Elishea Reed

Service-Learning Project – April 4th (By the End of the School Day

On Edutopia, it states, “According to Vanderbilt University, service learning is defined

as: "A form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and

reflection as students seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper

understanding and skills for themselves." (Wolpert-Gawron, 2016). This is only one of three

definitions provided in the article. However, Edutopia simplifies it in a way that makes more

sense. They simplify it to “students learn educational standards through tackling real-life

problems in their community” (Wolpert-Gawron, 2016). After reading the article, I have

gathered that service learning is an act of help within the community based on educational values

and concepts taught and/or researched which end in reflecting on the process once it is

completed. Service learning can benefit those who participate in multiple ways. Who are the

people who can participate? Well, many people can participate in service-learning. People within

the communities are most likely to participate in a service-learning project that will benefit their

community. These people within the communities include churches, educators, students,

government, and the average person. All of the people who participate are trying to help the

community while also growing personally. They all are benefitting. In addition to the people who

are doing the service learning, the community that it is occurring in benefits from the project in

the aftermath of its being completed.

For my service-learning project, I had my students complete an extra credit activity. The

activity included researching two of their favorite processed food or drinks to see what the

ingredients and chemicals were in them. Then, they were to describe the chemicals and explain

the long-term effects of continuing to ingest the chemicals. The students were then asked to
present this information in a way that the community would be intrigued while also stressing the

seriousness of it if the long-term effects were bad. This can be broken down into the multiple

aspects that make this a service-learning project. Edutopia says there are four steps to service

learning. The first step is the pre-reflection. This came from students talking about why people

say all food is bad for them. They thought if all food was bad for them, why would they still sell

it at the store? The next step is the research this was when students took their two favorite foods

and went to the internet. Students were directed on how to select an appropriate source and how

to know what the important information from the sources was. The students reported this back to

me. Presentation is the next step. Each student had to display the information in a way that was

intriguing and informational to the community. Some students chose to complete slideshows

while others chose to make a fake informational post that would later be seen. The content was

then presented in the classes and also displayed. A post was made out to the community through

my social media to continue to bring awareness about it. The last step is reflection. Students were

asked what they learned from the project while also being asked If they would continue to eat the

foods that were researched.

My service-learning project can be considered a service-learning project for many

reasons. The four steps in service-learning were completed. I had to research, help students, and

do work on this project outside of school hours. Plan periods and lunches were also used to help

organize and collect the student data for post. The community and students involved benefitted

from this due to learning more about the food that is being eaten constantly in the United States.

This helped the community see the harm in some processed food and made them question if they

want to continually put it in their bodies. My students and I completed a reflection after the

project was completed to see what was learned and what the community gained.
 Overall, the project went fairly well, and I feel as though a lot was gained. Some

strengths of my project were student engagement, research growth in students, and the

presentation aspect of it. My students impressed me more than I could have ever expected. My

students showed expected growth in the correct researching process. The students were able to

get their information from a good source and only put the important information needed. Student

engagement was extremely high. Some of my students who are typically not engaged produced

the best work throughout. The presentation aspect was also thriving. Most of the presentations

were done very well. It was appealing while also stressing what was important. One weakness of

the project was the number of students that completed it. I had sixteen students complete the

activity. In the classes that it was offered, I, in total, have forty-two students. I think the outcome

would be even more amazing if I had all the students complete the work. I would not necessarily

call it a weakness, but I think something that could have been changed is having the students

create posters for the class hallways. This would get it seen more frequently by their age

community. I have learned so much. I learned a lot about many of the foods I eat frequently. I

also learned how much a service-learning project can impact people whether it is on an

educational aspect or community aspect.

Resources:
Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2016, November 7). What the heck is service learning?. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-service-learning-heather-wolpert-gawron