Course Assignment-Reflection 6

This week's reflection is about the service learning model, this model is connected with school curriculum and involves service learning. Sometimes service learning can be mistaken with community service, one of the main differences is in service learning the most important part is develop meaningful learning while doing service. But what exactly is service learning?
Lovat & Clement (2016) affirm that “service learning can be seen to accord with neuroscientific notions concerned with sociality as a feature of human development, social intelligence as an artifact of cognition, and the nurturing of empathic character as essential to effective teaching and learning” in other words being involved in service learning can strength social interactions and social affections during learning process.
Service learning then is considered a research-based method that includes a learning process that helps to address a real need in a specific community. Students are encouraged and guided to investigate a real problem and the resources they have. Then students prepare and plan activities to address the necessity, in this phase students use books, the internet, and other resources to identify the best ways to solve the necessity they found. When students are ready with their plan the logic next step is action. Now students are ready to practice all the information they found to benefit the community, in this stage students are in a continuous learning process, they can make changes to improve their plan and execution.
After the action stage, reflection come into a play. In this part of the process, students can reflect not only on what they learned but also about the skills they used to help in order to achieve during their service in the community. Reflection can appear before, during and after the process and can lead the students to better understand the overall process.
The final stage of the process in the demonstration of what students learned, is at this stage that students can share their knowledge and the experience during all the process of service learning.
After analyzing this model some ideas come to my mind in order to develop proposals using it. For example, guiding students to make a research about the impact of social media in their communities and identify real needs in their community. Another idea is a proposal about the impact of the electronic waste in the community, and identify real needs to involve various groups within a school. I also have some questions about the implementation. How can service learning be used in online communities? Can social media be used as part of service learning?
I think service learning is a good opportunity to develop more conscious citizens and at the same time encourage significant learning. Students can develop learning in context and at the same time helping to solve problems identified by them, in this way they can be aware of how their knowledge can be used in a meaningful way.

References

Kaye, C. B. (2010). The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, and social action (2nd ed.). Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing

Lovat, T., & Clement, N. (2016). Service learning as holistic values pedagogy. Journal of Experiential Education, 39(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825916628548