Reflective Essay On Service Learning

Modules 1 and 2 is where I gained most of my knowledge about service-learning, as I was not exactly sure of what it was when entering the course. Through module 1, I learned that service learning is about you providing the community with your service, while at the same time it is a learning experience for you. It allows you to take what you have learned in a classroom and apply it to real life situations. The required reading by Cress (2005), “What is Service-Learning”, taught me more about what service learning is and what to expect of it. This article discusses how taking part in service learning gives students the opportunity to figure out how to apply everything they have learned in classrooms, since learning about it and actually experiencing it are both very different. Not only did this article inform me of how beneficial service learning is for me and my education, but it also highlighted how important it is for the community, or classroom that you are providing your service to (Cress, 2005). In my case, I am in …show more content…
The first key principle is, being of service in your setting, and ensuring that the way in which you are helping does not make more work for the teacher. Connecting your service learning experience to academic content is another key principle, which is, to make connections between what you have experienced in the real world and what you have learned in the classroom. Another key principle is, self reflection and reflecting on your experiences, which requires you to think about yourself and how you are helpful to this community. Considering the broader context is another key principle of service learning, where you relate your experiences within the community to broader social, political, and other social contexts. The last key principle of service learning is building transferable skills, which is the skills we acquire through real life situations that cannot be learned in a classroom