Co-curricular learning, Service Learning, and Volunteering

 

Co-curricular learning is defined as any learning activities, programs, and experiences that reinforce our mission and values (Higher Learning Commission, 2020).  Service Learning and organized volunteering through the school, department, or in classes may be forms of co-curricular activities.

 

Students

Faculty 

Resources

 

• What is the difference between Service Learning & Volunteering

  Volunteering focuses on the benefits to the service recipients. There are NO specific learning objectives tied to the experience.

   

  Service learning is tied to specific learning objectives.  It enhances the academic curriculum of a course or program in which the participants are enrolled. Service learning is experiential and requires assessment by participants on their service experience and application to the specific learning objectives. Overall, the most important feature of service learning is that both learning and service are emphasized.

• Benefits of Service Learning to Students and Faculty

  • Enriches student learning of course material and brings books to life

  • Engages students in active learning that demonstrates the relevance and importance of academic work for their life experience and career choices

  • Increases awareness of current societal issues as they relate to academic areas of interest

  • Broadens perspectives of diversity issues and enhances critical thinking skills

  • Improves interpersonal skills that are increasingly viewed as important skills in achieving success in professional and personal environments

  • Develops civic responsibility through active community involvement

• Benefits to the Community

  • Provides substantial human resources to meet educational, human, safety and environmental needs of local communities

  • Allows the energy and enthusiasm of college students to contribute for meeting needs

  • Fosters an ethic of service and participation in students who will be tomorrow’s volunteers and civic leaders

  • Creates potential for additional partnerships with faculty and increased collaboration with the campus

  • Provides opportunities to be co-educators

 

Students

Service learning is a structured learning experience that combines community service with preparation and reflection. Students engaged in service learning provide community service in response to community-identified concerns and learn about the context in which service is provided, the connection between their service and their academic coursework, and their role as community members.

 

• Service Learning Rubric

  OUTCOMES from Definition	UNACCEPTABLE	MINIMAL STANDARDS	EXCEPTIONAL STANDARDS
  Activity ties SL to SLOS	Doesn’t tie experience to SLOs.	SLOs not measurable or observable.	SLOs measurable & observable.
  Meets community needs.	No focus on community needs.	Identifies community needs.	Demonstrates complex understanding of the community needs they are working.
  Assessment examines the impacts of SL	No assessment of impacts.	Minimally evaluate impacts of SL experience.	Assessment creates a concrete connection between service learning and SLOs.

• Service Learning Awards For Students
  • Orange cord: This can be worn at graduation to show a student participated in a Service Learning activity. The cord can be purchased at the OSU-OKC Bookstore.
     
  • Graduation Program: Students’ names will be identified in the graduation program to show they participated in Service Learning.
     
  • Student Activity Transcript: Service Learning hours will be noted on the Student Activity Transcript. Great to have with a résumé! This can be requested through Student Services.
     
  • SHINE: Service Learning hours can be applied toward the SHINE Award.
     
  • Give Back: Service Learning hours provide an opportunity to use skills and knowledge in real-life situations. Giving back fosters a sense of caring for others.

 

Faculty

Find out more about the benefits of service and community-engaged learning.

 

• Why get involved in Community-engaged learning?

  1. Improve student learning - research has shown that service-learning improves student academic outcomes and student motivation

  2. Make a difference - community-engaged learning allows faculty and students to see how their work and ideas can have an impact and practical application on life beyond the classroom

  3. Connect to your passion - intellectual passions and service interests can connect through creative community-based projects in ways traditional classes and research may not

  4. Attract driven students - students who seek out community-engaged courses have unique life experiences and a commitment to their own learning

  5. Improve town-gown relations - creating positive, reciprocal relationships with community partners helps to blur the boundaries between campus and community

  6. Publish in new ways - service-learning and community-engaged research creates new knowledge and offers the opportunity to stand out

  7. Diversify your CV - service-learning and community engagement makes a nice addition to your tenure and promotion materials.

• What is community engagement?

  Service learning defined community engagement is the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.

• What is curricular engagement?

  Curricular engagement includes institutions where teaching, learning, and scholarship engage faculty, students, and community in mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. Their interactions address community-identified needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, enhance community well-being, and enrich the scholarship of the institution.

• Is service learning a new idea?

  The practice of service-learning dates back much further than the term itself, beginning with educational movements and social change in the late 1880s.

   

  The intellectual foundations of service-learning in the United States trace back to the early 1900s with the work of John Dewey, William James, and others who promoted models of “learning by doing,” and linked service to personal and social development.

   

  The term “service-learning” was coined by two educators in 1967 to describe the combination of conscious educational growth with the accomplishment of certain tasks that meet genuine human needs.

• How do I start a service learning project?

  There are several resources to help you investigate and start a service-learning project. OU’s Program for Instructional Innovation in the Center for Teaching Excellence assists teaching faculty and organizational units to provide educational programs of the highest possible quality and would be a good place to start. 

   

  See some helpful resources below.

• Principles of Good Practice for Service-Learning Pedagogy

  1. Academic credit is for learning, not for service.

  2. Do not compromise academic rigor.

  3. Establish learning objectives.

  4. Establish criteria for the selection of service placements.

  5. Provide educationally sound learning strategies to harvest community learning and realize course learning objectives.

  6. Prepare students for learning from the community.

  7. Minimize the distinction between the students’ community learning role and classroom learning role.

  8. Rethink the faculty instructional role.

  9. Be prepared for variation in, and some loss of control of, student learning outcomes.

  10. Maximize the community responsibility orientation of the course.

  [Howard, J., Service-Learning Course Design Workbook, 2001, pp. 16-19].

• Are clinicals and internships service learning?

  Yes, clinicals and internships may be service learning, IF they are reinforcing material learned in the class or program and are tied back to the SLOs in a course or program.  

 

Resources

• Oklahoma Campus Compact - A local resource for all things community and civic engagement.

• Campus Compact - National Organization for Civic Engagement and Service Learning.

• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse - Nationwide organization offering publication and resources over service learning. 

• Corporation for National and Community Service - The federal agency that leads service, volunteering, and grantmaking efforts in the United States. They help millions of Americans improve their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens through service. 

• Weber State University Center for Community Engaged Learning* - A national leader in community-engaged learning.

• National Youth Leadership Council, Service Learning Network

• Campus Compact

• Connecting the Classroom & Community

• Degrees for the Greater Good: How Training and Education Can Prepare You for Nonprofit Careers & Skill-Based Volunteerism

• Article on the emotional, physical, social, and physical health benefits associated with volunteerism.