkable ways to improve one’s own life. It is important to understand that service learning is a not a new method of education, although it has grown and developed quite a bit over the years. The benefits of service learning are countless. It is an undeniably constructive effort for people of all ages to participate in. Exposing these types of activities on youth is particularly helpful to those individuals in myriad ways. Discovering the ability to improve something else while also benefitting yourself and untold amounts of other people can change a person’s entire perspective on life. Implementing this type of learning into more schools would allow these types of

As a student, I have become more aware of the needs of my community. I have always worked at being active in my community to help those in need. Most of my volunteer work revolved around collecting donations and lending a helping hand at shelters. My volunteer work did not usually involve an academic base. I was not concerned with the ins and outs of why homelessness was a problem or the difficulty women faced finding assistance to escape abusive relationships. I just knew the shelters were always in need of donations and that is where I found myself helping most. In this paper, I will describe a personal experience I have had with service learning. I will also select one service learning idea from the National Student Nurses’ Association planning guideline that interests me and describe how this type of experience will enhance my nursing student experience.