Students..
…in service-learning classes can benefit academically, professionally, and personally. They can:
- Increase their understanding of the class topic
- Gain hands-on experience
- Explore their values and beliefs
- Have opportunities to act on their values and beliefs
- Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Grow their understanding of diverse cultures and communities
- Learn more about social issues and their root causes
- To be open to change; become more flexible
- Develop or enhance their skills
- Test out their skills, interests, and values in a potential career path
- Connect with professionals and community members who they will learn from
- Grow a professional network of people they might connect with again later for jobs or internships
Faculty…
…can benefit personally and professionally from integrating service-learning into courses. Teaching with service-learning can:
- Encourage interactive teaching methods and mutual learning between students and faculty
- Add new insights and magnitude to class discussions
- Lead to new avenues for research and publication
- Promote students’ active learning; engage students with different learning styles
- Develop students’ civic and leadership skills
- Boost course enrollment by attracting highly motivated and engaged students
- Provide networking opportunities with engaged faculty in other disciplines
- Foster relationships between faculty and community organizations
Community Partners…
… participating in service-learning can benefit in these ways:
- Gain additional human resources needed to achieve organizational goals
- Grow the organization’s volunteer pool: service-learning students will share their experiences with friends and classmates
- Increase public awareness of key issues
- Reach out to youth
- Educate students/youth about community issues; correct any misperceptions
- Help prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s civic leaders
- Network with colleagues in other organizations and agencies
