Service-Learning: Elementary School Curriculum

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. It’s coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service programs, and with the community. Service Learning is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students or the educational components of the community service program in which the participants are enrolled and helps to foster civic responsibility. It also provides structured time for the students or participants to reflect on the service experience.
Defining Service-Learning
In the past
This is accomplished by combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection, self-discovery, and the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, and knowledge content. For example, if school students collect trash out of an urban stream, they are providing a service to the community as volunteers; a service that is highly valued and important. When school students collect trash from an urban stream, then analyze what they found and possible sources so they can share the results with residents of the neighborhood along with suggestions for reducing pollution, they are engaging in service-learning. In the service-learning example, the students are providing an important service to the community and, at the same time, learning about water quality and laboratory analysis, developing an understanding of pollution issues, learning to interpret science issues to the public, and practicing communications skills by speaking to residents. They may also reflect on their personal and career interests in science, the environment, public policy or other related areas. Thus, we see that service-learning combines service with learning in intentional ways. There are many other illustrations of how the combination is transforming to both community and students. This is not to say
Service-learning can also be organized and offered by community organizations with learning objectives or structured reflection activities for their participants. Whatever the setting, the core element of service-learning is always the intent that both providers and recipients find the experience beneficial, even