Service-Learning

Service-Learning Program

What Is Service-Learning?

The Service-Learning Program provides consultation to faculty on using service-learning and community-engaged learning in classes, and serves to connect the community (nonprofit, public, and at times the private sector, supporting service providers, education, art, and municipal units) with campus resources.

The mission of CITL's Service-Learning Program is to enhance students' civic development through community-engaged learning by understanding campus- and community-identified need to facilitate and support connections between campus and community for course-based service. The concept is a simple one: Students provide service in their community that is directly connected to their academic coursework, and the community provides an educational experience for the student while receiving support for their work.

Community-engaged teaching and learning can be used in a variety of applications, including discipline-based, project-based, and capstone courses; service-focused internship; undergraduate community-based action research; and directed study for additional or extra credit. Each model combines academic theory with practical real-life experience, giving students a broader and deeper understanding of course content, fostering their sense of civic engagement, and sharpening their insights into themselves and their place in the community.

  • Integrate service into courses
  • Scaffold assignments to compliment service experiences
  • Use reflection methods effectively
  • Work reciprocally with the community
  • Connect to community partners that compliment course content
  • Manage logistics of service
  • Assess civic outcomes of learning through service
  • Use deliberative dialogue to foster rich debate
  • Describe CEL for tenure and promotion Map service across curricula

  • Connect to campus resources for curricular service
  • Work reciprocally with the instructors, serving as equal voices in partnerships
  • Use their expertise to serve as co-educators to students
  • Identify needs in their agency that could be met by service-learning
  • Support service-learners in reflection on their service
  • Assess outcomes of service for both the community partner and students
  • Develop new and existing programming through service-learning partnerships
For more information, see the links to the left or contact Michael Valliant