Academic Service-Learning (ASL) helps students gain a better understanding of course content by putting it into practice. Service-learning engages students in real-life settings, working on community issues to connect classroom learning with societal issues. An effective service-learning course involves students in a meaningful community project combined with reflection to process the learning gained from field experience.
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The Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement has worked closely with professors and the community to make arrangements for service-learning projects. Agency partners expect students to fulfill obligations of assignments while providing needed service to their organization.
Students are expected to:
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attend the agency’s orientation session.
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contact the agency to schedule hours and notify them of any scheduling changes.
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keep track of service learning hours and turn in a signed validation form at the end of the semester.
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contribute to the mission of the organization.
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reflect on what they are learning from the experience.
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discuss any concerns about their experience with the agency partner, the professor, or the Kernodle Center.
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contact the Kernodle Center if they are unable to resolve any concerns.
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uphold Elon’s academic and social honor codes.
The Kernodle Center will:
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assign students to agency partners based on schedules and preferences.
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provide students with contact information and a basic description of their agency partner.
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serve as a liaison between the student, agency partner and faculty member regarding the service project.
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record student service hours on their Elon Experiences transcript.
The agency partner will:
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provide students an orientation to their organization, including information on their mission and structure.
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arrange for opportunities that will provide for a learning experience.
Individual professors have their own methods of integrating service-learning into the classroom. These may be direct, such as making a brochure, or indirect, such as the experience as a whole. There also will be times when students will have to dig deeper to process and understand the connection between their experience and the classroom material.
It may not always be clear for students at first what they should be learning from their service-learning experience. After all, life isn’t as neat and perfect as textbooks make it sound. This is why reflection is important. Students need to spend some time thinking about what they learn about the organization, the social issue, themselves and their class. Often, students find that the experience, or the lesson learned from it, was not what they expected.
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