SERVICE-LEARNING

NSTP102-CWTS CHAPTER 2
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, the students will be able to:
1. understand how service-learning leads to effective community
intervention and active participation;
2. recognize the different strategies applied or adopted in community
services and intervention; and
3. appreciate the spirit behind service-learning and community
involvement.
 Overview
This chapter deals with the guidelines and procedures
of community service learning. It integrates meaningful
community service and reflection to enrich the
students’ learning experience and social development.
Service-learning
- it provides students the opportunity to work with others,
gain valuable insights and acquire different skills.
-skills will be through varied community projects, the can
apply what they have been taught in class by formulation
appropriate solutions to the problems they encounter in their
choosen communities.
An enrollees of NSTP-CWTS2 can use the
insights that they gain in the classroom and
provide solutions to real-life problems in the
community.
They become bona fide members of their assigned communities as they render services and perform acts like the following:

1. Analyze the effect of natural disasters and use a kit to gather important
items during disaster preparation. Elementary students can design and
distribute these kits to the members of the community.
2. High school students can closely monitor the effects of poor nutrition
and lack of exercise by organizing health-related activities, concoct
nutritious recipes and putting up fruit and vegetable stands in the schools
in the community.
3. To eliminate invasive aquatic species, biology majors can study
the complexity and diversity of wetlands.
4. University students can help struggling local non-profit
organizations cope with difficult economic conditions
Characteristics of Service-learning
1. It brings good, substantial and practical results for the participants.
2. It promotes cooperation rather than competition where the skills associated with teamwork and
active community involvement are developed.
3. It gives appropriate rather than simplified solutions to problems that seriously affect the community.
4. It provides real-life experiences wherein students gain knowledge from a particular community
engagement activity rather than from a textbook.
5. It gives students a deeper understanding of concepts and real-life situations in the community
through immediately observable results.
6. Through an immediate understanding of a situation in the community, service-learning becomes a
more significant experience for students, leading to their emotional and social development and
cognitive learning.
Service-learning is not:
1. An episodic volunteer program
2. An add-on course to an existing school or college curriculum
3. Logging a set number of community service hours in order to graduate
4. Compensatory service assigned as a form of punishment by the courts or by school
administrator
5. Only for high school or college students
6. One-sided, that is, beneficial only to the students or the community
 Service-learning
Theory
Service-learning is a form of experiential education wherein
learning occurs through cycles of action and reflection.
Students work with others in applying what they have learned
in class to solve community problems while, at the same time,
reflecting upon their experiences as they seek to attain their
goals for the community and a deeper understanding and skills
for themselves.
Legal Bases of Service Learning
Service-learning is based on RA 8292, also known as the Higher
Education Modernization Act of 1997. This law reiterates Section 2
(1) of Article XIV of the 1987 Constitution by declaring that the
“Policy of the state is to establish, maintain and support a complete,
adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs
of the people and the society.” This policy can be attained through
the HEI’s trilogy of functions- academics (teaching-learning),
research and extension (community service)- and their keeping in
mind of their legal responsibility to act as effective agents of change
and development.
HEIs on Service-learning
One of the trifocal functions of the university is community extension.
According to Tariman (2007), its duty to the youth is to make them
literate and functional, so they can make goods decisions regarding
the problems affecting their health, families and duties and
responsibilities to the community. They should be provided with
opportunities for cooperative undertakings affecting the welfare of the
entire community, so they can develop into young men and women
who look upon their own interests in terms of the welfare of others.
Benefits of Service-learning
1. Increase their understanding of the class topic
2. Gain firsthand experience (possibly leading to a future internship or job)
3. Question or defend values and beliefs
4. Have the opportunity to act on values and beliefs
5. Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills
6. Increase their knowledge of diverse cultures and communities
7. Learn more about social issues and their causes
8. Improve their ability to handle difficult situations
Benefits of Service-learning
9. Be open to change and become more flexible
10. Develop or enhance their skills, especially in the areas of
communication, collaboration and leadership
11. Test out the skills, interests and values required in a potential career
path and learn more about their field of interest
12. Connect with professionals and community members who will also
learn from the service-learning program
13. Grow a professional network of people, whom they can contact later
for career growth
14. Be encouraged in joining public service or social organizations
 The following are significant and helpful steps in
effectively implementing service-leaning:
1. Assess the community resources 6. Look for funds
2. Establish partnership and linkages 7. Implement and manage the program
3. Indicate the specific learning 8. Organize reflection activities
objectives in the syllabus
9. Assess and evaluate the program
4. Initially plan on the chosen program
10. Celebrate the achievement
5. Plan the details of the progam
Guidelines and Procedures:
A. Preparatory Stage
1. The students and faculty members are both responsible for the selection of
the community or institution.
2. The faculty member must submit a letter of intent to the college dean
through the chairman or the head of the SLP.
3. The faculty member will write a letter of intent and request for permission
to conduct a SLP to the selected community or institution.
4. The students who will join the SLP must secure a waiver from the office of
Students Affairs to be signed by their parents or guardians.
5. The faculty member must conduct a classroom briefing about the
program/activity before the implementation of the SLP.
Guidelines and Procedures:
B. Implementation Stage
1. The students and the supervising faculty member of the SLP are required to wear the prescribed
school identification card (ID) and college T-shirt and observe proper decorum while in the
community or institution.
2. The students and faculty member on the SLP shall cover their respective transportation,
communication and meal expenses during the period.
3. The faculty member or the assigned group leaders shall take responsibility for all communication
and coordination with the partner community or institution in relation to the SLP.
4. The college dean or the head of the program will conduct spot monitoring or follow-up of
students involved in the SLP to determine the actual and current status of the program.
5. In case the faculty member in-charge will be absent, he/she must inform and ask permission
from the college dean to find another faculty member as substitute to supervise the students.
Guidelines and Procedures:
C. Post-Activity Evaluation Stage
1. The students must submit a narrative report with pictorial documentation and reflection
paper to the faculty member.
2. The faculty member will evaluate the students’ narrative report using the assessment tool
that is designed for this activity.
3. The college/university through the chairman or head of the program must conduct an exit
conference with the community or institution beneficiaries/leaders to assess the service-
learning program (SLP) implemented.
4. A certificate of SLP completion shall be issued by the college/ university upon the written
request of the faculty member in college.
5. The college/university shall issue a certificate of appreciation to the cooperating community
or institution community or institution upon the completion of the service learning activities.
 CONCLUSI
ON
Service-learning is applied in a wide variety of settings, including schools, universities and
community and faith-based organizations. It can involve a group of students, a classroom or
an entire school.
Students build character and become active participants as they work with others in their
school and community in various service projects designed for the development of
education, public safety and the environment.
Service-learning provides an important services to the community. Students develop and
understanding of actual social, political, economic and environmental issue in their assigned
communities. They may also reflect on their future personal and career interest whether
these be in the field of natural science, behavioral sciences, public administration, values
clarification/formation, environmental studies, public policy or other related areas.
Through Service-learning, both the students and the community undergo a transformative
experience.