“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or 
  the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our  
  service and relationship to humanity.”
                                                         --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Table of Contents:

    1. USM/L-A’s mission statement.                    

    2. Essential elements and effective practices of service-learning.

    3. Sample S-L Agency Agreement.

    4. Expectations for site supervisors.

  2.  Essential Elements and best practices of Service-Learning:

   An effective and sustained program:

•  Engages people in responsible and challenging actions for the common good.

• Provides structured opportunities for people to reflect critically on their service  experience.

•  Articulates clear service and learning goals for everyone involved.

•  Allows for those with needs to define those needs.

•  Clarifies the responsibilities of each person and organization involved.

• Matches service providers and service needs through a process that recognizes changing circumstances.

•  Expects genuine, active, and sustained organizational commitment.

• Includes training, supervision, monitoring, support, recognition, and evaluation to meet service and learning goals.

• Insures that the time commitment for service and learning is flexible, appropriate, and in the best interest of all involved.

• Is committed to program participation by and with diverse populations.                   

      Honnet, E. P., & Poulson, S. J. (1989).

(Wingspread Special Report). Racine, WI: The Johnson Foundation.
Principles of Good Practice in Community Service-Learning Pedagogy

Principles of good practice for combining service and learning:

•   Academic credit is for learning, not for service.

•   Do not compromise academic rigor.

•  Set learning goals for students.

•   Establish criteria for the selection of community service placements.

•  Provide educationally sound mechanisms to harvest the community learning.

•   Minimize the distinction between the student’s community learning role and the classroom learning role.

•   Re-think the faculty instructional role.

•   Be prepared for uncertainty and variation in student learning outcomes.

•   Maximize the community responsibility orientation of the course.

  

As a form of experiential education, service-learning shares similarities with 
  internships, field education, practica, and voluntary service. Furco (1996) places
  these forms of education on a continuum. At one end of the continuum are
  internships and practica, with their primary focus on the students' career
  development. At the other end are volunteer activities, in which the emphasis is
  on the civic involvement and the services provided to recipients. Furco locates
  service-learning in the middle of the continuum, and states that it is unique in its
  "intention to equally benefit the provider and the recipient of the service as well
  as to ensure equal focus on both the service being provided and the learning that
  is occurring" (1996, p. 5).

4. Expectations for site supervisors:

A. Read the course syllabus.
Communicating with the faculty person to learn about the course content will help you shape the student’s learning experience and understand what the student is bringing to the placement. Keep in mind that not only do service-learning students want to help meet important community needs, but they are also using the experience as the basis for understanding their college course. Students are receiving academic credit for learning through their service efforts.  

B. Provide a Job Description.
A clear service-learning job description, outlining tasks, responsibilities, and required skills must be given to the student. Positions that carry some degree of responsibility and involve client contact are ideal.

C. Orient, train and supervise!
Students often require a structured orientation to your agency, staff, and clients. Introduce them to staff, provide a tour of the facility, discuss emergency policies, accident procedures, and the rules and regulations of the site. Explain your mission and familiarize students with key community and societal issues facing your organization (i.e. “the bigger picture”--why you do what you do, and how the student can contribute to this end).

D. Be realistic with your time commitment and expectations of students.
Think in terms of semesters and the academic calendar, and remember that you will have to be aware of the semester schedule in order to adapt accordingly. Most students will only be available for 1 or 2 hours per week, for approximately 10 weeks.

E. Be an involved teacher and mentor for students.
The supervisor is truly a partner in the student’s education and should view her/himself as an educator. Throughout the assignment help the student interpret the experience and the relationship between what he/she is doing and the work of the agency and others. At the beginning of the semester, the student may ask you to review and sign an Agency Agreement Form (see above). This plan will clarify the student’s learning objectives and job responsibilities. Your relationship with the student is one of the most significant elements of the service-learning experience and often determines the success of the placement.

F. Say “Thank you" to Students
Like everyone, students want to be welcome and appreciated. This may take many forms from letters of recognition to a thank you note, or a verbal acknowledgment of a job well done. They also need to see how their work is important to your agency’s mission. Ask the students how they’re doing and what could be improved.

G. Talk to us.
Keep the OCS/S-L informed of any concerns, suggestions, or other pertinent issues related to the placement and/or the student. We are here to facilitate the process and assist you in any way possible.

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