Peaceful Solutions - Community Service Learning

Introduce the Topic

Ask participants to remember a time they helped someone -- an organized activity such as working in a soup kitchen, or an informal act, like shopping for a sick neighbor. What did they learn from their experiences? Have participants form groups of three or four to discuss this. Afterwards, ask someone from each group to summarize what was said.

Explain that this video features a formal, structured program called community service learning.

Discuss:

how service learning differs from volunteerism;
the importance of connecting service learning projects to the curriculum;
students' roles in identifying and designing service learning projects; balancing student initiative and autonomy with adult facilitation and guidance;
the benefits for both high school and elementary school students of the cross-age mentoring program; and
the value of service learning programs for vocational and college-bound students.

Try It Out

Ask participants to work in groups of four or five to brainstorm ideas for service learning projects. Say that they are not to elaborate any ideas; have them generate as many as possible. Provide chart paper and markers, and ask each group to appoint a recorder. Allow five to ten minutes for brainstorming. When time is up, ask groups to post and share their lists.

Next, tell each group to choose one idea that they all feel interested in, and then to outline an interdisciplinary unit built around the service project.

Allow five minutes for groups to choose a project, checking to make sure that each group's choice is one that all members can agree on. Allow 15 to 20 minutes for unit design. When you call time, reassure participants that it is OK if they have not finished. Ask each group to report on their plan. Finally, ascertain if there is sufficient momentum among the participants to pursue the plans beyond the workshop. If so, discuss how they might proceed, including ways that students could be brought into the process.

Take It Further

Participants can research opportunities for service in their community, with the goal of developing a database of contacts -- agencies, organizations, individuals -- that can be the foundation for a community-service learning program.