Service-Learning Australia

In service-learning, no activity is more central to understanding than cognitively-challenging reflection, which clearly links the service experience to the learning objectives - both academic and affective learning.  In such reflection, students integrate prior knowledge and experiences with new experiences to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.  They can be encouraged to place their service in a wider context – to analyse how the need they are addressing is a small part of a local, national and global problem.

Common types of reflective activities require students to simply write down their thoughts after a service experience, rather than encouraging students throughout their service-learning experience to examine how their actions impact on themselves and on those they serve.  Simple reflection does not have the powerful outcomes that can be achieved through cognitively-challenging reflection, which includes at least three dimensions:

• Reflection on the task itself
• Reflection on other contexts of the task (social, political, economic, vocational etc.)
• Reflection on related philosophical issues (questions of meaning, justice, responsibility, “fairness”, purpose, suffering, identity, friendship, hope etc.)

Reflection should occur throughout service-learning – during the investigation, preparation, action and post-action stages – and should incorporate various learning styles and experiences.   As with all service-learning, students should be encouraged to help plan reflective activities, and teachers should provide on-going feedback so students can improve their critical thinking and analytical ability.

Reflection in service-learning should challenge students to consider issues in far more depth than simply at the project level.  Encourage students to consider issues related to the problem, investigate the underlying root causes and discuss the philosophical aspects.  The NYSL Newsletter ( Vol. 26.Winter 2009) contained an outline of Service-Learning projects, related issues and root causes.  We have added the final, important element for deep reflection – “Philosophical Aspects.”  When planning service-learning projects, it is important to encourage students to go through these levels in their reflections.
 
Service-Learning Project: Food Collection.
Related Issues: malnutrition, obesity, school lunches
Root Causes: poverty, ignorance, fast food marketing
Philosophical Issues: fairness, justice, hope, responsibility, compassion, suffering, courage, truth etc.

Service-Learning Project: Tutoring.
Related Issues: achievement gap, learning differences, migration-refugees, basic human rights.
Root Causes: unequal access to education resources, ineffective education policy, wars/poverty overseas.
Philosophical Aspects:  fairness, justice, responsibility, courage, freedom, power, determination, etc.

Service-Learning Project: Teaching Computer Skills to Seniors.
Related Issues: isolation, access, reliance on technology
Root Causes: grouping of seniors into single-age resident communities, access to technology.
Philosophical Aspects:  identity, respect, fairness, justice, dignity etc.

Service-Learning Project: Community Garden.
Related Issues: small-scale farming vs. agribusiness, deforestation.
Root Causes: global food market, regulatory issues.
Philosophical Aspects:  fairness, justice, greed, compassion, generosity vs self interest, etc.

Service-Learning Project: Water Quality Monitoring.
Related Issues: biodiversity, pollution, lack of access to clean water, air quality, emissions trading.
Root Causes: regulatory issues, community attitudes.
Philosophical Aspects:  fairness, justice, power, greed, compassion, generosity vs self interest, reason, responsibility, fear etc.

Research shows the reflection outcomes for students generally fall into three categories:

• Academic learning outcomes.
• Personal development outcomes.
• Civic engagement outcomes.
  

Teachers using this methodology employ techniques of collaborative, inquiry-based learning to enable students to become more effective and discerning thinkers.  Teachers are first encouraged to think about their thinking and to ask their students particular questions for particular outcomes: To focus their students, to get them to make connections, to give examples and counter-examples, to clarify, to give reasons for their beliefs, etc.  Dr. Sandra Lynch has developed this clear, simple framework to assist teachers in asking these questions:  Philosophy in Schools Methodology as it Applies to Service-Learning.