A Series of 5 Service-Learning Introduction Videos

Service-Learning (SL) theory begins with the assumption that experience is the foundation for learning; and various forms of community service are employed as the experiential basis for learning¹. It combines service objectives with learning objectives with the intent that the activity changes both the recipient and the service provider². For more definitions in literature, please click here.

The theoretical and pedagogical roots of SL are founded on Dewey’s theory of experience and education³. Kolb, founder and chairman of Experience Based Learning Systems (EBLS) and currently Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behaviour of Weaterhead School of Management in Case Western Reserve University⁴, who reduced Dewey’s model into a four-stage cyclical model of Experiential Learning, which serve as the theoretical foundation of SL. The cycle begins with Abstract Conceptualization. Students get to know the community, identify an issue, and analyse it, relate the issue to the academic content or relevant theories and concepts they have learnt. In Active Experimentation stage, student will think of a solution with or without new idea inspired in the previous stage, then actively apply and integrate the knowledge and skills to implement or experiment with their service plan. Students apply and observe how their classroom-learnt skills are used in a real-world situation. This drives the SL journey to the next stage called Concrete Experience. The SL journey complete after reaching the last stage, Reflective Observation. Reflection is a meaning-making process that moves a learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas⁶. Students critically reflect on the service they offered and the experience they gained in the previous stage⁵. The existing learning cycle completes and a new cycle starts again from the abstract conceptualization. Please click here to learn more.

Beneficiary and focus are two key parameters of SL. Distinctions among Service Programs illustrate how the proportion alters the service delivered and the learning students to be experienced. Volunteerism emphasises on the service and weight on recipients. Students may serendipitously learn something in the process⁷. Community Service focuses on service, which involves more structure, and students dedicate themselves to address a local community need. Community service has the potential to become SL when the service activities become more integrated with the academic course work of the students and the students begin to engage in formal intellectual discourse around the various issues relevant to the academic course. Internship lies on the other end of the continuum. For some students, internships are performed in addition to regular course work often after a sequence of courses has been taken⁶. It provides students with hands-on experiences that enhance their learning and understanding of a particular area of study. Students are the primary beneficiary. In field education, students perform the service as part of their course. It plays an important role in many service-oriented professional programmes, such as social work, education, and public health. When beneficiary and focus are balanced, both the service enhances the learning and the learning enhances the service, it reaches the SL. Please click here to learn more.

When designing your SL course, teachers could consider integrating the Five Stages of SL. It is a dynamic process consist of investigation, preparation, action, reflection, and demonstration. These five stages build on the core curriculum. In the investigation stage, not only understand the social issue, but students also understand more about their interest, skills, and talents. They gather information about the identified issue through various approaches, such as media, interviews, and survey. Preparation includes the continued acquisition of knowledge that pinpoints the addressed questions from investigation, organization of plan, timeline, roles and responsibilities. Action means the implementation of the plans developed in Preparation stage. Next is the Reflection stage, which carries a summative intention, and always involve the employment of intelligence and development of new knowledges. In the Demonstration stage, students tell the story of what took place in each stage, which also includes key informative reflection⁸. Students will go through the learning cycle and start a new one.

You could see from the diagram^13,14 below that Reflection appears few times in the cycle. It connects Investigation, Preparation and Action, and links Demonstration. Reflection activities are a critical component of effective SL because they connect the service activities to the course content, extending the educational agenda beyond rote learning¹¹. Delivering service does not necessarily lead to learning and understanding¹⁰ but reflection helps so. Reflective activities direct students’ attention to new interpretations of events¹¹. Continuous reflection could lead to new cognitive and problem-solving experiences and transform into knowledge; students can thus integrate old and new experiences to gain complete learning⁹. Please click here to learn more.

Putting SL in practice, there are four types of SL – direct SL, indirect SL, research-based SL and advocacy. Direct SL involves person-to-person contact of students and the beneficiary¹⁴. When performing Indirect SL, students do not participate directly in field work¹⁵. They apply their knowledge to create a service or product to meet a clear need and benefit to the community^14,15. Teachers could think of blending direct SL and indirect SL in their course design so that students could think about the scope and value of their work for the community and at the same time connect their work with human element¹⁴. For Research-based SL, it involves collaborating with a community partner to conduct research that addresses community needs, which enhances students’ research skills¹⁶. The last type of SL is advocacy, which intents to draw public awareness¹⁷. Students lend their voices, writing ability, and other talents¹⁵ to create awareness of or promote action on an issue of public interest¹⁷. Please click here to learn more.

We hold workshops of different topics from time to time, offering practical tips and an instant response chance. If you have any thoughts and needs, kindly “TELL us more“. To learn more about SL, please click here to visit our website. More support from us are on the way. See you in the next issue!

1. Boise State University. (No Date). Theoretical Foundation of Service-Learning. Retrieved: https://www.boisestate.edu/servicelearning/faculty/theoretical/
2. Berke, D.L., Boyd-Soisson, E.F. Voorhees, A.N. and Reininga, E.W. (2010). Advocacy as Service-Learning. Family Science Review, 15(1), 13-30.
3. Pacho, T.O. (2015) Unpacking John Dewey’s Connection to Service-Learning. Journal of Education & Social Policy, 2(3), 8-16.
4. Case Western Reserve University (2023) Weatherhead School of Management, Executive Education, Instructors. Retrieved from https://weatherhead.case.edu/executive-education/instructors/david-kolb
5. Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice-Hall.
6. The University of Puget Sound. (No Date). Kolb’s Learning Cycle. Retrieved: https://www.pugetsound.edu/experiential-learning/available-resources/creating-critical-reflection-assignments-resource-1/kolbs
7. Rodgers, C. (2002) Defining reflection: another look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking. Teachers College Record. 104, 4, 842-866.
8. Furco, A. (1996). Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education. Expanding Boundaries: Serving and Learning. (Reprint, pp2-6), Washington DC: Corporation for National Service.
9. Lin, T.H. (2021). RESEARCH ARTICLE Revelations of service-learning project: Multiple perspectives of college students’ reflection. Retrieved: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257754
10. Lin, T.H. (2021). Service-Learning Project: Different Stages of Reflection and Learning. 10th International Conference on Educational and Information Technology.
11. Bringle, R.G. and Hatcher, J.A. (1999). Reflection in Service Learning: Making Meaning or Experience. Evaluation/Reflection. 23
12. Kaye, C. (2010). The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, & social action (Rev. & updated 2nd ed.). Minneapolis: Pree Spirit Pub.
13. Kaye, C. (2015). The Dynamics of Service Learning. http://aisa.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/resources/service-learning/all-service/the-dynamics-of-service-learning-010920.pdf
14. Siu, B.W.Y. (2014) Direct and Indirect Service Learning in Civil Engineering Education. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Service-Learning, Nov 20-21, 2014, Hong Kong.
15. University of Minnesota. (2011). Community Engagement Scholars Program: direct, Indirect, Research, and Advocacy Engagement. Retrieved: http://ccel-app.umn.edu/cesp/programdetails/engagement_types.html
16. Lim, Y. Maccio, E.M., Bickham, T. and Dabney, W.F. (2017). Research-based service-learning: outcomes of a social policy course. Social Work Education, 36(7), 809-822.
17. International School of Lund-ISLK. (No Date). Service as Action, Types of Service. Retrieved: https://sites.google.com/skola.lund.se/saa/types-of-service