on Mar 19th, 2008Definitions
Basic Definitions
Volunteerism: This term is typically used to describe people who of their own free will and without pay perform some service or good work. This can be done on a regular or sporadic basis with community groups, faith organizations, schools or other organizations.
Community Service: Strictly defined community service simply means organized volunteering which meets the needs of the community. The service benefits the community agency or individuals in the community and is most often done through non-profit organizations, schools and public agencies.
Community-Based Learning: A term for any learning experience that occurs in the community and does not include community service. Common forms of community based learning are internships, co-ops, apprenticeships and other experiential education which, although they have no formal service purpose, offer important experiences for students to master skills within a real life setting.
Service Learning: Service learning relies on an innovative method of teaching and learning that integrates community service activities into academic curricula. Within service learning, classroom studies complement service within the community and enable students to reflect and lead to the addressing of local and national problems. A service learning curriculum enlarges the learning arena of students from the classroom to the community. Coordinated and thoughtful activities encourage students to reflect on issues in ways that permit them to use their academic skills to deliver effective service to the community. Thus, allowing service learning to transform students from passive learners of information into active learners, and community members, whose responsible actions and service efforts renew and change the landscape of their communities. Service learning not only changes the way students learn, but it changes society’s view of education and service. In this sense, service learning is a philosophy of education and service to the community.
Six Models for Service Learning
The following is excerpted from Heffernan, Kerrissa. Fundamentals of Service-Learning Course Construction. RI: Campus Compact, 2001 pp. 2-7, 9.
1) “Pure” Service-Learning:– These are courses that send students out into the community to serve. At the intellectual core of these courses lies the idea of service to communities by students as active and engaged citizens. Typically, they are not lodged in one specific discipline.
2) Discipline-Based Service-Learning: In this model, students are expected to have a
presence in the community throughout the semester using course content as a basis for their analysis and understanding.
3) Problem-Based Service-Learning (PBSL): According to this model, students (or teams of students) relate to the community much as “consultant” working for a “client”. Students work with community members to understand a particular community problem or need. This model presumes that the students will have some knowledge they can draw upon to make recommendations to the community or develop a solution to the problem.
4) Capstone Courses: These courses ask students to draw upon the knowledge they have obtained throughout their course work and combine it with relevant service work in the community. Capstone courses offer an excellent way to help students make the transition from the world of theory to the world of practice by gathering experience and making professional contacts.
5) Service Internships: Like traditional internships, these experiences are more intense than typical service learning courses, with students working as many as 10-20 hours per week in a community setting. Unlike traditional internships, however, service internships have regular and ongoing reflective opportunities that help students analyze their new experiences using discipline-based theories. Service internships are further distinguished from traditional internships by their focus on reciprocity: the idea that the student and the community organization benefit equally from the experience.
6) Undergraduate Community-Based Action Research: A relatively new approach that is gaining popularity, community-based action research is similar to an independent study option for students who are highly experienced in community work. In this model, students work closely with faculty members to learn research methodology while serving
as advocates for the community by meeting their identified research needs.
