Service-Learning

Students do well when they do good! In fact, many schools experience the reality that students do better by doing good.

Service-learning plays an important role in both character and career development. Why? Because students feel better about themselves when they work toward meeting real needs in their communities. And these improved attitudes spill over to better academic achievement.

This workbook's purposeful structure helps students get more benefit from their service-learning experiences. It helps students understand the purpose of service-learning, prepares them to make effective contributions, inspires them to give their best, and encourages them to reflect on their experiences for personal growth.

Key Features and Benefits

• Best practices "do's and don'ts" from more than 200 service-learning veterans.
• Case studies.
• Interactive activities and assignment in each chapter.
• Reflective exercises.

The authors studied more than 200 reflective papers written by students who successfully completed service-learning projects. Readers will readily connect with the students' experiences:

• Perceptions of the best practices in service learning.
• Fears and anxieties about the service-learning experience.
• Honesty about situations they experienced for which they wish they had been better prepared.
• Tremendous personal and professional growth through service-learning.

Part 1: Planning for a Successful Experience
Chapter 1: Starting the Journey: Exploring the Idea of Service Learning
Chapter 2: Understanding the Fundamentals of Service Learning: It's Not Just a Volunteer Experience
Chapter 3: Making the Connection Between Service and Learning: It All Begins with You

Part 2: Improving Your Service
Chapter 4: Recognizing Your Learning Style: How You Know What You Know
Chapter 5: Building Skills: It's Not Just What You Do, It's How You Do It!
Chapter 6: Working Through the Stages of Service Learning: It's More Than Just a Phase
Chapter 7: Designing, Organizing, and Managing the Project: A Hands-on Approach
Chapter 8: Learning from Others: A Tale of Two Case Studies

Part 3: Connecting Your Service-Learning Experience to Your Professional Development Goals
Chapter 9: Gauging Your Progress: Assessing, Evaluating, and Reflecting on Your Service-Learning Experience
Chapter 10: Planning Your Exit: Turning Goodbyes into Hellos

Linda Braun is a special needs teacher. She has a background in several academic areas including Career and Human Resource Development, Management Science, Music Education, and Elementary and Special Education.

Her education along with 15 years' experience in the corporate world provide her with a unique insight into the needs of hiring managers as well as the skills that students will need to plan for their future careers. This background helped serve as the basis for writing Service-Learning.

Braun has played an active role in the communities she’s lived in: as a young person in a church youth group leading service projects to a young adult in college helping to found a local Circle K (Kiwanis) club. She also is active in her church, acting as a youth choir director and as a youth group adviser.

Marie Watkins, Ph.D., is the director for the Center of Service Learning for Nazareth College, a member of Campus Compact (a national agency that provides leadership and direction to colleges with service-learning programs), a consultant for youth development in her local county, and a certified licensed social worker in New York and Indiana.

For interview requests or questions about Braun or Watkins, contact Selena Dehne at sdehne@jist.com or (651) 215-7548.