Service Learning—Benefits
Benefits to Students
- Service Learning enriches student learning of course material by moving them from the margin of the classroom experience to the center. It “brings books to life and life to books.”
- Students come to see the relevance and importance of academic work in their real life.
- Enhances students’ self-esteem by allowing them to “make a difference” through their active and meaningful contribution to their communities.
- Service Learning broadens perspectives and enhances critical thinking skills.
- Service Learning improves interpersonal and human relations skills which are increasingly viewed as the most important skills in achieving success in professional and personal spheres.
- Service Learning provides guidance and experience for future career choice.
- Service Learning provides experience which can be used on a student’s resume and future college applications.
- Service Learning develops student’s network of support and professional contacts.
Benefits to Faculty Members
- Service Learning enriches and enlivens teaching.
- It changes our role from the expert on tip to the expert on tap, and with that change we enjoy a new relationship with our students and a new understanding of how learning occurs.
- As we connect the community with the curriculum, we become more
aware of current societal issues as they relate to our academic areas of interest.
- We identify new areas for research and publication and thus increase our opportunities for professional recognition and reward.
Benefits to the Community
- Service learning initiatives provide the community with substantial human resources to meet its educational, human, safety, and environmental needs. The talent, energy, and enthusiasm of our college students are applied to meet these ever increasing needs.
- Many students commit to a lifetime of volunteering after this experience, creating a democracy of participation.
- Service Learning creates a spirit of civic responsibility that replaces the current state of dependence on government programs and altruism by the experts. It results in a renewed sense of community and encourages participative democracy.
Center for Service Learning, Mesa Community College
