Service Learning and Civic Engagement
The service-learning philosophy provides structured time for students to think, talk, and write about what they experience during their service activity. This "reflection" provides students with a chance to see knowledge acting upon real situations in their own communities. This further enhances what is taught in class by extending learning beyond the classroom. Service-learning helps foster the development of a sense of caring for others. It is also a means by which colleges and universities can promote the civic engagement of students.
Peer Associate students and Student Activities Coordinator, Annie Miller,
crouch behind the Booker T. Washington Community Center sign.
Service-learning is a powerful tool that enhances learning by engaging students in relevant community service. It can be used to assist course-related learning and as a key strategy for fostering citizenship in a democratic society. Think of service-learning as a way of bridging theory to practice, of taking classroom concepts and applying them to real-world situations. It is a way of linking civic engagement to the course curriculum.
Civic engagement according to the Higher Education Act of 1965 are services which are identified by an institution of higher education, through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations, as designed to improve the quality of life for community residents, particularly low-income individuals, or to solve particular problems related to their needs.
Local opportunities and agencies:
Download the Comunity Resource Hamilton/Fairfield Agency directory (PDF)
Visit the Miami University Oxford: Communiity Engagement and Service Web page.
