Pedagogy

What is Community Service-Learning?
Community Service-Learning is a philosophy born out of Community Service. In similar ways both engage students in service to the community and contributes to the developments of students' service ethic. Yet Community Service-Learning makes an intentional effort made to utilize the community service experience as a learning resource.

"Service-Learning" is the combination of experiential education and community service. Service-Learning is specially designed (course, program, activity) demonstrating the process of learning through reflection.  

Transforming Community Service into Community Service-Learning:
The University of San Diego's Center for Community Service-Learning fosters the "Service-Learning Philosophy" with its Course-Based Service-Learning Program.

How can you get involved?
- Take advantage of USD's Course-Based Service-Learning program offered by the Center for Community Service-Learning. The program provides a variety of assistance for integrating Community Service-Learning into the academic courses.

Why should you implement Course-Based Service-Learning into your course?

The Mutual Benefits:
Faculty, students, and community members have positive, social, personal, and learning outcomes through course-based learning. Each factor is interrelated and interdependent with one another.

Social Outcomes:
-Plays a role in reducing students' preconceived notions of stereotypes perpetuated by society through classroom discussion.

-Facilitates cultural understanding and sensitivity through its "real life" and interactive applications.

-Embraces a "Connected Knowing" paradigm where students look at what they are examining from the other person's shoes or point of view.

Personal Outcomes:
-Shapes personal development in regard to identity, spiritual growth, morality, and value system. It aids in having a strong sense of self.

-Students learn their strengths and limitations.

-The classroom environment becomes more dynamic, lively, interactive, and engaging for both students and teachers.

-Course-Based Service-Learning generates student-to-student discussions, thus increasing effective communication skills.

Learning Outcomes:
-Course-Based Service-Learning may increase academic rigor, by creating a synthesis of knowledge learned by merging service experience with the academic course.

-Reflection of the service experience conducted in the classroom positively impacts problem analysis and critical thinking skills.

Integrating Course-Based Service- Learning is easy as 1, 2, 3.
The Center for Community Service-Learning provides the following assistance to ease the transition:

- Staff arranges appropriate service projects in the community, in consultation with faculty.

-A student leader may act as the manager and facilitator for their peers. The student serves as the liaison between the professor and Community Service-Learning staff.

-Further advising is offered via a trained faculty mentor for any unexpected questions.

*The most effective service adopts a long-term outlook. Thus, the Center for Community Service Learning is more than willing to help in any way possible continuing through the years.