| Welcome
to the
OCC Service-Learning Program |
| Thank you for becoming involved in our service-learning program.
As you may know, service learning is a teaching/learning strategy in which
students actively apply the knowledge they are gaining in the classroom
to real community needs through involvement in service projects.
Service learning goes beyond volunteering or community service because
it links those activities directly to academic learning.
Service learning has been around for a long time, but in recent years it has gained wider acceptance. Across the country, teachers in classrooms from kindergarten through college are finding ways to actively engage their students in the communities in which they live. Service learning is also about teaching students the value of active citizenry. By agreeing to have one or more of our students working with you, you join a growing list of agencies across our district who have partnered with us in this service-learning program. Among the different types of places in our communities where our students have volunteered as little as five hours to as much as 20 hours are schools, hospitals, domestic violence shelters, churches, child care centers, animal shelters, ecology centers, and nursing homes. Service learning is an effective tool to accomplish these goals. Everyone -- students, faculty, and community members -- benefit. Recent studies show that students learn more effectively, and teachers teach more effectively, wyhen they are doing service. But the success of service learning really hinges on the partnerships we forge with you. This handbook will give you more information about what service learning is and what we expect of our students who are engaged in this activity. We look forward to a good experience! Gwen Nyden and Alan Rubin
Ann Marie Barry
|
  
|
For any further information about Service Learning, please contact
srvlearn@oakton.edu
Please direct questions or comments about these pages to the
webmaster@oakton.edu
Copyright & copy; 2000 Oakton Community College. Last update Summer 2000