# data[].attributes.body
Lien vers la ressource Service Learning de Cathy Berger

# data[].attributes.headline
Acquérir la sagesse: Le pouvoir transformateur de l'apprentissage par le service communautaire

# data[].attributes.subject
Acquérir la sagesse: Le pouvoir transformateur de l'apprentissage par le service communautaire

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
L'organisme UNIS est une organisation caritative internationale qui fait équipe avec des communautés pour les aider à briser le cycle de la pauvreté grâce à un modèle intégré de développement durable s'appuyant sur cinq piliers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
L'organisme UNIS est une organisation caritative internationale qui fait équipe avec des communautés pour les aider à briser le cycle de la pauvreté grâce à un modèle intégré de développement durable s'appuyant sur cinq piliers.

# data[].attributes.body
The Teacher's Guide to Service Learning [  5 Examples] | Prodigy Math Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Involving your students in community service can feel like an impossible task when you already have endless piles of curriculum to cover during the school year.

But what if you could accomplish both of these at the same time?

You've probably heard of service learning. Maybe you've even wanted to use it in your classroom, but aren't exactly sure what it is or how to go about it.

This guide will provide you with the tools you need to successfully use service learning in your classroom, breaking down:

When done properly, service learning is a fantastic form of experiential learning the whole class can enjoy. Including service learning projects in your curriculum encourages students to learn about relevant issues, get involved in community service and engage with academic content - all at the same time!
Let's start with the basics.
What is service learning?

According to the National Youth Leadership Council , it's "a philosophy, pedagogy, and model for community development that is used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards."

In simpler terms, service learning is an educational method that combines academic goals with community service projects. Lessons about relevant community issues are combined with existing course content to optimize the academic experience.

At the same time, students gain hands-on experience doing service projects to tackle community issues and make positive changes.

The beauty of service learning is that something real and concrete is occurring. Learning takes on a new dimension. When students are engaged intellectually and emotionally with a topic, they can light up with a revelation or make a connection between two previously separate ideas. What they've learned in school suddenly matters and engages their minds and their hearts.

Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A.

Author of The Complete Guide to Service Learning

Teachers can provide real-world examples of the curriculum they're teaching. Students are given a fresh perspective on what they're learning and can apply it to the projects they work on.

Entire classrooms make positive changes to the community, and everyone reaps the rewards.

How is service learning different from community service?

It's great to get children involved in community service as soon as possible, but service learning adds an extra layer to make it even more beneficial for students.

Service learning is a more student-centered approach than other forms of community service, such as volunteering. The focus is on student experiences, and the entire service project is designed around providing as much education as possible every step of the way.

Most kinds of community service help the community more than the person providing it, but the benefit is reciprocal with service learning. Students members of the community can both be equally satisfied.

What are the benefits of service learning?

Sure, it sounds good, but at this point you may be wondering, "can this really benefit my students?"

The simple answer: yes, it can! There are many proven benefits of adding service learning to your curriculum.

Research from the University of South Alabama found that around 80% of students who took part in a service learning project found the experience "highly beneficial." These students saw improvements in their communication skills, self-awareness and knowledge of community needs.

In another study , service learning programs improved the grade-point averages of students 76% of the time. Students in the program were more engaged, punctual and interested in course content.

In addition to the above findings, service learning can:

Help students make connections between different academic subjects by using an interdisciplinary teaching approach

Encourage students to positively contribute to their communities, while also aligning to class curriculum

Allow for a hands-on learning experience

Improve academic outcomes, attendance rates and class engagement

Promote mutual respect and kindness

Boost levels of self-esteem, empathy and responsibility

Increase awareness of community needs and local or global issues

Reduce the risk of behavioral problems in the classroom

Strengthen classroom communication

The ideas and examples provided below will help you bring service learning to your classroom and see many of these benefits come to life for your students.

What does service learning look like?

A good service learning program follows a specific format so education can occur throughout the entire process. Creating a detailed plan for each step of the way will make it easy to introduce your program and keep students engaged, while meeting basic to ensure success.

The general guidelines for a service learning program include:

Preparation - This is the stage where you prepare yourself and your students to take on their service project. You can start by deciding on a project to tackle, figuring out how to tie it in with your curriculum, and forming community partnerships with local organizations your class can work with. Then you can teach your students about the community issue to prepare them for action. Make sure you choose a project that is relevant to your community.
Tip: Give your students a voice during this stage to keep them interested. For example, you can have the class vote on which community issue they want to support or on individual roles within the project.

Action - This is the hands-on component where the class gets to use what they've learned and apply it to a real service project. Students will now directly help community partners and those affected by the issue with actual community service work.

Reflection - This stage lets students reflect on their service project, consider what they learned from it, and apply their learnings to the curriculum. Reflection is encouraged during every step, but this stage allows for a more in-depth process where students can consider what they've learned and how they feel about the service they provided.

Demonstration - Students can show what they've learned about the issue to their class, school or community. This is an opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and what others can do to help.

Celebration - Students can congratulate themselves and each other for their hard work and positive contributions.
Tip: During this stage, make sure to emphasize effort rather than results. A positive outcome is wonderful to celebrate, but your students' hard work and dedication to the cause is the most important part.

There are a number of things you can do with your students throughout the program. Below are some ideas you can use for each stage of your service learning plan.

The possibilities are endless when making a service learning plan, so feel free to get as creative as you like. Just remember: a successful service learning program allows for cooperative learning and encourages constant communication and reflection.

Possibly the most important part of your plan is choosing an actual service project to take on. Get inspired by the examples below.

Five service learning examples for your classroom

When picking your service learning project, be sure to focus on an issue that's relevant to your community. It's also important to ensure that necessary material can be embedded into your program.

Below are five examples of projects you can use in your class, including some ideas for literature to accompany your lessons. Use them as a guide when designing your own plan.

1) Issue: literacy

Action: Collect books to donate to low income schools or (for older grades) tutor younger students to read. Partner with a local community organization that supports literacy in youth.

Preparation: Teach students about the importance of literacy and the implications of low literacy rates for the individual and the community.

2) Issue: animal welfare

Action: Collect pet food and toys for animals at your local humane society, then take a class trip to deliver the items and visit the animals.

Preparation: Teach students about shelters, adoption, rehabilitation and how to prevent animal cruelty.

3) Issue: poverty and hunger

Action: Hold a canned food drive or collect items to make care packages for the homeless. Partner with a local organization that works to combat poverty.

Preparation: Teach students about hunger and poverty in their community and its negative effects on child development and health. Talk about what others can do to help.

4) Issue: the environment

Action: Work to improve recycling efforts at school. Educate staff and students about what can and can't be recycled. Make quick reference posters. Collect bins from classrooms.

Preparation: Talk about relevant environmental issues. Discuss the impact waste has on the earth and ways you can help the environment. Teach students the importance of "reduce, reuse, recycle," why recycling is effective and how it benefits the environment.
Books you can use:
5) Issue: diversity and inclusion

Action: Have the class plan and host a "celebrate diversity" day at school, to educate each other on different cultures or groups and embrace differences among students. Partner with a local organization that promotes diversity and inclusion.

Preparation: Teach students about inequality. Define and explain the importance of diversity and tolerance. Explore ways students can support diversity in their everyday lives.

Final thoughts on service learning

No matter what project you choose, service learning is a great way to accomplish academic goals, promote teamwork and communication and contribute to a positive school culture by inspiring students to give back.

You now have the necessary tools to bring service learning to your class. Use these ideas to plan a service learning program tailored to your curriculum, and enjoy the awesome results.

👉Create or log in to your teacher account on Prodigy - a free, game-based learning platform that assesses student progress and performance as they play. Aligned with curricula across the English-speaking world, it's loved by more than a million teachers and 50 million students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Teacher's Guide to Service Learning [+ 5 Examples] | Prodigy Math Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Involving your students in community service can feel like an impossible task when you already have endless piles of curriculum to cover during the school year. But what if you could accomplish both of these at the same time? You've probably heard of service learning.

# data[].attributes.body
5 Steps to Better School/Community Collaboration | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.body
How to Use Community Projects in the Classroom | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Find tips on how to collect real-world problems for your students and a framework to start and monitor their projects.

Frances Roberts / Alamy Stock Photo

"Why should I learn this?" "When am I ever going to use it?" "How is this information important for my life?" Students have asked these questions year after year in my classroom. They have longed to see how our content connects to the world.

One day I received an email from the assistant superintendent saying that the proposed school budget was in danger of being rejected and he needed someone to advocate for student funding and security improvements. My eyes fell on the empty desks in front of me. What if I gave this local problem to my students? Using persuasive language to encourage others to adopt a budget falls squarely within my academic curriculum. By tackling this challenge, students might use content to impact the world around them. The students created a public service announcement and spoke at the county budget hearing. Months later, the budget passed, and for the first time in years, it was almost fully funded.

The budget project was the beginning of the Community Problems Bank. Helping students address community challenges by using our content merges the best aspects of service learning, project-based learning, and growth mindset. Because every problem in life requires different tools to solve, the process is useful for all disciplines.

Collecting Possible Problems

First, I determine which real-world challenges are suitable for a bank. I collect problems for the bank by scanning the local news and reaching out to local government agencies, nonprofits, and other local businesses.

I reach out in person and give the community organization background information on my class and time frames for our projects. I ask only one question: What problems do you see in the local community or in your specific organization? Some organizations immediately share problems, a few politely refuse, and a few ask to meet my students. Whether they add to the bank or not, every person has asked to be listed as a resource for students.

Once there are a few dozen problems, I introduce students to the list. Students are free to give input or add problems they feel are missing.

Organizing the Problems Bank

To begin creating a Community Problems Bank, I enter all of the problems into the first column of a spreadsheet. Putting newer problems at the top allows students to quickly see new additions. You can curate a list that fits your grade level and students.

The next three columns are labeled "Standards/Initiatives," "Explore," and "Coaching/Resources to Help." The Standards/Initiatives column is a space to add in the specific class content or school initiatives that will benefit the learner while solving the problem. In the Explore column, I add the names of students working on each project, as well as a link to their project planning sheet. As work progresses, students and I add important information, questions, resources, and failures in the Coaching/Resources to Help column.

To pair problems with standards, determine which curricular knowledge or skills your students may need to tackle each challenge.

Using the List

You can use the problems bank to teach a concept to the entire class, or you might allow students to form groups and select their own standard-aligned problems to try to solve during or after a unit of study.

No matter what method you choose, give students structure when they tackle big problems. A project planning sheet will guide students through the design thinking process to generate solutions.

Once weekly, I hold three-to-four-minute project check-ins during which students share updates, and I give coaching, guidance, and feedback. Check-ins are a great time to do mini lessons and look for indications of content mastery or needs.

My students also reflect weekly on their progress toward solving or "moving" the problem, as well as the associated standards. These reflections provide formative insight and allow me to create whole-group lesson plans as well as individual action plans to help students master content.

Taking on real-world problems comes with the risk of failure. There is no answer key to the problems in the bank, so students have to learn and be coached through failure. A group of students in my class wanted to address Alzheimer's disease. The standard paired with the problem was developing interview skills. They talked to family members, researched the disease, and learned about effects from a local care home. They had mastered the standards associated with interviewing for my content, but they were unable to come up with a solution for the disease.

I coached them and pushed them to look for a new solution. It took them a few days, but they decided to stop focusing on the disease and to find a way to help the families of people with Alzheimer's. They recorded the memories of Alzheimer's patients at a local facility and gave the recorded memories to the patients' families. The students were upset because they hadn't solved the big issue, but they didn't let failure stop them from reframing the problem and finding a solution. Along the way, they learned perseverance, determination, and compassion for others.

Over the years, my students have failed and succeeded in solving community problems. No matter whether they succeed or fail, each class walks away with a new respect for learning. "This class has taught me that the more we learn, the more prepared we are to tackle the problems around us," a former student said. "We may not solve all the problems today, but one day with more knowledge and skills we might."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Find tips on how to collect real-world problems for your students and a framework to start and monitor their projects. Frances Roberts / Alamy Stock Photo "Why should I learn this?" "When am I ever going to use it?" "How is this information important for my life?"

# data[].attributes.body
Service Learning Case Study: The Answer to Our Educational Woes in 10,000 Cookies? | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Some answers are so obvious that they elude us. Some answers are devastatingly apparent but require a new set of eyes to see. Take the classic conundrum that we all face: How best do we learn? What cutting-edge, flavor du jour will have us whittling away our time at the next professional development stint? What rip-the-top-off-and-dump-it-in practice works best?

There are volumes upon volumes on learning styles. There is even more available on "how to" teach, classroom management, lesson planning and reaching higher levels of learning. What if the answer to that enlightenment for which are searching can be found where we least expect it? What if we are already doing it?

See It. Do It. Teach It.

I am a cook by first trade. As I entered the profession, I learned by doing. Whether in the kitchen of Cappy's Café on Walnut St. in hoity Shadyside, by Carnegie Mellon University, or in my own kitchen of my little one-bedroom apartment, or in my parents' backyard, I learned by cutting, grilling, mixing and burning. Once on the job, it was learn-by-osmosis. Or fail. And failing in the kitchen means something different than failing in the classroom. Failing in the kitchen meant a barrage of profanity, thrown sauté pans and the questioning of, say, a not-so nice relationship with my mother. There was a lot to learn.

I brought a lot with me from the industry when I started in the classroom: Learn it by doing it. "See it, do it, teach it" is the mantra of our class. Teaching it, we know, grounds learning as well as creates the opportunity to discover. So, getting students to use what they are learning and, maybe, teach it to others is the leap in achievement for which we are struggling to discover. Sharing what our students are exploring with the community may be a ray of light in the sometimes dismal outlook of the public perception (and even our own) of student achievement. Sounds a lot like service learning, if you ask me.

The Corporation for National & Community Service defines service learning as:

"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. Through service-learning, young people, from kindergarteners to college students, use what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. They not only learn the practical applications of their studies, they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform." (National Service Learning Clearinghouse)

So, that magic bullet, one of many in the burgeoning arsenal, can bring value to the community and enhance the growth of our students. I'm not talking about cleaning up the litter on the side of the Delaware River. While there is something noble about doing so, that is not service learning. Rather, service learning is having the students remove the litter and using their, say, engineering skills to construct stop-gap measures to prevent trash from further entering the waterway as well as tracking the impact they have had by building such a control. Imagine the boundless possibilities for students to apply theoretical geometry while assisting Habitat for Humanity? Or business students developing a functioning budget for the local animal shelter while Drafting students design the outdoor homes that the Carpentry students construct for feral cats. Look at that learning! This is not just about technical education. These are portable skills that employers need and our competitive edge in the world market demands. We are flexing problem-solving muscles, evaluative thinking, team dynamics' management and fiscal accountability, just to start.

Case Study: 10,000 Cookies

I am a braggart. Let me tell you about a project my students did in December. Two days' prior to leaving for winter break, the crew of fifty students stayed overnight to bake cookies for every police officer in the state. A token offering as a way of saying thanks for our law enforcement officers' commitment to keeping us safe, the students have done this for three previous years.

The logistics of producing 10,000 cookies in one marathon baking session are staggering. There are boxes to be procured, assembled and decorated. There is the calculating the quantities of ingredients and their arrival from the various sources. There are the provisions necessary to feed fifty teenagers. There is the delivery of said cookies. There is the calculating the mixing-scooping-baking-cooling-packaging rate to ensure we hit our targeted production. There are the donations needed to offset our fundraising efforts already flexed. Did I mention they invited the Governor of Delaware to launch the evening's activities? The students also suggested partnering with a local middle school to include the "next generation" of bakers to assist with cookie scooping and boxing? And, tragically, we lost a county officer on duty in September. The students coordinated a visit from the officer's brother to put a face on the reason why we were staying up all night to bake cookies. Each cookie box was to carry a dedication to the fallen officer, explaining that this year's "Bake the Night Away" was performed in his memory.

Does what the students did translate to achievement and growth on a test? Maybe. There was some math involved as well as written communications and cost analysis. The learning, the real, honest-to-goodness learning came through teamwork, time management, using the baking skills they have honed through their time in class, resource management, fiscal operations and effective communications. And probably a whole lot more. The answer to getting the students to learn more about their profession is grounded in academic wherewithal and exploded when put to test. Not that test. But the test that matters. There was a tangible result as a product of student learning, leadership and skill. And so we come full circle; they see it, they do it, they teach it.

Just this weekend, Gov. Martin O'Malley on Face the Nation proclaimed ". . . we need to do a better job in terms of career and technical education. The bottom line is that the more highly skilled we make our workforce in every way, the better they will be able to earn salaries and provide for their families."

There are real solutions when we teach applied skills in real world contexts. Indeed, we can both increase transportable skills while we serve the communities around us. There is a collateral benefit of bringing applied achievement to the neighborhood that we can only imagine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Service Learning Case Study: The Answer to Our Educational Woes in 10,000 Cookies?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Some answers are so obvious that they elude us. Some answers are devastatingly apparent but require a new set of eyes to see. Take the classic conundrum that we all face: How best do we learn? What cutting-edge, flavor du jour will have us whittling away our time at the next professional development stint?