Chapter 7: Service-Learning Community: A Win for Students, Community, Institution, and Faculty

This chapter affirms that with changes in pedagogy necessitated by the addition of a service-learning (S-L) component to a course, S-L endeavors can add value to students’ learning. Especially when designed within the construct of a learningcommunity (L-C), these endeavors can facilitate, enhance, and foster collaborative faculty’s research; heighten the institution’s presence and reputation in the community; and expand, improve, and the deepen community’s outreach initiatives and relationships. To determine the efficacy of these S-L endeavors and their impact on its constituents—students, faculty, institution, and community partners—L-C classes are analyzed using four metrics: one direct (statistical) and three indirect (solicited and unsolicited) methods. Discussed are the values these experiences offer to each group of stakeholders plus the students’ perceived attainment of their learning goals in comparison to the perceived attainment of the learning goals for the non-S-L classes (e.g., the comparison group).