Defining Service Learning

The Corporation for National and Community Service (1994) defines a service-learning program as one that provides educational experiences:

1. Under which students learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual community needs and that are coordinated in collaboration with school and community;

2. That are integrated into students' academic curriculum or provides structured time for students to think, talk, or write about what the student did and saw during the actual service activity;

3. That provide a student with opportunities to use newly-aquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities; and

4. That enhance what is taught by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community and helps to foster the development of a sense of caring for others.