Service learning is integrated into the academic curriculum and provides structured opportunities for students to reflect critically on their experience through a mix of writing, reading, speaking, listening, and group activities. Service learning provides students with opportunities to use newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities . Service learning fosters a sense of caring for others and a commitment to civic responsibility. Service learning is based on a reciprocal relationship in which the service reinforces and strengthens the learning, and the learning reinforces and strengthens the service. The combination of focusing on meeting community needs, identifying learning objectives, and intentionally reflecting on what is being learned makes service learning unique and fundamentally different from community service, volunteerism, and experiential education.
Community service helps meet community needs through volunteer efforts.
While meeting these needs, service learning also allows students to use the service experience as a foundation to better understand the curricular objectives of the course. The goal of service learning is to educate those who serve. This is not necessarily the goal of volunteerism, community service, or experiential education. Service learning gives academic credit for demonstrating learning achieved through the service, not just for putting in hours. The service and learning must be worthwhile for both the student and the community agency.