Service learning is becoming more and more popular in schools today. Discuss the advantages and/or limitations of integrating service learning into your curriculum.
Would you include service learning in your lessons? Why or why not? (NOTE: Tie your post to the grade level or content area you plan to teach.)
I believe there are both advantages and disadvantages to integrating service learning into the curriculum. I see a couple disadvantages – such as taking time away from core disciplines and the increased amount of time and effort to incorporate the activities. I can definitely see some individuals having a problem with service learning activities. Some people believe that classroom time should be spent on reading, writing and math only. Also, there would be more involved in a service learning type of lesson, so it would naturally take the teacher longer to plan and organize.
Advantages for integrating service learning into the curriculum include developing the social skills of students, providing them with life experiences and improve their learning. Through service learning activities students will be able to develop their social skills in a way that is not possible in typical classroom lessons. Also, students are able to interact with community members and start to understand the need to be responsible and active citizens. Another positive aspect about integrating service learning activities into lessons is that students will be able to put into practice the knowledge they have gained through their studies – I think seeing those ideas at work is a major benefit.
I would include service learning into my lessons. I plan to teach in the lower elementary grades and feel it is important to expose children to service opportunities at an early age. I think it is important for children to realize the importance of helping those less fortunate or that the knowledge they gain in the classroom really does apply to their everyday lives. I also think that service opportunities are a great way to develop social skills. And at the elementary age that is something students are actively working on. Children are learning about teamwork, generosity, etc. and through service learning opportunities I think they are better able to practice those skills as compared to traditional classroom lessons. Service learning activities at the elementary level do not need to be complicated or in depth – I think even small, easy events can provide benefits to students.
Service Learning: Advantages of Service learning Extension of classroom activities integrated into the community: For example, if you are trying to motivate your students to read and love to read in your language arts class and you show up to volunteer at the book fair, the students that come will most likely take notice of this. They might not feel like you are just telling them to do something (read) and you don’t do it. They might happen to see you at the book fair and look at it like you care about reading and this might inspire or encourage them to read too. If they know you are going to be there, they might want to go to see you or have their parents meet you.
Diversity: The teacher is exposed to new people and different situations and settings that they might not be familiar with. Being around people you don’t know is a great way to get to know people. These people might be diverse and this will increase your diversity awareness and tolerance of others who are different from you.
Community Service: Service learning gives you time to volunteer, which has many personal benefits as we as benefits to those you are helping. You can feel better about yourself and feel like you are doing something that makes a difference. Plus, it looks good on your resume, if nothing else. Students will be provided with life experiences and additional opportunities to learn in a different setting other than the classroom. Students will be able to practice what they have learned in the classroom in the outside world.
Limitations: You just want to do it because you are required to It’s very time consuming and teachers already have a demanding schedule The students don’t understand the importance or see the relevance of the activity you have selected form them to participate in You don’t learn anything. A lot of service leaning projects can be just for fun. I mean, you probably aren’t going to learn anything educational at a pancake feed if you help clean the tables after people are done eating, but you can probably learn social skills and how to collaborate, which are good skills to learn at a young age. However, people who oppose service learning will probably try to say that you don’t learn anything. You have to integrate it into your lesson, this can be time consuming as well.
Would I include it in my lessons? Yes, I would. I would include it because the students are allowed to be involved as well and they can work on their diversity skills and awareness of issues that they might not have known existed. We have a duty to teach and cultivate well-rounded students. In my opinion, one way to cultivate well-rounded students is to have them volunteer and show them the importance of doing this. I plan to teach elementary students, so yes, having students learn the importance of volunteering and completing service learning projects at a young age is important. By doing service learning projects, students can learn social skills, collaboration skills, generosity, etc. these are things that they need to learn at a young age.
Sarah, I agree with your reasoning for integrating service learning into the curriculum. Even though the students are not necessarily in the classroom learning how to read, write, or spell, etc., they are learning other valuable skills, which you have pointed out, like generosity, social skills, etc. Learning how to count, read, write, etc., is very important, but social skills, collaboration skills, generosity, etc., are skills that need to be learned and practiced so that students can become sociable, productive citizens of society. These things are a little bit more challenging to teach in class everyday as they are not a part of the required curriculum.
I believe that service learning projects are great. Even though they do take time away from learning that takes place in the actual classroom, students can learn important things such as giving a hand to people that need it.
By doing service learning students learn what it feels like to help somebody that may not be able to do it themselves. It helps shape them into a better person and citizen in our society. They learn life lessons that they cannot learn in a classroom amongst their peers. Service learning projects also help students feel good about themselves for doing something kind for somebody else.
My content area is Physical Education. This is a K-12 degree. I'm not sure what grade level I will teach yet. I would incorporate service learning into my lessons. Different projects I could do with my class is helping people that have health problems so that my students understand the importance of keeping their health. Another option is setting up a booth at the county health fair and getting my students involved informing people of the importance of health and different things they can do to stay healthy.
Sarah- I agree with you completely that service learning projects help students interact socially with other people in the community other than their peers. It also helps the students become more responsible and active citizens in the community.
I feel that service learning can be integrated into the classroom and can be a positive thing for students. It does take time away from the classroom however it is allowing the promotion of of political and moral development especially for adolescents. They work with others that are in need. It helps students to think and view things in new ways with people who are different then them. It allows students to think about their role in society and gives them feelings of competence. It feels good to do things for other people.
I am wanting to teach special education. I feel that the local food pantry would be a way to incorporate. Such as the holiday times. Collect canned goods and put together some goodie bags that could be handed to the local food pantry for them to distribute to the hungry. I also believe the angel trees is a service learning that could be a awesome experience too. Have students go to the local human services and draw a angel off of the tree. The angel tells the child's age and what they like. Have each student bring their gift to school and then deliver it to human services for children to have presents for Christmas. I also feel the nursing homes are neat places for students to go and do various service learning projects. Have students choose a residence of a nursing home. Then throughout the year have students make various things to give to the residents to be delivered. I feel that there are so many things that could be considered service learning and students benefit from this. Yes it does take time but it is something that is teaching students positive things that help people.
Audrey- That is a great idea to include health items in your service learning projects. I do think that health is very important and sometimes is overlooked. I think that is great that you would offer that.
Martecia- Yes I agree with you they are exposed to things that they did not even know exsisted. They don't think about those things but exposing them is the best way for them to learn it. My sister in law had her own kids go and help with the food drive over Christmas. They got to pkg. things for the less fortunate. They loved doing it and was able to understand the importance of stopping for just one minute and help someone who can't help themselves.
The advantages to service learning are really only limited by the time a teacher can spend implementing them into the classroom. There is such a huge connection made in service learning to the 'real' world. This gives students the connection in their studies and gives them that tangible aspect to what they are learning about. A negative aspect of service learning is that it does take extra time. With all the extra-curricular activities and standards the students need to learn it is hard to make the time to incorporate service learning sometimes. There is definitely a lot of pressure on teachers to cover the material fully as to maintain standards, and I think many people would view service learning as the frills, something that is not necessary. I will incorporate it into my science courses as I think it has a definite place in helping the students understand the importance of learning. How they can directly apply the content they are learning to some part of their life or the environment around them.
Would you include service learning in your lessons? Why or why not? (NOTE: Tie your post to the grade level or content area you plan to teach.)
To add to my last post I use the service learning predominantly in my 10-12th grade science courses that are based on ecology, environment and biology.
To add to what Cher said, I totally agree that service learning brings a civic duty into the classroom. You are not learning to pass tests only. You are learning because with the knowledge you are gaining you will be able to help those around you at home or in the community.
Audrey – I thought you did a great job of incorporating service learning projects into your content area. I think helping others with health problems and spending time at a health fair would show students there really is a connection between real life and the knowledge they gain in the classroom. I also agree that service learning activities help students to develop valuable citizenship skills.
Sarah, I like and agree with your statement that service learning allows students to be part of their community and start to understand their responsibility as active citizens. Being in a classroom does not give students the opportunity to really understand their community and what it takes to be a community. Giving students an opportunity to be actively involved in their community can give them a better understand on what goes on around them.
I believe that service learning should be part of a student's curriculum. Service learning allows students to see what goes on in a community and experience parts of life they may not know about. Service learning might also spark an interest in a student that they would have never known about prior to the experience.
I plan on working in an early childhood environment and currently we do field trips to local grocery store so the children can see what goes on behind the scenes. At Christmas time we also go to the local assisted living homes and sing Christmas Carols and give the children an opportunity to do crafts with elderly. Letting children be part of their community through service learning can give them a different perspective on their learning in the classroom and may give them the link needed to better understand a classroom assignment.
I think that service learning can be an integral part of my content area of business because students are given the opportunity to have a hands-on approach to the subject they are studying. Students can get involved in the community and take part in real life situations. This will give the students a jump start on some of the key features of business and help them get a feel of what the business world is like. Students can also increase their social skills by doing service learning. There are a few draw backs though. Teachers have to arrange for these type of service learning projects and plan for how to handle them. This takes time away from other classroom work and makes it more difficult to cover everything that is needed for the curriculum.
I would definitely try to incorporate service learning into my classroom when I become a teacher. I think that it is very important to seek out career possibilities through service learning and give students opportunities to experience real life situations.
Martecia: I agree with you in that students need to use service learning to enhance their knowledge and experience things that they didn't know existed. This is a great way for students to experience real life situations and expand their knowledge of the subject that they are studying.
Sarah – In the text it stated that service learning was an academic learning for secondary and college students, but I had to wonder why it couldn’t be implemented in a grade school as well. I am assuming it has to do with services being an ongoing commitment and not just a brief project, and working with students old enough to provide their own transportation, if needed. However, I still think there can be ways to implement this type of learning in grade schools and it sounds like you have put some thought in how to do this as well. My own children have bee involved in some projects at school such as singing at the senior center and reading to kindergarten students, but one of the neatest projects came in their third grade year. For Christmas, the teacher wanted the students to contribute to God’s Pantry, but the teacher wanted students to earn the money instead of parents giving it to them. When they brought the money to school (usually two or three dollars a piece) she talked to them about what they did to earn the money. Just before break they took all the money to the grocery store and as a class purchased items to donate. She says it is always amazing to her how much food 8 and 9 y/o students can get with limited money if they watch prices and it is neat that they understand they had to work to give to someone else. Anyway, I just wanted to share this as an example of service learning for grade schoolers.
Service learning is a neat idea that I hadn't given much thought to yet. I think it is a good way to develop certain skills such as working in groups, working with diversity, and working for others. I like the idea of teaching students to think about community, state or even country. Service learning can be advantageous to students by allowing them to see what is beyond the classroom walls and emphasize how to use their different abilities, but there can be limitations as well. It takes time, effort, and sacrifice to organize and implement service learning projects, not only from the teacher but also from the students. Choosing projects might prove to be difficult as there may be times when a student or a student’s parents object because of personal feelings about how important the project is to the student’s education. I also wonder if service learning projects might be harder to implement in a smaller community because of the lack or resources, lack of need, or problems with confidentiality.
I want to teach secondary mathematics, probably at the middle school level, and am very eager to find ways to incorporate service learning projects into my lessons. My biggest concern is that some students will participate or contribute strictly for the grade and I wonder how I can help my students reflect about the importance of the project. My first thought is to include some type of project to discuss their role in society not only as students but as they grow into adults. I think they need to understand what their actions can mean to someone else, and possibly use a type of role reversal project to help them understand how they made a difference. I think service learning is a wonderful opportunity to teach students about the “real” world by using a semi-controlled environment and working as a group.
I attended a private religious school first through twelfth grade where service learning was required each year by every student. That was many, many years ago and I am not 100% sure, but it was probably because the school is religious orientated. Most of the service learning requirements were to volunteer at the local soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless. Most of our duties were to sort and hand out clothing and personal products since we were all under the age of eighteen. I think it was great. The exposure to the shelter helped the students realize that not everyone has money at their disposal. Most of the students who attended the school were "children of money". A few of the students received extremely expensive cars for their 16th birthdays. The point is, that if the students were not required to volunteer, they might not have been inclined to do so and then there would not have been the exposure. It is a good building ground to develop good morals which was part of the curriculum. We were also required to take religion classes every semester. Other service learning ours were required with family and local businesses. The hours spent helping our parents and other family matters were to be unpaid.... no allowance for performing chores or other activities. I never received an allowance, help was expected in my house. Helping business owners had advantages to see what happens "behind the scenes". Overall, service learning can great insight into the world outside of the classroom just as field trips do. Just because you are not actually in the classroom does not mean the teacher is not incorporating a lesson. The only disadvantage I see in service learning is that the students can have a negative "attitude" when it comes to volunteering or helping out which could hinder the learning process.
I think that all faculty and staff members should volunteer at school events and I would put it in my lesson plans also. It is a great way to support the students and show that we care about them in every aspect. Being a part of their extracurricular events helps to support the students emotionally and can create a better teaching and learning environment. If the students know that you care, they are more willing to share with the teachers and hold open discussions. It is also a great way to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to the real world and real situations. I hope to teach a science class in maybe third or fourth grade and I would definitely have a service learning lesson incorporated. Science is generally about hypothesizing and problem solving which could use a "fresh" perspective from young students in the community.
Deborah: I love the idea of having the children go and sing at the assisted living homes. My daughter is four and LOVES to sing. She was singing at the top of her lungs outside the other day and I had to tell her to keep it down a little so she would not wake up the new baby next door. My point is that both sides are happy. The students probably all love to sing and entertain people and the residents love having the kids come visit them and do crafts. One of the schools I interned at had the students of every grade make a Christmas card and sent them all the a local nursing home. The staff were very excited and welcomed them. I like having the students do a craft with the residents. It seems that would be great since they get to spend time together and then the residents have something to remember the event.
Are you getting a business degree now? or do you already have one? I was an accountant for 10 years and now I am almost done with my Elem Ed. degree. You said that planning a service learning would take time away from other classroom work. I'm not sure how it works in other schools, but the one that I attended had an administrator plan and apply all school functions. This included the service learning and filed trips. The teachers just had to discuss the needs of the students and curriculum to incorporate it to. Other than that, I do not see any negatives.
There are definately many advantages in using service learning in your classroom. Helping others cannot be taught and understood from a textbook. Service learning is the only way for students to step outside of themselves and do things for others.
Service learning is also beneficial to students as it helps them develop social skills, provides them with lasting life experiencs, and it allows them to view life in a different light and not only appreciate the things they have, but to have empathy for those who are not as fortunate.
However, there are some possible limitations when it comes to service learning. Depending upon the area, there may not be the kind of service-type work available that is appropriate for students. Also, some schools may not like the idea of doing service learning because it may not appear as important instructional time.
As a teacher, I think it is important to have instructional learning. For my high school students, I would definately look for some way for us to get into some type of service learning in our area.
Collen S. - I worked in a private Christian school for about 7 years, so I understand how important it is for those students to lend a hand to those in need. I think it is necessary for them to see what life is really like, because a lot of times they think that everyone lives as well as they do.
I think that it's great your school made it mandatory for the students to do service learning.
Thanks Greg. I know when I was a student I had some "dreaded" feelings when I had to volunteer in a soup kitchen in Southwest Detroit. It has an extremely high crime rate and some students were actually scared to go. After we were there and spoke to the residents of the shelter, we found out that they are people too and some were just having a hard (financial) time. They were all very thankful that we were there to help them out and just talk to them. Some shared their negative experiences and wrong decisions so others could benefit from it. It was quite an experience.
I believe that service learning needs to integrated into the students curriculum. The children can learn many valuable lessons from doing service projects no matter what grade the students are. Children learn social skills and bring smiles to peoples faces. It teaches children the importance of respecting themselves and others. I have done many service projects and have experienced empathy, appreciation, and self fulfillment by doing service projects. The limitations will be time for the teacher and for the students. The teacher will have to plan according to other events going on so that the project will be successful. I think it's also important to get the parents involved so the student can this experience at home as we I am teaching at a daycare center. There are a few things that I can think of that I could do. My classroom could adopt a grandparent. I could take my class to a senior center and have my class teach the seniors a finger play. I could also have the children make artwork that could be given to a senior center.
Colleen, I have done lots of service projects as well. The most life changing for me was when I was in college the first time I went on an extreme spring break trip to work on an Indian Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. I think that it should be in the school curriculum. It does not really take that much time away from anything and the benefits weigh so much more than the limitations(negative).
I like the concept of Service Learning for students of all ages. However, I can see it being most effective with older students in middle and high school. Advantages of service learning are teaching students about the importance of contributing to the community and an understanding and compassion for those that are less fortunate. There are many ways older students can serve the community and relate it the curriculum. It is much easier to take a group of adolescents into the community to complete a service project than it is to take a group of preschool children. As an early childhood teacher, this is one of the disadvantages to using service learning in my classroom. Also, parents end up taking on the responsibility of making sure that their children contribute to the project. For example, if the project is to collect cans for a Food Bank, the parents of young children are actually the ones who have to purchase and bring the items to school. On the other hand, if the lesson is introduced in such a way that children are able to participate and parents are communicating the intent to their children, service learning can be meaningful in an early childhood classroom. I plan to incorporate service learning into my classroom by teaching the importance of helping others. One way I would do this is by encouraging children to help out at home. Parents would help their children find ways to contribute to the family and document these acts on a monthly calendar. This is something that is currently done at the parochial school that I teach at. Children earn “service points” for things they do at home. This is a voluntary activity, but the children are rewarded by placing stickers on the “Service Tree” on a bulletin board in the hallway. I would also do some class projects to help organizations in the community. This might include gathering donations for an organization and if possible taking a field trip to deliver the items. If it is not possible to take the class to visit the organization, I would have a representative come to the class to accept the donation and explain how the items will be used. I think that it is important that children have an understanding of who they are helping and have some type of direct interaction with those accepting the donation, rather than just collecting the items and having the teacher deliver them to the organization. To make service learning meaningful, children need to have a direct experience with those that are benefiting from their service. It is also important to have discussions and explain how they are helping and contributing.
Deborah: I also teach in the early childhood setting and at first I thought that service learning is appropriate for older students. However, reading your post I see other ways that young children can give to the community. One preschool classroom I worked with made frequent trips to a retirement home to sing to the residents. They also made various items related to the holidays and delivered these as well. This was a great experience for both the children and the residents.
Emily L: In your response to Sarah you shared a great idea. In my experience, one of the limitations to service learning is that the parents take on the responsibility of contributing to the project rather than the students. I liked that the children had to actually earn the money that they contributed to the class project.
Service learning is a great way to get students involved in their community and for them to learn values. Advantages of this include social responsibility to others, their community, and also a better understanding of themselves and others. Disadvantages include time spent doing “required” activities, possible resentment of the activities because they are required to do so, and a want to not volunteer for the community at a later date. These are aside from the fact that the students are not learning directly in the classroom setting. Because of the fact that I will be teaching physical education, I probably would not use this form of teaching as a way for my students to learn. I will be teaching secondary classes and I just feel that time spent away from class would be counterproductive from the point of physical education itself. I think service learning is an important way to teach students about values, their communities, and themselves as well. However, I just do not feel the need to make students do more work outside of class and on their free time. I like the idea of students helping others, but I would want them to learn these values from within my classroom setting and take these values out into the real world rather than force them to do so. I do not want to be negative about service learning as I think it is a great idea, it’s just that in a physical education setting I am not sure that service learning is something that I would ever incorporate into my classroom.
Sarah, I wrote the same thing in my blog about time spent away from the classroom and the increased time spent doing the activities. I think that these are major distractions for students and time spent out of the classroom not teaching math, science, English, or any other discipline is time, in a sense, wasted. However, in your situation, teaching elementary students the importance of helping others out, especially those less fortunate is a great way in itself to teach values. I think if I taught at an elementary school I would do the same thing, however since I will teach physical education in the secondary level I probably would not input service learning into my curriculum.
Martecia, I like what you said about implementing it to help students learn more about diversity skills. In today’s world I think that this is a very important skill that is not being taught well. I think we all agree that service learning, if used in the appropriate environment can only help students learn the values of community, social skills, diversity skills, and helping others out. I can see the importance of teaching these skills to young students at the elementary level more than I can at the secondary levels. Good input on your blog, especially the part about teaching diversity skills.
I would definitely integrate service learning into my classroom. Service learning has many advantages. Service learning promotes both the development of personal and social skills as well as creating a positive moral for students. Service learning also promotes self-awareness and self-evaluation. Students who donate their time, no matter the situation, are being unselfish and helping others actually in need.
This biggest disadvantage in integrating service learning is the time taken away from core academics. I dont believe the days are long enough as it is for student learning. Because so many teachers have to teach to the test (state standards) students are already missing out on important and forgotten topics. The last thing we need to do is take more time away from instruction.
in response to j_rose32... You are totally right about the parents being a service learning limitation. Often parents are too busy with their own engagements they are not willing to add more to their plate. If each and every parent would take into account the values gained in these projects, I think they would be more willing to approve and participate.
I would like to bring in a service learning projects into my classroom. I hope to teach middle elementary 3rd or 4th grade. I think one valuable project for this age group would be visiting a nursing home on a regular basis. This project would allow students to work on their on social skills. When students participate in service learning projects they are able to be apart of something that is bigger then themselves. This leads to students building a higher self worth when they participate in projects like these. A disadvantage to incorporating service learning projects into a classroom would be the amount of time that it takes for the teacher to secure a project and the amount of time it takes to care out the project.
Connie- I agree that by asking students to participate in service learning projects they are also getting exposed to possible career opportunities. This is something that I had not thought of until you mentioned it, but is so true. Students who get a first hand look at different jobs within their community can start setting goals early for their future.
I believe that service learning is very beneficial to students of all ages and that it is especially important to start incorporating it in the lower grade levels. Service learning helps to teach children that it is good to help someone without expecting something in return and gets them in the habit of wanting to lend a helping hand when someone is in need. Through service learning events students are able to participate in a number of different activities in a variety of situations. With the use of service learning, students are encouraged to interact with a different gender, race, or cultural background which helps to build their understanding and respect of each as he/she progresses through school and life. Sometimes there are limitations put on service learning and that could be due to the location of some schools and what is offered and others might be the teacher’s enthusiasm towards this type of learning. As a future elementary teacher, hopefully at about the 1st grade level, I plan to incorporate service learning into my lessons. I believe that service learning can be incorporated into a number of different areas within the curriculum and one area I can think of in particular would be reading. At the school that I work at in the 1st grade they do a buddy read with the 4th grade students every Friday during their normal reading period. This is a service learning type of event for both classes; the 4th graders are being mentors and the 1st graders are encouraged to work with a variety of individuals in order to benefit his/her skills in the area of reading. The 1st and 4th graders work together to help the 1st graders gain AR points, ultimately helping to build both their reading and comprehension skills which I find to be awesome and I have enjoyed watching it take place as a para. As a teacher I will do what I can to encourage my students to try, do, and help one another through a number of different things. I think that if service learning is encouraged it is something that students will grow up knowing about and will be more will as high school and college students to participate in such an event/activity. As a college student I have even done some service learning projects that have varied from helping with a music concert to volunteering to participate in an elementary PE program and each of them that I’ve done I have greatly enjoyed. So overall, yes I believe that service learning is very good for students but like everything it too has its limitations depending on a wide range of factors. As a future teacher I plan to implement this into both my curriculum and lessons because I want the students to be introduced to it early on so they grow into those adults who are willing to help another individual no matter what his/her gender, race, or culture may be, without expecting something in return!
I too believe that service learning can be integrated into the classroom and result in a number of positive things for students. I agree that it takes time away from the classroom but I think that it can offer the students so much in an area that they wouldn’t otherwise experience and it will accompany them through school and into their adult lives. I think you made a good point when you said that service learning allows the students to both think and view certain things in a new way with a variety of different individuals. I too think that it is important to build the want within a child to help peers or other individuals and the want to do good things for whoever it may be. I think that it is really neat that you want to teach special education. Right now I am a part-time para for special education. I found all your ideas to be very interesting at how to incorporate service learning into the curriculum and your lessons. I especially thought the angel off the tree idea was very neat, that would definitely get the students involved and feeling good about what he/she helped give or do. At the school I work at we’ve done food drive type of things and its always interesting to see how much and what the students bring. I agree with you in saying that nursing homes are also a good place to do service learning at. I can remember when I was in school we used to go there during music and sing to them what we were going to perform at a concert; they greatly enjoyed it. It was good for both the older individuals as well as the students participating in it. Finally, I too believe that there is a wide range of options when it comes to using and implementing service learning into one’s classroom and definitely teaches the students something positive. I really enjoyed reading your post and thought that you made several good points regarding service learning and how to incorporate it into a special education classroom!
Service learning projects are a great and effective way to get students involved in the community and also for them to learn values and appreciate what they have.Community service and other forms of community engagement provide a variety of unique benefits to the students, the community and to the organizations where students volunteer. Research has shown that student learning, personal skills, and professional development will increase when students invest more of their out-of-class time and energy in educationally purposeful activities such as community service. Also, the community gains resources and services that would otherwise be unavailable.A disadvantage of community service is that it can be a form of punishment. It is required time spent doing such an activity which students will feel later on that they don't want to help again.This is beside the fact that students are not actually learning in the direct classroom. Since I am going into Physical Education, I probably will not use this form of teaching for my students to learn. I feel that since I will probably teaching high school education that the time spent away from the class that this work would have nothing to do with physical education itself. I do feel that service learning is really important into today's society. It teaches them morals, values, and they learn about themselves as well. I do feel that it would be good to have all students at least put in some hours of community services. It could be in a club they are in or anything else. Than have them turn the hours into me. It is a good way for the students to help others out. As everything in this world has positives and negatives so does community service. But I feel the positives out weigh the negatives. When I get in the classroom I feel that I will have my students participate in some community service.
Natausha I agree with you. Students do need to get into service learning projects at early ages. I know younger students can do the man labor like high school students but they can still help pick up trash or color/decorate poster that are going to be hung up. I feel like students that participate in community service are not as likely to get into trouble either at school or with the law. This could be something good if students do get into trouble for them to partake in.
I agree with you that health ideas need to be incorporated. I feel they are overlooked tremendously and students don't realize the importance of them. Teachers have to teach them before they ever realize it.
Integrating service learning into the curriculum allows students to learn a sense of social responsibility and civic awareness. When including service-learning into lesson planning, teachers can combine a community service with instruction and reflection. It allows students to become part of a change for their school and community, strengthening both. Service learning can be exciting and hands-on and it can combine the service objectives with learning objectives that are happening in the classroom.
When students participate in service learning they gain stronger self esteem. Service learning projects help students gain a sense of value and feel respected as well as respect for the project at hand. Students also learn that citizenship requires people from the community to be engaged in community life.
When integrating service learning into the curriculum, students learn to connect the experience in the classroom with life in the community. Students can learn to reflect on moral and ethical issues. Students can also learn the importance of the concepts they are learning daily in mathematics, science, social studies or humanities.
Another important aspect of the integration of service learning is the concept of work. Students experience with service learning gives them a feel for future work. It also builds a strong work ethic that will be important in the future.
A richer and deeper context of learning is development when the curriculum is broadened to include social learning. As a teacher who is incorporating service learning you become a mentor and a guide to the students involved. Also, school and community partnerships are formed.
Within the elementary school I currently work each teacher has a recycle box. It is up to the teacher to make sure their classroom’s box of recyclables are placed out by the school during the communities recycling day. I have often thought about how the box of recyclables could be integrated into the curriculum, stretching it beyond the concept of a greener earth. A 4th grade classroom could be in charge each week to go from classroom to classroom and collect the items in the recycle boxes. Many math and science lessons could be based around the items collected. For example, in math the items could be weighed. The numbers from the weight could be computed into mean, median and mode each week. The obvious for science class would be what impact is being made by recycling in the school. Students can also study what is biodegradable as well as pollution. Many ideas can be done with recycling in the school and this helps students gain a sense of responsibility for the earth as well as build a stronger school.
That is a good point you make that one of the disadvantages is that students can start to resent the service learning and not want to volunteer in the future. I think the important thing to keep in mind as teachers is to make sure to pick a service learning project that will interest each student. If that means having a few different service learning projects then do so. We need to spark their interest and keep them excited about their future possibilities with volunteering.
There are definitely pros and cons to service learning. Any time spent outside of the classroom that isn't focused on the tested content areas do not much more than distract from the areas that NCLB has directed that we ensure our learning in. On the other hand, there is a wealth that service learning provides that cannot be found within the confines of the traditional classroom. Students can find great meaning in utilizing the education that they are receiving to help others. It makes the concepts the students are learning meaningful and personal. At one time when I taught Spanish at a Christian school we, as a class, decided to sponsor a needy child from a Spanish speaking country. It allowed the students to use and practice their Spanish, learn about another culture, serve someone by investing in their life, and connect what they were learning to the real world. Some students continued to sponsor the child even after the class ended. I found the exercise invaluable and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Alyson, I am glad you mentioned serving around holiday time and simple things like collecting can goods. Someone else mentioned recycling. I wasn't thinking of all the ways that service learning could be implemented in simple everyday ways. Great ideas. Thanks. I think I will steal and implement many of the ideas several students mentioned. Blogging about practical things is always a great way to brainstorm and gather ideas.
jrose32, I thought your comment about parent involvement was great. It is important to increase parent involvement wherever possible. Service learning provides a great opportunity for that. Another limitation that I see would be the financial backing for the projects. Sometimes, the projects require funding even if its only for transportation. With the many budget cuts it is difficult to cover the cost of extras.
The advantages of integrating service learning into any curriculum far exceed the limitations. In the primary educational world in which I am learning that social studies is often placed on the back burner or completely ignored, service learning can be a very fun way to teach students what social studies is designed to teach--to become informed, responsible citizens.
Even with something as simple as collecting canned goods or slightly worn shoes for the needy, students can learn a great deal from all service learn projects. Students learn to view the world from a different perspective; they learn to work with others as a team. Students also learn to work within social situations that may take them out of their comfort zone or outside of their socioeconomic class for a while. Service learning projects not only help others, the projects help students develop socially, morally and personally.
The only limitations of service learning projects are finding worthwhile projects to tackle and the time to incorporate them into the curriculum. However, as educators who want the best, well-rounded education for our students, we must get creative and find ways to teach our students to reach out and help their fellow citizens.
I would, indeed, include service learning in my lessons as much as I could. Service learning provides hands-on experience and many students learn best from those real life learning experiences. As my focus as of this time is the primary grade level (K-3), I may have to choose more hands-off approaches to service learning. It is hard to require a first grader to serve Christmas dinner at a soup kitchen. However, this young age is a perfect place to start and learning about others affected by world disasters such as the earthquakes in Chile helps promote a spirit of serving others. Young students can collect shoes, money, food, supplies and even books for children their own age. Service learning provides a wonderful learning experience for students at every age level and I would be happy to follow the proper procedures to ensure that my students have an opportunity to participate in service learning projects.
I found it very interesting that you opened with a comment stating that you hadn't given service learning much thought yet. I had thought about service learning, but in terms of my own projects via prior and current internships.
The irony of this particular blog, however, is that I recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC where a fellow Kansas advised me that his daughter's Kansas FFA Chapter is taking 4,000 (yes, four thousand) members to our nation's capitol to pick up trash around the city. What a wonderful experience!! That is when I began to think of service learning in terms of my own students. I won't be sponsoring any trips to Washington, DC any time soon, but starting small, on the local level is something that students in our area need. I spoke with staff from Senators Roberts' and Brownback's offices as well as from Representative Moran's office and what they all had in common is the volunteer work they did locally as young students and throughout their college careers. I'd love to see my students giving private tours at the Capitol some day and I believe that starts with volunteer work right here at home.
I didn't think of an issue with parents as to personal feelings toward a cause. You've brought up a good point in that regard. As a teacher, this comes with knowing our students and their beliefs and constant communication with the parents. Perhaps a newsletter about the project can be sent home with students and an invitation extended for any parents with concerns thereabout to feel free to contact the teacher.
However, coming from a small community, graduating from an even smaller community and being born in yet a smaller community; I can assure you that there are plenty of opportunities for service learning projects anywhere you go. If we are truly serious about giving our students opportunities to participate in service learning projects, there are always projects out there. I remember my brother's 4-H group in Oconto, Nebraska, painting the trashcans around town. It doesn't have to be huge or even require work outside of the classroom, the project just has to help students learn to help others.
I believe that using service learning could be seen as to having advantages and limitations when being used in a classroom setting. I feel that some of the limitations could be that when using service learning parents of students may feel that they are being taken away from the time that they would be using in their core curriculum subjects. Also, when using service learning a teacher would have to detailed plans in advance to make sure that the principal agreed to them as well as making sure enough adults were available to help out. I feel that the advantages of having service learning are that students would not only be learning through text books in the classroom but also from their community and other education facilities as well. Service learning is another way to teach students but doing it in a fun and exciting way. I would like to teach grades K-3 and I plan to use service learning in my learning process. I feel that their can never be enough ways for kids to learn and enjoying themselves while learning.
I would integrate service learning into my plans because to me this gives the students advantages because they work with the public. To me when any person little lone a student has the opportunity to learn skills of working with the public they will have an advantage over people who do not.
Advantages
The student learns to deal with the public.
The student learns to manage time and make appointments.
The student learns to be compassionate towards others. I think this is one item that a lot of students have lost out on here lately; compassion.
Disadvantages
It takes more time to set up because as a teacher you have to build the relationships with the community before they trust for you to help.
Students that just do not want to take part.
I believe with the generation being so into technology today and that is the way of communication; this makes service learning all the more important.
I cannot agree more with you. To me there really is not disadvantages to service learning other then the time to get the relationships going and knowing what project you want to tackle. But after the relationships are built (in my case) then the disadvantage disappears because all seems to be pretty positive learning experiences for the students.
Service learning is becoming more and more popular in schools today. Discuss the advantages and/or limitations of integrating service learning into your curriculum.
ReplyDeleteWould you include service learning in your lessons? Why or why not? (NOTE: Tie your post to the grade level or content area you plan to teach.)
Post is due March 25, 2010.
I believe there are both advantages and disadvantages to integrating service learning into the curriculum. I see a couple disadvantages – such as taking time away from core disciplines and the increased amount of time and effort to incorporate the activities. I can definitely see some individuals having a problem with service learning activities. Some people believe that classroom time should be spent on reading, writing and math only. Also, there would be more involved in a service learning type of lesson, so it would naturally take the teacher longer to plan and organize.
ReplyDeleteAdvantages for integrating service learning into the curriculum include developing the social skills of students, providing them with life experiences and improve their learning. Through service learning activities students will be able to develop their social skills in a way that is not possible in typical classroom lessons. Also, students are able to interact with community members and start to understand the need to be responsible and active citizens. Another positive aspect about integrating service learning activities into lessons is that students will be able to put into practice the knowledge they have gained through their studies – I think seeing those ideas at work is a major benefit.
I would include service learning into my lessons. I plan to teach in the lower elementary grades and feel it is important to expose children to service opportunities at an early age. I think it is important for children to realize the importance of helping those less fortunate or that the knowledge they gain in the classroom really does apply to their everyday lives. I also think that service opportunities are a great way to develop social skills. And at the elementary age that is something students are actively working on. Children are learning about teamwork, generosity, etc. and through service learning opportunities I think they are better able to practice those skills as compared to traditional classroom lessons. Service learning activities at the elementary level do not need to be complicated or in depth – I think even small, easy events can provide benefits to students.
Service Learning:
ReplyDeleteAdvantages of Service learning
Extension of classroom activities integrated into the community: For example, if you are trying to motivate your students to read and love to read in your language arts class and you show up to volunteer at the book fair, the students that come will most likely take notice of this. They might not feel like you are just telling them to do something (read) and you don’t do it. They might happen to see you at the book fair and look at it like you care about reading and this might inspire or encourage them to read too. If they know you are going to be there, they might want to go to see you or have their parents meet you.
Diversity:
The teacher is exposed to new people and different situations and settings that they might not be familiar with. Being around people you don’t know is a great way to get to know people. These people might be diverse and this will increase your diversity awareness and tolerance of others who are different from you.
Community Service:
Service learning gives you time to volunteer, which has many personal benefits as we as benefits to those you are helping. You can feel better about yourself and feel like you are doing something that makes a difference. Plus, it looks good on your resume, if nothing else.
Students will be provided with life experiences and additional opportunities to learn in a different setting other than the classroom.
Students will be able to practice what they have learned in the classroom in the outside world.
Limitations:
You just want to do it because you are required to
It’s very time consuming and teachers already have a demanding schedule
The students don’t understand the importance or see the relevance of the activity you have selected form them to participate in
You don’t learn anything. A lot of service leaning projects can be just for fun. I mean, you probably aren’t going to learn anything educational at a pancake feed if you help clean the tables after people are done eating, but you can probably learn social skills and how to collaborate, which are good skills to learn at a young age. However, people who oppose service learning will probably try to say that you don’t learn anything.
You have to integrate it into your lesson, this can be time consuming as well.
Would I include it in my lessons?
Yes, I would. I would include it because the students are allowed to be involved as well and they can work on their diversity skills and awareness of issues that they might not have known existed. We have a duty to teach and cultivate well-rounded students. In my opinion, one way to cultivate well-rounded students is to have them volunteer and show them the importance of doing this. I plan to teach elementary students, so yes, having students learn the importance of volunteering and completing service learning projects at a young age is important. By doing service learning projects, students can learn social skills, collaboration skills, generosity, etc. these are things that they need to learn at a young age.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reasoning for integrating service learning into the curriculum. Even though the students are not necessarily in the classroom learning how to read, write, or spell, etc., they are learning other valuable skills, which you have pointed out, like generosity, social skills, etc. Learning how to count, read, write, etc., is very important, but social skills, collaboration skills, generosity, etc., are skills that need to be learned and practiced so that students can become sociable, productive citizens of society. These things are a little bit more challenging to teach in class everyday as they are not a part of the required curriculum.
I believe that service learning projects are great. Even though they do take time away from learning that takes place in the actual classroom, students can learn important things such as giving a hand to people that need it.
ReplyDeleteBy doing service learning students learn what it feels like to help somebody that may not be able to do it themselves. It helps shape them into a better person and citizen in our society. They learn life lessons that they cannot learn in a classroom amongst their peers. Service learning projects also help students feel good about themselves for doing something kind for somebody else.
My content area is Physical Education. This is a K-12 degree. I'm not sure what grade level I will teach yet. I would incorporate service learning into my lessons. Different projects I could do with my class is helping people that have health problems so that my students understand the importance of keeping their health. Another option is setting up a booth at the county health fair and getting my students involved informing people of the importance of health and different things they can do to stay healthy.
Sarah-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely that service learning projects help students interact socially with other people in the community other than their peers. It also helps the students become more responsible and active citizens in the community.
I feel that service learning can be integrated into the classroom and can be a positive thing for students. It does take time away from the classroom however it is allowing the promotion of of political and moral development especially for adolescents. They work with others that are in need. It helps students to think and view things in new ways with people who are different then them. It allows students to think about their role in society and gives them feelings of competence. It feels good to do things for other people.
ReplyDeleteI am wanting to teach special education. I feel that the local food pantry would be a way to incorporate. Such as the holiday times. Collect canned goods and put together some goodie bags that could be handed to the local food pantry for them to distribute to the hungry. I also believe the angel trees is a service learning that could be a awesome experience too. Have students go to the local human services and draw a angel off of the tree. The angel tells the child's age and what they like. Have each student bring their gift to school and then deliver it to human services for children to have presents for Christmas. I also feel the nursing homes are neat places for students to go and do various service learning projects. Have students choose a residence of a nursing home. Then throughout the year have students make various things to give to the residents to be delivered. I feel that there are so many things that could be considered service learning and students benefit from this. Yes it does take time but it is something that is teaching students positive things that help people.
Audrey-
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea to include health items in your service learning projects. I do think that health is very important and sometimes is overlooked. I think that is great that you would offer that.
Martecia-
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you they are exposed to things that they did not even know exsisted. They don't think about those things but exposing them is the best way for them to learn it. My sister in law had her own kids go and help with the food drive over Christmas. They got to pkg. things for the less fortunate. They loved doing it and was able to understand the importance of stopping for just one minute and help someone who can't help themselves.
The advantages to service learning are really only limited by the time a teacher can spend implementing them into the classroom. There is such a huge connection made in service learning to the 'real' world. This gives students the connection in their studies and gives them that tangible aspect to what they are learning about.
ReplyDeleteA negative aspect of service learning is that it does take extra time. With all the extra-curricular activities and standards the students need to learn it is hard to make the time to incorporate service learning sometimes. There is definitely a lot of pressure on teachers to cover the material fully as to maintain standards, and I think many people would view service learning as the frills, something that is not necessary.
I will incorporate it into my science courses as I think it has a definite place in helping the students understand the importance of learning. How they can directly apply the content they are learning to some part of their life or the environment around them.
Would you include service learning in your lessons? Why or why not? (NOTE: Tie your post to the grade level or content area you plan to teach.)
To add to my last post I use the service learning predominantly in my 10-12th grade science courses that are based on ecology, environment and biology.
ReplyDeleteTo add to what Cher said, I totally agree that service learning brings a civic duty into the classroom. You are not learning to pass tests only. You are learning because with the knowledge you are gaining you will be able to help those around you at home or in the community.
ReplyDeleteAudrey – I thought you did a great job of incorporating service learning projects into your content area. I think helping others with health problems and spending time at a health fair would show students there really is a connection between real life and the knowledge they gain in the classroom. I also agree that service learning activities help students to develop valuable citizenship skills.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I like and agree with your statement that service learning allows students to be part of their community and start to understand their responsibility as active citizens. Being in a classroom does not give students the opportunity to really understand their community and what it takes to be a community. Giving students an opportunity to be actively involved in their community can give them a better understand on what goes on around them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that service learning should be part of a student's curriculum. Service learning allows students to see what goes on in a community and experience parts of life they may not know about. Service learning might also spark an interest in a student that they would have never known about prior to the experience.
ReplyDeleteI plan on working in an early childhood environment and currently we do field trips to local grocery store so the children can see what goes on behind the scenes. At Christmas time we also go to the local assisted living homes and sing Christmas Carols and give the children an opportunity to do crafts with elderly. Letting children be part of their community through service learning can give them a different perspective on their learning in the classroom and may give them the link needed to better understand a classroom assignment.
I think that service learning can be an integral part of my content area of business because students are given the opportunity to have a hands-on approach to the subject they are studying. Students can get involved in the community and take part in real life situations. This will give the students a jump start on some of the key features of business and help them get a feel of what the business world is like. Students can also increase their social skills by doing service learning. There are a few draw backs though. Teachers have to arrange for these type of service learning projects and plan for how to handle them. This takes time away from other classroom work and makes it more difficult to cover everything that is needed for the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely try to incorporate service learning into my classroom when I become a teacher. I think that it is very important to seek out career possibilities through service learning and give students opportunities to experience real life situations.
Martecia: I agree with you in that students need to use service learning to enhance their knowledge and experience things that they didn't know existed. This is a great way for students to experience real life situations and expand their knowledge of the subject that they are studying.
ReplyDeleteSarah – In the text it stated that service learning was an academic learning for secondary and college students, but I had to wonder why it couldn’t be implemented in a grade school as well. I am assuming it has to do with services being an ongoing commitment and not just a brief project, and working with students old enough to provide their own transportation, if needed. However, I still think there can be ways to implement this type of learning in grade schools and it sounds like you have put some thought in how to do this as well. My own children have bee involved in some projects at school such as singing at the senior center and reading to kindergarten students, but one of the neatest projects came in their third grade year. For Christmas, the teacher wanted the students to contribute to God’s Pantry, but the teacher wanted students to earn the money instead of parents giving it to them. When they brought the money to school (usually two or three dollars a piece) she talked to them about what they did to earn the money. Just before break they took all the money to the grocery store and as a class purchased items to donate. She says it is always amazing to her how much food 8 and 9 y/o students can get with limited money if they watch prices and it is neat that they understand they had to work to give to someone else. Anyway, I just wanted to share this as an example of service learning for grade schoolers.
ReplyDeleteService learning is a neat idea that I hadn't given much thought to yet. I think it is a good way to develop certain skills such as working in groups, working with diversity, and working for others. I like the idea of teaching students to think about community, state or even country. Service learning can be advantageous to students by allowing them to see what is beyond the classroom walls and emphasize how to use their different abilities, but there can be limitations as well. It takes time, effort, and sacrifice to organize and implement service learning projects, not only from the teacher but also from the students. Choosing projects might prove to be difficult as there may be times when a student or a student’s parents object because of personal feelings about how important the project is to the student’s education. I also wonder if service learning projects might be harder to implement in a smaller community because of the lack or resources, lack of need, or problems with confidentiality.
ReplyDeleteI want to teach secondary mathematics, probably at the middle school level, and am very eager to find ways to incorporate service learning projects into my lessons. My biggest concern is that some students will participate or contribute strictly for the grade and I wonder how I can help my students reflect about the importance of the project. My first thought is to include some type of project to discuss their role in society not only as students but as they grow into adults. I think they need to understand what their actions can mean to someone else, and possibly use a type of role reversal project to help them understand how they made a difference. I think service learning is a wonderful opportunity to teach students about the “real” world by using a semi-controlled environment and working as a group.
I attended a private religious school first through twelfth grade where service learning was required each year by every student. That was many, many years ago and I am not 100% sure, but it was probably because the school is religious orientated. Most of the service learning requirements were to volunteer at the local soup kitchens and shelters for the homeless. Most of our duties were to sort and hand out clothing and personal products since we were all under the age of eighteen. I think it was great. The exposure to the shelter helped the students realize that not everyone has money at their disposal. Most of the students who attended the school were "children of money". A few of the students received extremely expensive cars for their 16th birthdays. The point is, that if the students were not required to volunteer, they might not have been inclined to do so and then there would not have been the exposure. It is a good building ground to develop good morals which was part of the curriculum. We were also required to take religion classes every semester. Other service learning ours were required with family and local businesses. The hours spent helping our parents and other family matters were to be unpaid.... no allowance for performing chores or other activities. I never received an allowance, help was expected in my house. Helping business owners had advantages to see what happens "behind the scenes". Overall, service learning can great insight into the world outside of the classroom just as field trips do. Just because you are not actually in the classroom does not mean the teacher is not incorporating a lesson. The only disadvantage I see in service learning is that the students can have a negative "attitude" when it comes to volunteering or helping out which could hinder the learning process.
ReplyDeleteI think that all faculty and staff members should volunteer at school events and I would put it in my lesson plans also. It is a great way to support the students and show that we care about them in every aspect. Being a part of their extracurricular events helps to support the students emotionally and can create a better teaching and learning environment. If the students know that you care, they are more willing to share with the teachers and hold open discussions. It is also a great way to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom to the real world and real situations. I hope to teach a science class in maybe third or fourth grade and I would definitely have a service learning lesson incorporated. Science is generally about hypothesizing and problem solving which could use a "fresh" perspective from young students in the community.
ReplyDeleteDeborah:
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of having the children go and sing at the assisted living homes. My daughter is four and LOVES to sing. She was singing at the top of her lungs outside the other day and I had to tell her to keep it down a little so she would not wake up the new baby next door. My point is that both sides are happy. The students probably all love to sing and entertain people and the residents love having the kids come visit them and do crafts. One of the schools I interned at had the students of every grade make a Christmas card and sent them all the a local nursing home. The staff were very excited and welcomed them. I like having the students do a craft with the residents. It seems that would be great since they get to spend time together and then the residents have something to remember the event.
Connie H.:
ReplyDeleteAre you getting a business degree now? or do you already have one? I was an accountant for 10 years and now I am almost done with my Elem Ed. degree. You said that planning a service learning would take time away from other classroom work. I'm not sure how it works in other schools, but the one that I attended had an administrator plan and apply all school functions. This included the service learning and filed trips. The teachers just had to discuss the needs of the students and curriculum to incorporate it to. Other than that, I do not see any negatives.
There are definately many advantages in using service learning in your classroom. Helping others cannot be taught and understood from a textbook. Service learning is the only way for students to step outside of themselves and do things for others.
ReplyDeleteService learning is also beneficial to students as it helps them develop social skills, provides them with lasting life experiencs, and it allows them to view life in a different light and not only appreciate the things they have, but to have empathy for those who are not as fortunate.
However, there are some possible limitations when it comes to service learning. Depending upon the area, there may not be the kind of service-type work available that is appropriate for students. Also, some schools may not like the idea of doing service learning because it may not appear as important instructional time.
As a teacher, I think it is important to have instructional learning. For my high school students, I would definately look for some way for us to get into some type of service learning in our area.
Collen S. - I worked in a private Christian school for about 7 years, so I understand how important it is for those students to lend a hand to those in need. I think it is necessary for them to see what life is really like, because a lot of times they think that everyone lives as well as they do.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's great your school made it mandatory for the students to do service learning.
Thanks Greg. I know when I was a student I had some "dreaded" feelings when I had to volunteer in a soup kitchen in Southwest Detroit. It has an extremely high crime rate and some students were actually scared to go. After we were there and spoke to the residents of the shelter, we found out that they are people too and some were just having a hard (financial) time. They were all very thankful that we were there to help them out and just talk to them. Some shared their negative experiences and wrong decisions so others could benefit from it. It was quite an experience.
ReplyDeleteI believe that service learning needs to integrated into the students curriculum. The children can learn many valuable lessons from doing service projects no matter what grade the students are. Children learn social skills and bring smiles to peoples faces. It teaches children the importance of respecting themselves and others. I have done many service projects and have experienced empathy, appreciation, and self fulfillment by doing service projects.
ReplyDeleteThe limitations will be time for the teacher and for the students. The teacher will have to plan according to other events going on so that the project will be successful. I think it's also important to get the parents involved so the student can this experience at home as we
I am teaching at a daycare center. There are a few things that I can think of that I could do. My classroom could adopt a grandparent. I could take my class to a senior center and have my class teach the seniors a finger play. I could also have the children make artwork that could be given to a senior center.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI have done lots of service projects as well. The most life changing for me was when I was in college the first time I went on an extreme spring break trip to work on an Indian Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico. I think that it should be in the school curriculum. It does not really take that much time away from anything and the benefits weigh so much more than the limitations(negative).
I like the concept of Service Learning for students of all ages. However, I can see it being most effective with older students in middle and high school. Advantages of service learning are teaching students about the importance of contributing to the community and an understanding and compassion for those that are less fortunate. There are many ways older students can serve the community and relate it the curriculum. It is much easier to take a group of adolescents into the community to complete a service project than it is to take a group of preschool children. As an early childhood teacher, this is one of the disadvantages to using service learning in my classroom. Also, parents end up taking on the responsibility of making sure that their children contribute to the project. For example, if the project is to collect cans for a Food Bank, the parents of young children are actually the ones who have to purchase and bring the items to school.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if the lesson is introduced in such a way that children are able to participate and parents are communicating the intent to their children, service learning can be meaningful in an early childhood classroom. I plan to incorporate service learning into my classroom by teaching the importance of helping others. One way I would do this is by encouraging children to help out at home. Parents would help their children find ways to contribute to the family and document these acts on a monthly calendar. This is something that is currently done at the parochial school that I teach at. Children earn “service points” for things they do at home. This is a voluntary activity, but the children are rewarded by placing stickers on the “Service Tree” on a bulletin board in the hallway. I would also do some class projects to help organizations in the community. This might include gathering donations for an organization and if possible taking a field trip to deliver the items. If it is not possible to take the class to visit the organization, I would have a representative come to the class to accept the donation and explain how the items will be used. I think that it is important that children have an understanding of who they are helping and have some type of direct interaction with those accepting the donation, rather than just collecting the items and having the teacher deliver them to the organization.
To make service learning meaningful, children need to have a direct experience with those that are benefiting from their service. It is also important to have discussions and explain how they are helping and contributing.
Deborah:
ReplyDeleteI also teach in the early childhood setting and at first I thought that service learning is appropriate for older students. However, reading your post I see other ways that young children can give to the community. One preschool classroom I worked with made frequent trips to a retirement home to sing to the residents. They also made various items related to the holidays and delivered these as well. This was a great experience for both the children and the residents.
Emily L: In your response to Sarah you shared a great idea. In my experience, one of the limitations to service learning is that the parents take on the responsibility of contributing to the project rather than the students. I liked that the children had to actually earn the money that they contributed to the class project.
ReplyDeleteService learning is a great way to get students involved in their community and for them to learn values. Advantages of this include social responsibility to others, their community, and also a better understanding of themselves and others. Disadvantages include time spent doing “required” activities, possible resentment of the activities because they are required to do so, and a want to not volunteer for the community at a later date. These are aside from the fact that the students are not learning directly in the classroom setting. Because of the fact that I will be teaching physical education, I probably would not use this form of teaching as a way for my students to learn. I will be teaching secondary classes and I just feel that time spent away from class would be counterproductive from the point of physical education itself. I think service learning is an important way to teach students about values, their communities, and themselves as well. However, I just do not feel the need to make students do more work outside of class and on their free time. I like the idea of students helping others, but I would want them to learn these values from within my classroom setting and take these values out into the real world rather than force them to do so. I do not want to be negative about service learning as I think it is a great idea, it’s just that in a physical education setting I am not sure that service learning is something that I would ever incorporate into my classroom.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I wrote the same thing in my blog about time spent away from the classroom and the increased time spent doing the activities. I think that these are major distractions for students and time spent out of the classroom not teaching math, science, English, or any other discipline is time, in a sense, wasted. However, in your situation, teaching elementary students the importance of helping others out, especially those less fortunate is a great way in itself to teach values. I think if I taught at an elementary school I would do the same thing, however since I will teach physical education in the secondary level I probably would not input service learning into my curriculum.
ReplyDeleteMartecia, I like what you said about implementing it to help students learn more about diversity skills. In today’s world I think that this is a very important skill that is not being taught well. I think we all agree that service learning, if used in the appropriate environment can only help students learn the values of community, social skills, diversity skills, and helping others out. I can see the importance of teaching these skills to young students at the elementary level more than I can at the secondary levels. Good input on your blog, especially the part about teaching diversity skills.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely integrate service learning into my classroom. Service learning has many advantages. Service learning promotes both the development of personal and social skills as well as creating a positive moral for students. Service learning also promotes self-awareness and self-evaluation. Students who donate their time, no matter the situation, are being unselfish and helping others actually in need.
ReplyDeleteThis biggest disadvantage in integrating service learning is the time taken away from core academics. I dont believe the days are long enough as it is for student learning. Because so many teachers have to teach to the test (state standards) students are already missing out on important and forgotten topics. The last thing we need to do is take more time away from instruction.
in response to j_rose32...
ReplyDeleteYou are totally right about the parents being a service learning limitation. Often parents are too busy with their own engagements they are not willing to add more to their plate. If each and every parent would take into account the values gained in these projects, I think they would be more willing to approve and participate.
I would like to bring in a service learning projects into my classroom. I hope to teach middle elementary 3rd or 4th grade. I think one valuable project for this age group would be visiting a nursing home on a regular basis. This project would allow students to work on their on social skills.
ReplyDeleteWhen students participate in service learning projects they are able to be apart of something that is bigger then themselves. This leads to students building a higher self worth when they participate in projects like these.
A disadvantage to incorporating service learning projects into a classroom would be the amount of time that it takes for the teacher to secure a project and the amount of time it takes to care out the project.
Connie- I agree that by asking students to participate in service learning projects they are also getting exposed to possible career opportunities. This is something that I had not thought of until you mentioned it, but is so true. Students who get a first hand look at different jobs within their community can start setting goals early for their future.
ReplyDeleteI believe that service learning is very beneficial to students of all ages and that it is especially important to start incorporating it in the lower grade levels. Service learning helps to teach children that it is good to help someone without expecting something in return and gets them in the habit of wanting to lend a helping hand when someone is in need. Through service learning events students are able to participate in a number of different activities in a variety of situations. With the use of service learning, students are encouraged to interact with a different gender, race, or cultural background which helps to build their understanding and respect of each as he/she progresses through school and life. Sometimes there are limitations put on service learning and that could be due to the location of some schools and what is offered and others might be the teacher’s enthusiasm towards this type of learning. As a future elementary teacher, hopefully at about the 1st grade level, I plan to incorporate service learning into my lessons. I believe that service learning can be incorporated into a number of different areas within the curriculum and one area I can think of in particular would be reading. At the school that I work at in the 1st grade they do a buddy read with the 4th grade students every Friday during their normal reading period. This is a service learning type of event for both classes; the 4th graders are being mentors and the 1st graders are encouraged to work with a variety of individuals in order to benefit his/her skills in the area of reading. The 1st and 4th graders work together to help the 1st graders gain AR points, ultimately helping to build both their reading and comprehension skills which I find to be awesome and I have enjoyed watching it take place as a para. As a teacher I will do what I can to encourage my students to try, do, and help one another through a number of different things. I think that if service learning is encouraged it is something that students will grow up knowing about and will be more will as high school and college students to participate in such an event/activity. As a college student I have even done some service learning projects that have varied from helping with a music concert to volunteering to participate in an elementary PE program and each of them that I’ve done I have greatly enjoyed. So overall, yes I believe that service learning is very good for students but like everything it too has its limitations depending on a wide range of factors. As a future teacher I plan to implement this into both my curriculum and lessons because I want the students to be introduced to it early on so they grow into those adults who are willing to help another individual no matter what his/her gender, race, or culture may be, without expecting something in return!
ReplyDeleteCher B.:
ReplyDeleteI too believe that service learning can be integrated into the classroom and result in a number of positive things for students. I agree that it takes time away from the classroom but I think that it can offer the students so much in an area that they wouldn’t otherwise experience and it will accompany them through school and into their adult lives. I think you made a good point when you said that service learning allows the students to both think and view certain things in a new way with a variety of different individuals. I too think that it is important to build the want within a child to help peers or other individuals and the want to do good things for whoever it may be. I think that it is really neat that you want to teach special education. Right now I am a part-time para for special education. I found all your ideas to be very interesting at how to incorporate service learning into the curriculum and your lessons. I especially thought the angel off the tree idea was very neat, that would definitely get the students involved and feeling good about what he/she helped give or do. At the school I work at we’ve done food drive type of things and its always interesting to see how much and what the students bring. I agree with you in saying that nursing homes are also a good place to do service learning at. I can remember when I was in school we used to go there during music and sing to them what we were going to perform at a concert; they greatly enjoyed it. It was good for both the older individuals as well as the students participating in it. Finally, I too believe that there is a wide range of options when it comes to using and implementing service learning into one’s classroom and definitely teaches the students something positive. I really enjoyed reading your post and thought that you made several good points regarding service learning and how to incorporate it into a special education classroom!
Service learning projects are a great and effective way to get students involved in the community and also for them to learn values and appreciate what they have.Community service and other forms of community engagement provide a variety of unique benefits to the students, the community and to the organizations where students volunteer. Research has shown that student learning, personal skills, and professional development will increase when students invest more of their out-of-class time and energy in educationally purposeful activities such as community service. Also, the community gains resources and services that would otherwise be unavailable.A disadvantage of community service is that it can be a form of punishment. It is required time spent doing such an activity which students will feel later on that they don't want to help again.This is beside the fact that students are not actually learning in the direct classroom. Since I am going into Physical Education, I probably will not use this form of teaching for my students to learn. I feel that since I will probably teaching high school education that the time spent away from the class that this work would have nothing to do with physical education itself. I do feel that service learning is really important into today's society. It teaches them morals, values, and they learn about themselves as well. I do feel that it would be good to have all students at least put in some hours of community services. It could be in a club they are in or anything else. Than have them turn the hours into me. It is a good way for the students to help others out. As everything in this world has positives and negatives so does community service. But I feel the positives out weigh the negatives. When I get in the classroom I feel that I will have my students participate in some community service.
ReplyDeleteNatausha I agree with you. Students do need to get into service learning projects at early ages. I know younger students can do the man labor like high school students but they can still help pick up trash or color/decorate poster that are going to be hung up. I feel like students that participate in community service are not as likely to get into trouble either at school or with the law. This could be something good if students do get into trouble for them to partake in.
ReplyDeleteAudrey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that health ideas need to be incorporated. I feel they are overlooked tremendously and students don't realize the importance of them. Teachers have to teach them before they ever realize it.
Integrating service learning into the curriculum allows students to learn a sense of social responsibility and civic awareness. When including service-learning into lesson planning, teachers can combine a community service with instruction and reflection. It allows students to become part of a change for their school and community, strengthening both. Service learning can be exciting and hands-on and it can combine the service objectives with learning objectives that are happening in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhen students participate in service learning they gain stronger self esteem. Service learning projects help students gain a sense of value and feel respected as well as respect for the project at hand. Students also learn that citizenship requires people from the community to be engaged in community life.
When integrating service learning into the curriculum, students learn to connect the experience in the classroom with life in the community. Students can learn to reflect on moral and ethical issues. Students can also learn the importance of the concepts they are learning daily in mathematics, science, social studies or humanities.
Another important aspect of the integration of service learning is the concept of work. Students experience with service learning gives them a feel for future work. It also builds a strong work ethic that will be important in the future.
A richer and deeper context of learning is development when the curriculum is broadened to include social learning. As a teacher who is incorporating service learning you become a mentor and a guide to the students involved. Also, school and community partnerships are formed.
Within the elementary school I currently work each teacher has a recycle box. It is up to the teacher to make sure their classroom’s box of recyclables are placed out by the school during the communities recycling day. I have often thought about how the box of recyclables could be integrated into the curriculum, stretching it beyond the concept of a greener earth. A 4th grade classroom could be in charge each week to go from classroom to classroom and collect the items in the recycle boxes. Many math and science lessons could be based around the items collected. For example, in math the items could be weighed. The numbers from the weight could be computed into mean, median and mode each week. The obvious for science class would be what impact is being made by recycling in the school. Students can also study what is biodegradable as well as pollution. Many ideas can be done with recycling in the school and this helps students gain a sense of responsibility for the earth as well as build a stronger school.
In response to Mark V…
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point you make that one of the disadvantages is that students can start to resent the service learning and not want to volunteer in the future. I think the important thing to keep in mind as teachers is to make sure to pick a service learning project that will interest each student. If that means having a few different service learning projects then do so. We need to spark their interest and keep them excited about their future possibilities with volunteering.
There are definitely pros and cons to service learning. Any time spent outside of the classroom that isn't focused on the tested content areas do not much more than distract from the areas that NCLB has directed that we ensure our learning in. On the other hand, there is a wealth that service learning provides that cannot be found within the confines of the traditional classroom. Students can find great meaning in utilizing the education that they are receiving to help others. It makes the concepts the students are learning meaningful and personal.
ReplyDeleteAt one time when I taught Spanish at a Christian school we, as a class, decided to sponsor a needy child from a Spanish speaking country. It allowed the students to use and practice their Spanish, learn about another culture, serve someone by investing in their life, and connect what they were learning to the real world. Some students continued to sponsor the child even after the class ended. I found the exercise invaluable and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Alyson, I am glad you mentioned serving around holiday time and simple things like collecting can goods. Someone else mentioned recycling. I wasn't thinking of all the ways that service learning could be implemented in simple everyday ways. Great ideas. Thanks. I think I will steal and implement many of the ideas several students mentioned. Blogging about practical things is always a great way to brainstorm and gather ideas.
ReplyDeletejrose32, I thought your comment about parent involvement was great. It is important to increase parent involvement wherever possible. Service learning provides a great opportunity for that. Another limitation that I see would be the financial backing for the projects. Sometimes, the projects require funding even if its only for transportation. With the many budget cuts it is difficult to cover the cost of extras.
ReplyDeleteThe advantages of integrating service learning into any curriculum far exceed the limitations. In the primary educational world in which I am learning that social studies is often placed on the back burner or completely ignored, service learning can be a very fun way to teach students what social studies is designed to teach--to become informed, responsible citizens.
ReplyDeleteEven with something as simple as collecting canned goods or slightly worn shoes for the needy, students can learn a great deal from all service learn projects. Students learn to view the world from a different perspective; they learn to work with others as a team. Students also learn to work within social situations that may take them out of their comfort zone or outside of their socioeconomic class for a while. Service learning projects not only help others, the projects help students develop socially, morally and personally.
The only limitations of service learning projects are finding worthwhile projects to tackle and the time to incorporate them into the curriculum. However, as educators who want the best, well-rounded education for our students, we must get creative and find ways to teach our students to reach out and help their fellow citizens.
I would, indeed, include service learning in my lessons as much as I could. Service learning provides hands-on experience and many students learn best from those real life learning experiences. As my focus as of this time is the primary grade level (K-3), I may have to choose more hands-off approaches to service learning. It is hard to require a first grader to serve Christmas dinner at a soup kitchen. However, this young age is a perfect place to start and learning about others affected by world disasters such as the earthquakes in Chile helps promote a spirit of serving others. Young students can collect shoes, money, food, supplies and even books for children their own age. Service learning provides a wonderful learning experience for students at every age level and I would be happy to follow the proper procedures to ensure that my students have an opportunity to participate in service learning projects.
In response to Emily L:
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that you opened with a comment stating that you hadn't given service learning much thought yet. I had thought about service learning, but in terms of my own projects via prior and current internships.
The irony of this particular blog, however, is that I recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC where a fellow Kansas advised me that his daughter's Kansas FFA Chapter is taking 4,000 (yes, four thousand) members to our nation's capitol to pick up trash around the city. What a wonderful experience!! That is when I began to think of service learning in terms of my own students. I won't be sponsoring any trips to Washington, DC any time soon, but starting small, on the local level is something that students in our area need. I spoke with staff from Senators Roberts' and Brownback's offices as well as from Representative Moran's office and what they all had in common is the volunteer work they did locally as young students and throughout their college careers. I'd love to see my students giving private tours at the Capitol some day and I believe that starts with volunteer work right here at home.
I didn't think of an issue with parents as to personal feelings toward a cause. You've brought up a good point in that regard. As a teacher, this comes with knowing our students and their beliefs and constant communication with the parents. Perhaps a newsletter about the project can be sent home with students and an invitation extended for any parents with concerns thereabout to feel free to contact the teacher.
However, coming from a small community, graduating from an even smaller community and being born in yet a smaller community; I can assure you that there are plenty of opportunities for service learning projects anywhere you go. If we are truly serious about giving our students opportunities to participate in service learning projects, there are always projects out there. I remember my brother's 4-H group in Oconto, Nebraska, painting the trashcans around town. It doesn't have to be huge or even require work outside of the classroom, the project just has to help students learn to help others.
I believe that using service learning could be seen as to having advantages and limitations when being used in a classroom setting. I feel that some of the limitations could be that when using service learning parents of students may feel that they are being taken away from the time that they would be using in their core curriculum subjects. Also, when using service learning a teacher would have to detailed plans in advance to make sure that the principal agreed to them as well as making sure enough adults were available to help out.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the advantages of having service learning are that students would not only be learning through text books in the classroom but also from their community and other education facilities as well. Service learning is another way to teach students but doing it in a fun and exciting way.
I would like to teach grades K-3 and I plan to use service learning in my learning process. I feel that their can never be enough ways for kids to learn and enjoying themselves while learning.
Response to Sarah S:
ReplyDeleteI agree that students need service learning to help with their social skills and helping with everyday life lessons.
I would integrate service learning into my plans because to me this gives the students advantages because they work with the public. To me when any person little lone a student has the opportunity to learn skills of working with the public they will have an advantage over people who do not.
ReplyDeleteAdvantages
The student learns to deal with the public.
The student learns to manage time and make appointments.
The student learns to be compassionate towards others. I think this is one item that a lot of students have lost out on here lately; compassion.
Disadvantages
It takes more time to set up because as a teacher you have to build the relationships with the community before they trust for you to help.
Students that just do not want to take part.
I believe with the generation being so into technology today and that is the way of communication; this makes service learning all the more important.
Nikki
ReplyDeleteI cannot agree more with you. To me there really is not disadvantages to service learning other then the time to get the relationships going and knowing what project you want to tackle. But after the relationships are built (in my case) then the disadvantage disappears because all seems to be pretty positive learning experiences for the students.