1. Flipped Instruction Description

48. Service Learning
Definition
Service learning involves having students meet learning outcomes while contributing to and ‘giving back to’ their community. This often involves volunteer work, internships and placements within the community where assistance is needed.
Benefits

• 
  Students can increase their sense of belonging within the community.
  
• 
  Connections between learning and life are made explicit in this sort of learning.
  
• 
  Learning moves from the theoretical to the practical.
  
• 
  Students can come to see how they are connected to a wider ecosystem, and that they have an important part to play in serving that ecosystem for the good of all.
  

Challenges

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  It can be hard to place all your students in a service learning placement if there are many students to allocate.
  
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  It may be impractical given safety and security requirements.
  

Theoretical Link
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory: EST highlights that people are situated within community from whom they get their values and beliefs. By being more connected to the community, students learn who they are and how they’re connected to a society and culture that surrounds them.
Example

1. 
   Prepare your students in the classroom. Consider having organizers or community members come into the classroom to tell the students what to expect.
   
2. 
   Have students write preparatory notes about what the intend to learn, who they intend to speak to, and what their day-by-day goals will be whilst doing the service learning.
   
3. 
   Have students complete their service learning / voluntary work in groups or individually.
   
4. 
   Meet with the students intermittently during the service learning and have student-teacher conferences on how it is progressing. Intervene where needed.
   
5. 
   Have students come together at the end of the project to reflect on what was learnt and how their understanding of their place in the community has evolved. Discuss possible future involvement and engagement in the community to emphasize that community involvement is an ongoing project.