If you are a faculty member at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and would like support in incorporating a Service-Learning component into one of your courses, we can help! We partner with a wide range of agencies with authentic community needs and can manage many of the logistics of incorporating a service project into your course for you.

Service-Learning is a method of experiential education that matches curriculum to meaningful community service. As a teaching philosophy, Service-Learning can enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and encourage lifelong civic engagement. Faculty often report that students involved in Service-Learning are often more engaged in the classroom and with the course content.

Key components to successful service-learning experiences include:

1. Curricular Connections. The service project has a clear tie to the learning objectives and outcomes of the course and builds skills or understanding within the discipline.
2. Reflection. Structured opportunities for reflection are built into the course schedule. A balance between reflection and action encourages students to be aware of the impact of their work and the relationship of their work to course content.
3. Student Input. Providing students with the opportunity to select, design, implement, and/or evaluate their service as part of the learning experience enhances civic responsibility and encourages lifelong civic engagement by creating relevancy and sustained interest for students. This is also referred to as student voice or youth voice.
4. Authentic Community Need. Recipients are involved in defining the significance and depth of the service as meeting authentic community needs. In order for students to gain an appreciation of their civic responsibility, the service partnership must meet the needs of all parties and students must experience their service as meeting real needs.