Question

Explain the difference between service-learning and community service. Give an example of each and discuss your personal experience with either or both.

Answer 1

Service-Learning is curriculum-based and structured as a class requirement in which students enroll and serve the community. It includes both a classroom and an off-campus experience with a reflective component and meets the objectives and goals set forth by the instructor/course. In community service, the emphasis is placed on the people being helped and the service being offered. These are services, which are identified by an institution of higher education, through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations. Community Service is designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, to solve particular problems related to their needs, including such fields as health care, child care, literacy training, education welfare, social services, transportation, housing and neighborhood improvement, public safety, disaster relief, crime prevention and control, recreation, rural development, and community improvement; among others.

Community service
Students participate in a neighborhood cleanup. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts.

Service learning
Students in an environmental studies course study waste collection and recycling services in the city. Students participate in a series of local clean-up projects as a way of learning about accessibility and use of these services in various neighborhoods. The community receives help with litter abatement and beautification efforts and informed recommendations on sustainable waste management.

Community service
Students host an on-campus field day for children from local schools. They organize games and other recreational activities in the quads and the university gymnasium. The community receives a safe and supervised recreational program for youth.

Service learning
Students in a developmental psychology course volunteer in the recreation program at a local afterschool center. They learn how movement and healthy play affect learning, socialization, and behavior among young children. The community receives volunteer and capacity-building assistance with designing and implementing ongoing recreational programming which maximizes learning, teamwork, and inclusion among youth.