Service-Learning is the integration of community service into the academic curriculum. Participants carefully examine or reflect upon the meaning of their service. The synthesis of the service experience within educational framework offers benefits which far exceed what service or learning offer separately. Students who perform service as part of their course work can see the connection between their work and the underlying issues behind the social problems being addressed. When service is used as the basis for critical reflection, students better understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens.
Reflection is at the heart of service-learning.
Class professors encourage students to keep logs and journals during their service-learning assignments. These written reflections are shared with faculty and sometimes classmates in periodic meetings and class discussions as decided by the faculty member. Attendance at these sessions is mandatory as it promotes a lively exchange among participants from many disciplines. The sessions are facilitated by a faculty member and Service-Learning staff members. Academic credit is awarded for learning derived from the experience, not the experience itself, and the journals and sessions are used to assess knowledge, understanding and insight gained during the service experience.