Service Learning Experience

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.

Domain 2: Effective Practice to Know and Understand Culture Candidates know, understand, and use the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to the nature and role of culture and cultural groups to construct learning environments that support ESOL students’ cultural identities, language and literacy development, and content area achievement. It is imperative that effective teachers bring understanding of other cultures into their classrooms and celebrate them. By learning more about other ethnicities and modeling respect towards other cultures, teachers can promote understanding, compassion and appreciation for differences among students. This will create a classroom climate that includes every student and enhance student achievement.

When I began my Civics class, thinking it potentially difficult and boring, I did not initially look forward to this project. However, as I did each activity, I found myself enjoying each and every one. From sitting in a board meeting to collecting trash, I discovered something new in all of the ways I volunteered. Not only did the people I volunteered for gain something through my service, but I feel that I gained a lot as well.

In the summer of 2014, I started as a volunteer tutor for the Youth Tutoring Program

For the Service Learning Assignment, I decided to volunteer at Northwind Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. My current interest is working in the medical field that deals with babies. The service learning placement that best fit my schedule was Northwind Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. This organization works with mostly senior citizens that need special care at all times. There were times where individuals that were not senior citizens that came there because it is not strictly a nursing home. The residents are not able to care for themselves and need constant supervision to ensure their safety. Some of the resident may require physical therapy. My responsibilities was to interact with the different residents on each visit and complete

Service Learning is an educational strategy set in place to enlighten students with instruction and experience, in addition to improve learning , teach responsibility, and support the community. Service learning is vital to the development of the student, given that it intertwines academic and personal development together. It is aimed to enhance a student’s learning in all aspects of life.

Villegas suggests six qualities leaders should implement to respond effectively to the increase of diverse populations. First, teachers must understand how learners construct knowledge. The best ways teachers can achieve this concept is by helping these students bridge the gaps in what they already know about a topic and what they need to learn about it. Next, the teacher should learn about the students’ lives. When teachers know the cultural makeup of their students they can assess their prior knowledge of a subject. Teachers must also be socioculturally conscious, meaning the awareness that a person 's worldview is not universal but is profoundly influenced by life experiences, as mediated by a variety of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, and social class (Villegas & Lucas, 2007). Many teachers see students of diverse cultures as not being able to achieve. Villegas (2007) suggests teachers should see students from an affirming perspective and truly respect cultural differences. If teachers can set their differences aside their students will have better ways to communicate and succeed. It is important for teachers to use appropriate instructional strategies to help English language learners. They can give these students with material in their native language, provide graphic organizers, and hands on activities to help assist these students. Lastly, teachers need to advocate for these

For this service learning project, my group and I organized a goods drive. We placed donation boxes around Denton for art-therapy supplies. The group also held an event on November 6, 2017, at Texas Woman’s University to encourage students to make donations. All the donations went to the Child Advocacy Center in Denton; this organization provides assistance to children that have been victims of physical or sexual abuse. This service learning project relates to the theories and ideas in chapter 13 and chapter 14 of Women’s Lives: A Psychological Exploration. Chapter 13 relates to mental health, and it signifies the importance of social support during stressful

The next visit to service learning was in the afternoon. We had lots of activity. I spent outside with children and the wether was sunny and good for kids to get more vitamin D. We really enjoyed played around. One of the kids was so sweet and stay beside me all the time and asked me to play with him, I just felt happy and how simple that kids. They did not have resentment, hatred, and envy. Furthermore, It takes a lot out of me dealing with children because I have to remember they are not adults.

My service learning project is about helping my community by volunteering at my local pumpkin patch with my nana. My nana asked one day if I could help with something and I said okay and come to find out I was helping at the pumpkin patch. I started Volunteering when I was 16 and I helped by driving the train around for the kids to ride in, put the pumpkins where they needed to go, and be a cashier. I absolutely love helping out there because I got to meet new people and see the faces of little kids smile every time they saw a pumpkin. What I learned from working there was how to be a cashier which I have never done before and also learn how to be more involved with my community by meeting new people. I feel so happy and grateful knowing that

It is paramount as educators to sustain a commitment to service learning, as it has the potential for personalised and professional development (Spencer, Cox-Peterson & Crawford 2005). Spencer, Cox-Peterson & Crawford (2005) highlighted the benefits of integrating service learning into pre-service and current teacher education as prudently planned service learning projects contribute to superior teacher learning and growth of primary aged students.

In the research of how service-learning impacts student academic achievement, there are terms that will need to be explained in order to understand why and the need for service-learning. Because there are many facets of service learning throughout the nation’s high schools and districts, having the understanding of the terms is helpful in completing the research.

Everyone knows that children will run the future, that the present day youth will soon be leading our country and our world. However, if everyone has heard this and knows it to be true, why are we not giving them the best education we can? If children are going to run the future, they should learn the necessary skills to do so. Kids are like sponges, whatever they learn while young, they will soak up and use forever. Essentially, we are reaping what we sow. Children need guidance and role models if they are going to be successful in the future. The Boys and Girls club is founded on that very belief. That not only are all children important and special in their own ways, that they will use their unique talents to shape the future. By teaching them critical skills at a young age, then they can use them later on in life. I did my Service Learning Experience at the Boys and Girls club at Paradise Intermediate School. I will be illustrating the different aspects of my time there, and how they relate to the class itself.

Over the past decade multicultural demands at educational institutions have increased, with over 6.3 million students having English as their second language and 13 million students living in poverty (Assaf, Garza & Battle, 2010). This has caused educators working in kindergarten through 12th grade to assess their teaching styles, bringing culture to the forefront of the classroom.

Education is one of the most important factors in every person’s life regardless of where they’re from, their race, or their culture. Becoming educated not only makes life easier for us but also can help people become more successful in all things. However with so many people of various races, ethnicities and backgrounds in the United States it is difficult to create an education system that attends to each student’s individual culture. Ones own culture influences their actions and lifestyle, therefore this can create conflict if it is different from their schools cultural teaching style. Multicultural and multilingual classrooms have become the norm in many educational and professional settings throughout the U.S. because of changing immigration patterns caused by globalization (Institute for Educational Leadership, p. 2). For teachers today, it is essential to understand the role of culture and have the ability to interact interculturally in the classroom to create an effective learning environment. Analyzing cultural issues or differences can help teachers to understand some of the unconscious processes that shape individuals’ actions and interactions, as well as their language use and communication. “Teachers who understand cultural diversity…are more likely to be successful in their multicultural classrooms” (Samovar, Pg.2).