Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development. Reflection and reciprocity are key concepts of service-learning (Jacoby, 1996).
UNL employs three different types of service-learning in order to provide diverse service-learning opportunities to all campus constituents; these include academic service-learning, research service learning, and co-curricular service learning. By following the S.E.R.V.E. model, the quality of the service-learning project is ensured.
For more information about incorporating service-learning into your community organization, contact the Student Involvement Service-Learning & Volunteer Services Team at 472-2454.
Academic Service Learning
Academic service-learning is a pedagogy, which integrates service in the community with academic study (theory/curriculum). Faculty, in partnership with representatives of non-profit, community organizations, design service-learning projects that meet identified community needs to advance the student's understanding of course content and which help to strengthen the community. Strong reflective components are built into the course to help students consider relationships between their service, the curriculum of the class, and its impact on their personal values and professional goals.
Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education. (2003). Unpublished manuscript, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
Research Service-Learning
Research service-learning combines service-learning with the mission of research universities. The pedagogical framework of research service-learning integrates service in the community with academic study (theory/curriculum) and research to generate new knowledge. Students, in partnership with faculty and representatives of non-profit, community organizations, examine and research a question of collective interest. Research service-learning advances the studentÕs understanding of academic knowledge, ethics, and civic leadership and provides tangible research (problem analysis, synthesis, and conclusions) to benefit service provided by the community partner. Structured reflection components are built into the process to cultivate critical analysis in order to further the studentÕs comprehension and definition of the research question and develop a deeper understanding of research methods, community issues, social responsibility, and civic engagement.
RSL at Duke: What is RLSL? (2003). Retrieved October 6, 2004, from Duke University, Research Service-Learning at Duke: Scholarship with a Civic Mission website: http://rslduke.me.duke.edu/whatisrsl.htm.
Co-curricular Service-Learning
Co-curricular service-learning is distinguished from academic service-learning in that it is not anchored in a specific course, but rather is a part of the studentsÕ Òlife experiencesÓ such as residential life, career development, and residential learning communities. The pedagogical framework of co-curricular service-learning cultivates student reflections upon the intersection of the needs and concerns of their communities with their personal values and professional goals.
Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education. (2003). Unpublished manuscript, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
