The role of the teacher becomes that of presenter as well as that of facilitator. The teacher becomes the midwife of accurate knowledge and personal meaning. Service-learning holds the promise of partnership between student and teacher. There is opportunity for teachers and students to learn together and from each other. Having been given responsibility for their own learning, students become more self-directed learners.
Many teachers report a deep satisfaction with the service-learning processes.
The teacher, as the primary facilitator of service-learning, can structure a service experience that relates academic subject matter to community life. The service-learning setting provides a rich milieu from which to interpret the significance of classroom material. The curriculum is enhanced by giving students life experiences against which to understand and assimilate concepts and facts. Management of the learning experience provides an opportunity for the teacher to reinforce basic academic skills and, by reflective processing, to cultivate the development of higher-order thinking skills. An environment is created in which students can learn from emotionally rich experiences.