Service learning is mandatory in the class because I want to be able to conduct synchronous discussions about their service learning in class as part of their written reflection. Very early in the semester, we have an online discussion about what service means in their culture. After students select their own project, the groups are divided by project to discuss what they plan to do first. This discussion allows me to allay some of the fears students might have and to give them encouragement. This discussion provides a means for me to answer questions that many students would hesitate to ask in front of the entire class but that many would have.
Students also write in their journals after each contact with the project.
These journals are collected via the computer at the end of the semester. Students are urged to refer to what they have written in the journals for their online discussions and most do. The research essay is a data collection project about families where students may use their service learning contacts as subjects for their questionnaire. The in-class essay usually is the final exam for the class, and I usually ask that they write about a particular aspect of the class, sometimes their service learning project. This semester, for example, students were asked to write about what they have learned from the project.