What+is+Service+Learning?

Please review the following videos to get a better understanding of what Service Learning is. media type="custom" key="5684833"

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 * Service-Learning: An Essential Component of Citizenship Education A Position Statement of National Council for the Social Studies; Prepared by the NCSS Citizenship Select Subcommittee; Approved by the NCSS Board of Directors, May 2000, Confirmed 2007; Paraphrased by Brenda Quintana March 2010. **======

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Service-learning connects meaningful service in the school or community with academic learning and civic responsibility. Service-learning is distinguished from community service or volunteerism in two ways. First, the service activity is integrated with academic skills and content. Second, students engage in structured reflection activities on their service experiences. Service learning’s attempt to solve community problems, meet human and environmental needs, and advocate for changes in policies and laws to promote the common good is often confused with simply using the community as a laboratory. Instead, real life problems within the community are addressed. ======

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The benefits of service-learning to all within the educational community are immense. First, service-learning activities provide relevant and motivational opportunities that connect the principles and processes of democratic life with practical community problem solving. In other words, students are taking the concepts learned in the classroom and applying them within their community, which guides them in practicing collaborative problem solving. Second, service-learning increases students’ awareness of the community and world around them. This includes: the unmet needs in our society, the agencies and institutions involved in attempting to meet those needs, and a variety of strategies that they can use to create a better world. This is accomplished through our students connecting and collaborating with real individuals and institutions working against injustice. Finally, service-learning enhances the development of democratic values and attitudes. Students develop firsthand knowledge of such abstract concepts as justice, diversity, opportunity, equality, and the common good, in addition to developing empathy and compassion for others. These experiences reinforce to students the importance of a growing and changing community at their reach. ======

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Service-learning greatly enhances the potential for social studies teachers to fulfill their mission of educating informed and active citizens who are committed to improving society through the democratic process. Students are less likely to become such citizens in a text-bound curriculum that does not give them opportunities to practice their democratic rights and responsibilities and to contribute to the common good. ======

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This position statement may be reproduced freely without prior permission of National Council for the Social Studies. © 2001 National Council for the Social Studies ======

(Voicethread created/recorded by Dionne Sincire with bubbl.us map created by all members of group 5, first referenced video retrieved from [], second referenced video retrieved from [])