Best Practices

Principles of Good Practice for Service Learning

THE WINGSPREAD PRINCIPLES: PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE IN COMBINING SERVICE AND LEARNING:

An effective and sustained program:

Engages people in responsible and challenging actions for the common good
Provides structured opportunities for people to reflect critically on their service experience
Articulates clear service and learning goals for everyone involved
Allows for those with needs to define those needs
Clarifies the responsibilities of each person and organization involved
Matches service providers and service needs through a process that recognizes changing circumstances
Expects genuine, active, and sustained organizational commitment
Includes training, supervision, monitoring, support, recognition, and evaluation to meet service and learning goals
Insures that the time commitment for service and learning is flexible, appropriate, and in the best interest of all involved
Is committed to program participation by and with diverse populations (Kendall, 1990)

FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE FACULTY IN ORGANIZING AND CONSTRUCTING A SERVICE LEARNING COMPONENT INTO THEIR COURSE

ENGAGEMENT- Does this service component meet a public good? Has the community been consulted?
REFLECTION- Is there a mechanism that encourages students to link their service experience to course content and to reflect upon why the service is so important?
RECIPROCITY- Is reciprocity evident in the service component? "Reciprocity suggests that every individual, organization and entity involved in the service learning functions as both a teacher and learner. Participants are perceived as colleagues, not as servers and clients." (Jacoby, 1996)
PUBLIC DISSEMINATION- Is service work presented to the public or made available for the community to enter into a public dialogue? For example: Do oral histories that students collect return to the community in some public form? To whose advantage? (Heffernan,2001)

GOOD PRACTICES IN SERVICE LEARNING