Service Learning

An Overview of Service Learning

As the name implies, service learning combines the acquisition of specific learning outcomes with community service, thus bringing together three entities: the community, higher education, and service. Fundamental to this concept is the integration of service and learning. Service by itself is volunteering; service learning goes beyond volunteering to make the service provided by students a practical, applied learning opportunity for the students. When done right, service learning enhances students’ mastery of subject matter and concurrently impacts in positive ways civic life within local and global communities.

One key to successful service learning is collaboration. Service learning should not be viewed as students and professors coming down from their “ivory tower” to fix community problems; rather it should be seen as students and professors collaborating with community partners to strengthen communities through the application of disciplinary and class-related knowledge and skills. Service learning has been most effectively implemented when it has been rooted in strong community partnerships that bring together students, community organizations, clients, and faculty in collaborative relationships that are characterized by mutual respect, shared goals, and ongoing communication.

The Value of Service Learning

Service learning can be beneficial to students, the university, and the community. Students benefit because they learn course concepts by seeing them in action and putting them into action themselves. Furthermore, service learning fosters a sense of what it means to be a responsible citizen as well as an understanding and awareness of the responsibilities inherent in membership in the multiple communities in which we live. Universities benefit because students who engage in service learning tend to be more engaged, which can have a positive impact on student success and retention. Finally, communities benefit because the service learning collaborations with students and professors address real issues and problems.

Historically, there has been a natural affinity between communication studies and service learning. From the Greek roots of the discipline to the 21st century, rhetoricians and communication studies scholars have highlighted the interconnections between the theoretical and applied nature of communication. It is no wonder that service learning, which synthesizes theory and praxis, is such a natural fit for the discipline. Some examples of service learning within communication studies include the following: tutoring and reading to children in a voice & diction class; conducting problem-solving assessments for a health organization in a health communication class; auditing communication within an organization in an organizational communication class; assessing and/or designing marketing or promotional strategies in a public relations class; developing strategic communication plans in a public communication class; or producing media or social media messages in a mass communication class. These are just a few examples of the myriad ways in which learning in specific communication classes has been integrated with community service.

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