Introduction of Study Learning
Introduction
Stepping into the 21st Century, the information networks have been developed rapidly. In order to access the information instantly and to learn all kinds of new knowledge and the future trends, people have set off the waves of learning, introducing the new learning methods, hoping to break through the learning disabilities and to master the keys of learning, thus hopefully to speed up the development of individuals as well as the groups. However, in the process of education, Knowledge and Practice are equally important. How to cultivate the students with abilities to apply their knowledge is the pressing concern of present educators. The educators such as Dewey and Kolb had advocated the pedagogy of combining the experiential learning and the social services. It then developed into the “Service Learning” courses, which had opened another window for education.
Service Learning is an experiential education, through well planned service activities and structured reflections to achieve the outcomes of learning. Service Learning can also transform the rote theories into practice in the real world, expand the classroom to the community, which makes the teaching and learning more diversified and fun.
Service Learning
What is Service Learning? What’s the difference between Voluntary Service, Internship and Community Service to Service Learning? It is an important concept when promoting the courses of Service Learning. As the words suggested, “Service Learning” is the combination of “Service” and “Learning”, it is to obtain the outcome of “Learning” through the process of “Service”. Just as the American educator John Dewey’s “Learning by doing”, and “to learn from experience” proposed by Kolb in 1984.
Conclusively, Service Learning is a service which focuses on learning. It must be designed through structured courses, to enhance the development of the person who serves and to satisfy the needs of the person who is being served. Service Learning emphasizes equally on “Service” and “Learning”, therefore it differs from the traditional relevant terms such as Internship, Voluntary Service, Community Service and the Labor Education.
In broadly speaking, Service Learning is an experiential education, it accomplish the tasks set by the person who is served, and enhance the learning and development of the person who serves through well planned arrangement of social activities and structured courses as well as the process of reflections, Reflection and Reciprocity are the two core factors of Service Learning. (Jacoby, 1996; quote from Yu Huang, 2000)
Learning resources
Four miles of Service Learning:
- Preparation
- Service
- Self-Reflection
- Celebration
Preparation → Serve → Self-Reflection → Celebrate the journey of Service Learning (repeatedly)
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