Benefits of SL
Service-Learning fulfills the institution’s historic mission, and it reinforces concepts woven throughout the university’s strategic plan. Through the integration of teaching and research, scholarship and engagement, learning and doing, service-learning responds to community needs while enhancing student learning.
Students benefit through
- hands-on use of skills and knowledge that increases relevance of academic skills
- accommodation of different learning styles
- interaction with people of diverse cultures and lifestyles
- increased sense of self-efficacy, analytical skills, and social development
- valuable and competitive career guidance and experience
- opportunities for meaningful involvement with the local community
- increased civic responsibility
“It brings books to life and life to books.”
How service-learning affects students
Faculty benefit through
- more lively class discussions and increased student participation
- greater participant retention of course material
- greater student awareness of community and “real world” issues
- more innovative approaches to classroom instruction
- enhanced opportunities for research and publication
- greater faculty awareness of community issues
“It changes faculty role from the expert on top to the expert on tap”
The Community benefits through
- access to university resources
- positive relationship opportunities with the university
- awareness-building of community issues, agencies and constituents
- opportunities to contribute to the educational process
- affordable access to professional development
- short- and long-term solutions to pressing community needs
“It shifts from community as laboratory to community as classroom”
Click here for more benefits to agencies.
Adapted from the Institute for Learning and Teaching. (2007). CSU Service-Learning Faculty Manual, Fourth Edition. Colorado State University.