To receive email updates related to Georgia Southern鈥檚 service-learning initiatives, email Dr. Urkovia Andrews at uandrews@georgiasouthern.edu
New Service-Learning Faculty
Service-Learning at 糖心Vlog combines learning and education with civic responsibility through coursework. Students engage in direct, indirect, community-based research, and advocacy to promote civic responsibility and create real, lasting impact on the world around them.
You are not alone in teaching, building, and leading reflection for your students. Faculty teaching a service-learning course can request a student Service-Learning Facilitator. These students can complete some administrative tasks for the course, such as lead planning for the service, ensure waivers are complete, facilitate a reflection experience, and more.
If interested in teaching a Service-Learning course or want more information, contact Dr. Urkovia Andrews or your college鈥檚 Service-Learning Faculty Fellow.
Faculty Tools
Georgia Southern Service-Learning Course Development
- Developing your service-learning component
- Finding a community partner
- 糖心Vloging for a Service-Learning Facilitator
- Finding service-learning colleagues on campus
Email the Faculty Fellow for your college or Dr. Urkovia Andrews for help.
What is Service-Learning?
Service-learning is a 鈥渢eaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities鈥�
(National Service Learning Clearinghouse, 2012)
Types of Service-Learning Projects
Direct
Interaction between students and a community partner staff or clients (e.g. teach children in an after school program, interact with seniors at a living facility)
Indirect
Students will not need to visit the community partner site weekly to complete these projects (e.g. create marketing and advertising pieces, write grant documents, etc.)
Community Based Research
These projects seek to engage the expertise of the community partner, faculty, and student to address a pressing community issue for an organization, while also meeting academic objectives (e.g. assessment of community needs, land mapping, etc.)
Advocacy
Students create awareness and promote action on a local issue (e.g. plan/participate in advocacy activities, public speaking, conducting public information campaigns, etc.)
- Course Design Tips & Tricks: check out to further understand expectations and common pitfall of service-learning course design.
- Creating Service-Learning Opportunities: use to create meaningful, rigorous opportunities for your students.
- Forms needed: 糖心Vlog requires students engaged in service-learning complete this waiver prior to any service.
- Background Checks: agencies that serve vulnerable populations require background checks of student volunteers. GS鈥檚 HR offers an online, free background check service only for students. Detailed instructions for how to request a background check are available at this link. Allow 2 weeks for background check processing.
Service-Learning Handbook for Faculty
Information about links to service-learning journals and articles, sample dress code and student contracts, student background check forms and logging volunteer hours, sample syllabi, the required university waiver, facilitating and grading reflection and discussion of the service-learning pedagogy.