Building Connections Through Service Learning: Experiences and Practice

title: Building Connections Through Service Learning: Experiences and Practice date: location: WASSW 2025 Fall Conference tags:

  • Conference
  • Featured Speaker description: >

Many schools do not include activities such as service learning in their curriculum. Service learning can be a valuable strategy for helping students build connections with their school and community, develop social-emotional skills, and gain real-world professional experience. There are benefits for both the students and the organizations where work is being done. This session will explore the why and how of implementing service learning into activities and interventions with the students we support. Many tips and ideas for implementing a program that engages students in service learning will be shared. I will also provide examples of practice implementation through experiences in engaging student mentors and youth with problematic behaviors in service-learning activities. Social work skills related to planning and implementation will be discussed with a focus on how we can share the social work core value of service.

The agenda of the session includes:

  • Introduce myself and the topic of service-learning
  • Review some of the literature related to service-learning
  • Share an example of school-based implementation
  • Provide some tips for implementation

Learning Objectives for the session include:

  • Define service learning as an intervention for students.
  • Identify the benefits of service learning as a strategy for professional growth.
  • Reflect on strategies for implementing service learning and how they can be applied to their school setting.

Session Plan - Featured Speaker

I’m excited to be here and to kick off the conference for us. I find engaging in service motivating and encouraging to participate in. I have learned a lot in my own life through engaging in service to others, and I have seen my students benefit as well. The following is my plan for this session:

Agenda

  • Introduce myself and the topic of service-learning
  • Review some of the literature related to service-learning
  • Share an example of school-based implementation
  • Provide some tips for implementation

Learning Objectives

  • Define service learning as an intervention for students.
  • Identify the benefits of service learning as a strategy for professional growth.
  • Reflect on strategies for implementing service learning and how they can be applied to their school setting.

Speaker Bio

Hi, my name is Dr. Jacob Campbell. I want to situate myself in the discussion we are about to have and provide a brief background about myself.

  • Associate professor at HU, primarily focused on the MSW program, but also teaches in the BSW program. Started as an adjunct in 2013 and transitioned in the Fall of 2024 to full-time faculty. I teach everything, but especially practice, practicum, and our school social work class.
  • Prior worked as a school social worker in a district behavioral program. The second half of my presentation is going to heavily draw on experiences implementing service learning my program there.
  • Licensed, do supervision, and have a history of working in community mental health.
  • After high school, I attended a two-year program that was highly focused on service to others.

What Has Helped You Learn Discussion

Before we dive into our topic this week. I would like you to consider what has helped you learn over the years. You can consider your personal, professional, or academic pursuits.

Go to menti.com and enter code 3647 5394

Consider:

  • There are lots of ways to think about learning.
  • Single/few-word answers work best for a word cloud.

  • You can submit multiple answers.

  • Menti - What Has Helped You Learn Word Cloud
  • Public View for Results

[Whole Group Activity] Add results to the screen, talk about some of the themes or words that get larger.

Draw out, if present, themes related to relationships, projects, activities, and learning through doing.

Service as a Core Value in our Practice: Reflection on our Code of Ethics

Our code of ethics includes service as one of the core values that our profession is rooted in. We should spend a couple of minutes considering this value and how we apply it in our practice. From the code of ethics:

Value: Service Ethical Principle: Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems

Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems. Social workers are encouraged to volunteer some portion of their professional skills with no expectation of significant financial return (pro bono service). National Association of Social Workers. (2021)

[Small Group Activity] Paired Discussion Activity

  • When you think about the description of service in our code of ethics, what stands out to you?
  • How has your understanding of service changed from when you entered the profession to now?
  • What are examples of how you find service being embedded in your practice?

[Whole Group Activity] Debrief Paired Discussion Activity, soliciting a couple of responses from the group.

What themes or ideas stood out across your conversations about how service shows up in our work?

Reference

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

What is Service-Learning

Service learning is distinct from volunteerism, community service, experiential learning, field education, and other similar and related activities.

We can imagine that similar impacts and effects may be associated with these other activities. Still, service learning is its own unique activity that has some of the following qualities:

  • Connected to curriculum: Service learning is a form of community service that integrates learning objectives and is implemented as part of a curriculum.
  • Address Real Needs in Community: The implementation of service-learning should provide students with opportunities to draw lessons from activities that address real community needs.
  • Incorporates Reflection: It should be organized around critical analysis and reflection on the activities completed during the service-learning activities.

Consider the distinction as follows: If students volunteer at a food bank, that’s community service. But if they also study food insecurity in class, reflect on their service, and its impact, that’s service learning.

(Spring et al., 2008)

Reference

Spring, K., Grimm, R. J., & Dietz, N. (2008). Community service and service-learning in America’s schools. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED506728.pdf

Service-Learning Standards in a K-12 Setting

The National Youth Leadership Council (2008) provides a set of eight standards along with specified indicators that service learning programs in a K-12 setting should follow to be effective in implementing service learning. They are as follows:

  • Meaningful Service: Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.
  • Link to Curriculum: Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.
  • Duration & Intensity: Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.
  • Reflection: Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.
  • Youth Voice: Service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences with guidance from adults.
  • Progress Monitoring: Service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.
  • Diversity: Service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.
  • Partnerships: Service-learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs.

Celio et al. (2011), in their meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students, found that following some of these standards was associated with better outcomes for students.

Find the document at Service Learning Standards and Indicators

Reference

Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382591103400205

National Youth Leadership Council. (2008). K–12 service-learning standards for quality practice. https://nylc.org/k-12-standards/

Positive Effects Associated with Students Participating in Service-Learning

Many positive effects are associated with service-learning and how it can impact students’ attitudes toward themselves, their community, and their school, and increase social skills and academic achievement.

  • Enhance students’ self-esteem and self-concept, and other attitudes to self.
  • Impact students’ attitudes towards their community, where they show greater sensitivity, interest, and commitment to their communities.
  • Develop social skills, including problem-solving, communication, and leadership abilities.
  • Increase academic achievement and a positive attitude towards school and learning.

(Celio et al., 2011)

There is a lack of large-scale randomized trials, and much of the research conducted has been qualitative. According to Filges et al. (2022), the evidence on the effectiveness of service-learning on students’ academic success, personal and social skills, and risk behavior remains inconclusive.

Reference

Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382591103400205

Filges, T., Dietrichson, J., Viinholt, B. C. A., & Dalgaard, N. T. (2022). Service learning for improving academic success in students in grade K to 12: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 18(1), e1210. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1210

Prevalence of Community Service and Service-Learning in Schools Across America

The data I was able to find regarding the implementation of community service and service learning is somewhat dated, but there is still some significant information we can glean.

  • National momentum for service and civic engagement grew through landmark programs including the Civilian Conservation Corps (1933), Peace Corps (1961), and AmeriCorps (1993).
  • Service-learning evolved as an educational method beginning in the 1970s, formalized through research-based standards and federal support. Examples such as the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (creating Learn and Serve America) and its inclusion in the 1994 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
  • In 2008, data showed that a significant number of schools either recognized or assisted in organizing participation in community service activities, respectively, at 68% and 58% of all schools. (This number is significantly higher if you consider secondary schools with 86 and 72 percent)
  • Only about 24% of all schools report engaging in the more specific activities of service-learning. That number was actually decreasing based on year-by-year data as reported in 1999, 2004, and 2008, where the percentage of all schools implementing service learning was 32, 28, and 24, respectively.

I was unable to find any more specific current data after the 2008 report, which provided national coverage on these topics.

Example of Service-Learning in Practice: My Time in The Bridges Program

The main discussion that I wanted to share with you all is some examples from my practice experience while I was at the Pasco School District.

  • Bridges Program Overview
    • K-12 (but did service-learning mostly during time at High School and partnered with the Middle School for some trips and activities)
    • Students with EBD (discuss what it is) and other behavioral problems
    • In a special education setting (discuss flow of program)
    • Setting with interventions using a psychoeducational model (tracking behaviors, social skill instruction, flexible amount of time in the classroom, academic and social skill instruction, working on individualized goals)
  • Engaged in service activities internally and externally, and included general education peers as helpers.
    • Drew heavily from the Football team and players.
    • Peer helpers would attend our enhancement sessions, participate in some of the classroom activities, and assist with our service-learning projects.
    • Encouraged them to build relationships/connections with students and be a positive role model for them
  • We had a debrief and reflection session after all the external activities, when we returned to campus, to discuss the impact and what we learned.

Internal School Service-Learning Activities: Various Activities Around Campus

We incorporated service-learning throughout our academic and social skill activities in the classroom. We participated in a variety of activities, both large and small, at our school.

  • Giving out donuts to teachers: Sometimes it was very spur-of-the-moment and a small thing. One day, the teacher brought a couple of dozen donuts, and we walked around to various faculty members, thanking them for their work with students and giving them a donut.
  • JunkYard Dawgz: Sometimes it was structured and was a regular part of our week. We made a student club called the JunkYard Dawgz (Pasco High School is home of the Bulldogs). We had a club meeting to plan activities and funds. Every week, we would collect recycling from across the school and organize the distribution of bins to classrooms.
  • School Campaigns: We supported faculty and engaged in activities, such as hanging awareness campaign posters around the school with the behavior interventionist.
  • Supporting life skills students: We occasionally assigned our students to the Unified Fitness class to help and make the life skills students feel included. We also went and did some activities in the life skills classroom, such as a project making these paper space crafts.
  • Making Connections for the Community: We coordinated with Second Harvest to bring a mobile food back to our campus, advertised the event, and helped distribute food. We also made connections with external activities we were engaging in at school. Before we visited the animal shelter and set up the mobile food bank, we also held collection events to build up these activities and provide more support to the organizations.

External Service-Learning Activities: Various Activities In Our Community

We also participated in numerous activities outside the school campus. We would have mentors go with us on each of these trips. We also had the middle school program attend some events with us. Our goal was to have a field trip activity each month.

  • Union Gospel Mission: We visited the local Union Gospel Mission on several occasions. We would undertake various projects around the center, such as cleaning, preparing food, and painting. Then we would have our students eat lunch with the residents to learn about people from some different walks of life. The center would also often present to the students about some of the challenges faced by the community’s homeless population and the need to raise awareness.
  • Salvation Army: We helped organize food boxes and donations that are given out during their community events.
  • 2nd Harvest Food Bank: Going to the food bank and organizing food boxes for delivery.
  • Tri-Cities Animal Shelter: Walking the dogs, learning about challenges for homeless animals in the community, and getting to pet the cats.
  • Community Mobile Food Distribution Events: We hosted one on our campus and also attended several community events to support their distribution. We often went with communities in schools and their staff, allowing our students to connect with more helping professionals.
  • Nursing Home: We made cards for residents in a rehabilitation center. We had planned to visit, but the day we had planned, they had to cancel due to a COVID-19 outbreak, so we made them cards.

Tips for Implementation

Based on our experience implementing service-learning projects, I would like to share some tips and thoughts with you on how to implement it in your own schools.

  • Dream big and be organized.
    • Write a proposal: I wrote a proposal at the start of the school year and shared it with my school/special education administrators to get approval for many of the activities we wanted to do over the year.
    • Plan More than You Can: We planned a lot. There are things that we wanted to do that we never got to (e.g., reading with elementary school students - planning/time, Habitat for Humanity - forward planning and ages). We must be realistic about what we can achieve, but it is also beneficial to dream bigger than what we can do; it will motivate us to do more than if we are more conservative in our approach.
    • Document and Be Organized: Conducting numerous service learning projects requires coordinating with various agencies, families, and the school. There are permission slips to gather before, managing activities in the moment, and sharing about it afterwards. (One report was reading that some schools have somebody who just does coordination)
  • Make plans to address potential challenges, especially when working with high-needs populations.
    • Student with medical concerns and seizures (practice, close plan with parent)
    • Student with ASD who would sometimes engage in dramatic displays and refusal (Mom followed us as we went, but let him participate, selection of peer helper. Student loved it, and felt included event though family was initial hesitant)
    • Student with challenging outbursts and behaviors (suspended from school, but found ways to still be included, dad waiting nearby)
  • Bring support and use your team effectively.
    • Lucky to go with a group of staff and peer helpers. Ensure that everyone knows what they are going to do.
    • Times when I have had to shift and manage problems (such as interviewing clothes, needing to get lunch, or following up on a crisis back on campus, etc.)
    • Experience at Jubilee with a student running away
  • Use a diverse set of students to participate.
    • Highlight the impact and importance of our peer helpers.
    • Reflection with the diverse population also leads to more considered reflection on experiences.
    • The group should be welcoming, bringing people in, and be a fun and caring environment to be in. (we have to instill this in the groups fabric)
  • Be a judicious user of resources and look for additional related learning opportunities.
    • We took public transit most of the time, and used it as an opportunity to teach about using the transit.
    • While the recognition lunch was also held, the manager spoke to the students about working in the restaurant and the food service industry.
    • We received scholarships for participating in activities, such as going to the ropes course.
    • The more you do to keep costs to a minimum, the easier it is to get permission.
  • Consider also doing additional activities that are strictly service learning.
    • Our program had its own family nights, where we would share updates on what was happening and conduct training on supporting behavior.
    • We took our students on various field trips that weren’t specifically doing service learning, including a rope course, a school tour, a recognition lunch, and a visit from peer helpers who played the Werewolf game with our class.
    • We took students to other community events, such as a youth symposium and a wellness retreat.
    • We got shirts and wore them to activities.
  • Make partnerships in the school and the community.
    • We were able to partner with the football team to bring in as peer helpers/mentors.
    • We partnered with the DBHR to have students do the Pre-ETS on campus.
    • When we shared our newsletter, we intentionally had students hand-deliver printed copies to the admin to read and share about things we were doing. Our school-wide PLC meetings were also intentional. We aimed to change the perception staff have of our students and foster connections.
    • The agencies we visited were ones we had visited multiple times, and we built relationships and established expectations that we would be there for them.
    • We conducted mobile food bank events in partnership with local communities in schools to increase engagement with them.
  • Share about the experience with your school and community.
    • We had a monthly newsletter that we shared with families, school staff, and community members connected to our program. We had students share some of their reflections there.
    • We would highlight the events we were doing in our newsletter.
    • We offered open PLCs to the school community, where we discussed our program and the service learning our students were undertaking.
    • We publicly recognized our peer helpers and the involvement of our students.

Small Group Share Implementation Ideas

I hope that this presentation has been helpful and sparked some ideas. I’m going to open up the floor in a couple of minutes to respond to any questions people might have, but first, I want you to spend a couple of minutes dreaming together with some of your neighbors. What could you do to implement service-learning in your school?

[Small Group Activity] Small Group Share Implementation Ideas Dream together and share your ideas in small groups around you. How could you implement some service learning projects in your own school?

Questions

I’d like to provide a space for people to share any questions or thoughts they may have about implementing service learning in their settings.

Feel free to contact me as well.

References

Reference

Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382591103400205

Filges, T., Dietrichson, J., Viinholt, B. C. A., & Dalgaard, N. T. (2022). Service learning for improving academic success in students in grade K to 12: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 18(1), e1210. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1210

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

National Youth Leadership Council. (2008). K–12 service-learning standards for quality practice. https://nylc.org/k-12-standards/

Spring, K., Grimm, R. J., & Dietz, N. (2008). Community service and service-learning in America’s schools. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED506728.pdf