The Benefits of Service Learning
The Benefits of Service-Learning
Adapted from Service Integration Project at Colorado State University
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”
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”
