OCR Text |
Show , Spring 2005 page 19 The Bennion Center Improves The Service-Learning Program BY MARC STERN With hundreds of internships available through the University of Utah, students may wonder which internship will serve them best, but unknown to many, another option exists. The University of Utah has a newer alternative to the traditional internship that gives the student a more refined learning experience: service-learning. Additionally, for teachers who are seeking to enhance both the quality of their ________________ courses as well as the ease by which they manage their classroom, the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center recently enhanced the service-learning program. In order to accommodate teachers, as well as students and community partners, the Bennion Center has added two new features to the service-learning program: the Service-Learning Coordinator and a service-learning database. "Service-learning incorporates a method of teaching and learning through the use of experience in community settings. Designed to enhance the understanding of course material, students provide a service that meets the need of a community organization. However, service-learning uniquely features aspects of learning that make it stand apart from other experiential learning," said Marshall Welch, Director of the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center at the University of Utah. "It's important to note the unassuming hyphen between the words 'service' and 'learning,'" Welch said. "Students provide a service that meets the need of a com- "Reflection is connecting course material to service in order to create a meaningful learning experience. The program encourages students not just to perform service now, but to always be civically engaged/' munity partner. That service connects to course objectives and represents the learning aspect." By connecting the service experience with class content, students earn a grade for learning and not for the service. This way, the service shares just as much importance as the learning and is tied to the instructional goals. Service-learning arranges and designates the service component as important as other outside-the-class-room learning activities, such as reading assignments, written papers, and exams. Instructors should anticipate 2 to 3 hours of service activities per week for a 3-credit course. _______________ Every service-learning course maintains the expectation that students will learn the genuine "give and take," or reciprocity, which comes from performing community service. Although similar to internships, which usually focus on a student's mastery of a professional skill, each service-learning course goes beyond most internship limits by addressing community needs and promoting students' sense of citizenship. Internships, in fact, can qualify as service learning if they meet the nine basic principles of criteria established by the Bennion Center, as the sidebar on the next page indicates. Service-learning courses also incorporate two fundamental principles: reflection and reciprocity. Reflection occurs in the classroom when students analyze their service experience by considering how the project went beyond the course objectives and encountered larger societal issues. "Reflection is connecting course material to service in order to create a meaningful learning experience," said Shannon Gillespie, the Service-Learning Coordinator |