SERVICE-LEARNING HANDBOOK

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Table of Contents

• Introduction to Service learning

• The five stages of Service learning

• Aims of Service learning

• Time required

• Learning outcomes of service learning

• Types of service learning

• SL Portfolio

• Responsibilities of a SL Student

• Responsibilities of an SL Coordinator, Advisor and Supervisor

• SL Reflection

• SL Interviews

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Introduction to Service Learning
Service learning is a component of the Career-related Programme core.

Service Learning is a fundamental part of the IBCP curriculum. Participation in

service-learning activities emphasizes service learning, service as a vehicle for
learning that has academic value, reflects upon the career-related studies and
relates to the Reflective Project. This involvement allows young people to share
their energies and talents while developing awareness, concern, and the ability
to work cooperatively with others. The goal of educating the whole person and
fostering a more compassionate citizenry comes alive in an immediate way
when students reach beyond themselves.

Service learning provides opportunities for students to understand their capacity

to make a meaningful contribution to their community and society. Through
service learning, students develop and apply academic knowledge, personal
skills and social skills in real-life situations involving decision-making,
problem-solving, initiative, responsibility and accountability for their actions.
The purpose is for students to contribute to society by improving the lives of
people or assisting the environment or animals.

The five stages of service learning

The five service-learning stages offer a helpful ongoing process framework for
students.

1. Investigation
2. Preparation
3. Action
4. Reflection
5. Demonstration

Reflection is central to building a deep and rich experience in service learning.

Reflection allows students to explore ideas, skills, strengths, limitations and
areas for further development, and to consider how they may apply their prior
learning and background in new contexts.

Aims of service learning

The aims of service learning are for students to:

• develop and apply knowledge and skills towards meeting an authentic

community need

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 • develop as leaders who take initiative, solve problems and work
collaboratively with others
• enjoy the experiences of both learning and service
• develop a sense of caring about, and a responsibility for, others
• gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their community and
society through meaningful reflection
• enhance and strengthen their experience with the existing school
curriculum.
Time Required
A minimum of 50 hours is expected to be devoted to service learning. The
school and students must give service learning as much importance as any other
element of the CP and ensure sufficient time is allocated for engagement in
service learning.

Learning outcomes of service learning

The five learning outcomes articulate what CP students are able to do at some
point during their service-learning programme. Through meaningful and
purposeful service-learning experiences, students develop the necessary skills,
attributes and understandings to achieve the five service-learning outcomes.

1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth:

You are an individual with various skills and abilities, some
more developed than others. You can make choices about how to
move forward.
Indus gives opportunities to students to identify their own
strengths through the following activities:
a. Leadership curriculum which covers teaching goal
setting, life skills, risk management, out bound learning
etc.
b. Personal and professional skills through intercultural
understanding (international mindedness), effective
communication, applied ethics etc.

2: Demonstrate participation with service-learning experiences

A student needs to participate regularly and accept a share of the
responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course
of activities.
Students take part in different internship projects based on social
entrepreneurship.

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3: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working
collaboratively
Collaboration can be shown in many activities. At least one
project must involve collaboration and integrate with the subject
and service-learning project.
The internships and school-based projects such as Areca leaf
project, Mid-day meal project, Adoption of Govt. schools etc. are
projects where students would work together in groups.

4: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

You are required to act on at least one issue of global
significance in relation to your service project. This activity may
be an international project, but there are many global issues that
can be acted on locally or nationally.
Students will work on projects of environmental concerns of
global significance such as lake revival, plastic recycling,
rainwater harvesting, save soil, carbon neutral, plantations drives
etc.

5: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Ethical decisions arise in almost any SL experience. Evidence of
thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways,
including journal entries and conversations with SL advisors.
Students take up at least one passion project (Tikkun Olam –
Repair the world) in their journey of service learning. Students
will also take up projects in their Business Administration/
Business Management based on social entrepreneurship
considering the ethical factors.

All outcomes must be present for a student to complete the SL requirement.

Some may be demonstrated many times, in a variety of activities, but
completion requires only that there is some evidence for every outcome.

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Types of service learning

There are four different types of service in action:

1. Direct service
2. Indirect service
3. Advocacy
4. Research

Student can choose their service learning from the possible options listed below
with a selection of each being linked with people, environment or animals. This
has to be relevant to the career path chosen.

Direct service with people

• Coach children in sports

• Deliver meals to people living with a medical condition
• Lead résumé-writing workshops for people who are unemployed
• Organize or assist at a blood donation drive
• Play music with elders to have an exchange of skills and learn about each
other’s music preferences and talents, and then perform as an ensemble
for others
• Distribute plants at a farmer’s market to promote home-grown container
gardens
• Prepare and then serve food at a soup kitchen

Direct service with the environment

• Restore a stream.
• Prepare the soil and beds for an elementary school garden and plant with
the children
• Grow seedlings for distribution
• Install raised-bed gardens for a senior center
• Establish a recycling programme at your local civic center
• Make a rainwater garden

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Direct service with animals

• Help at an animal shelter with data entry and dog walking

• Assist with a pet adoption outreach programme at community events
• Lead a workshop on pet care
• Set up a turtle sanctuary in partnership with a community organization

Indirect service with people

• Assemble a photograph exhibit about poverty for a gallery

• Prepare meals in a soup kitchen
• Take part in a walkathon to raise money for different humanitarian causes
• Prepare activity kits for children for an emergency shelter
• Write brochures for organizations
• Build an organization’s website or provide content for an organization’s
website
• Assist with the creation of a museum exhibit
• Make exercise videos to give to homeless shelters
• Create a newsletter for a retirement community
• Record audio books for people who are visually impaired

Indirect service with the environment

• Prepare signage for a local wetland

• Grow seedlings for distribution
• Initiate a school compost scheme to reduce food waste in landfills
• Create a website with information about flora and fauna for a local park

Indirect service with animals

• Make zoo toys for animals

• Collect needed supplies for a wildlife rescue center
• Bake dog biscuits for an animal shelter
• Make coloring books with protection tips on local endangered animals for
elementary schools and tourists

Advocacy service with people

• Lead a town hall meeting on solar energy

• Organize a letter-writing campaign for a cause
• Host a speaker and film series to raise awareness for the community
• Create comic strips or comic books to teach about emergency safety and
readiness
• Plan a conference to raise awareness about education equity

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Advocacy service with the environment

• Provide reusable water bottles to replace single-use water bottles

• Create public service announcements on energy reduction in homes
• Organize a flash mob to teach about recycling
• Promote a “just use less” campaign to reduce quantities of what is put in
trash and recycling bins

Advocacy service with animals

• Make beach signs to protect local waterways from rubbish

• Advocate for animals at risk at an organized public event
• Create posters, videos and public service announcements to promote
animal adoption for a shelter

Research service with people

• Assist with a city-wide needs assessment by running focus groups

• Conduct hands-on research about how interaction improves quality of life
for residents at an elder care facility
• Prepare a public service outreach process to identify local veterans
willing to be interviewed, and then conduct the interviews for an
historical society
• Learn about the history of people buried in a cemetery from the 1800s to
support a local museum
• Observe play habits of children in an orphanage or refugee center to
identify what skills are developed or need support

Research service with the environment

• Use photography to collect images that inform about the first flush from a
storm drain near your school
• Interview administrators at local landfills to learn about community
habits that support collections of trash to recycle and food waste for
composting

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 • Analyze items collected in a community or beach clean-up to develop a
campaign (advocacy service) that prevents the items from being littered
again

Research service with animals

• Conduct a behavior study of zoo animals or shelter animals

• Monitor numbers of stray animals, combine findings with interviews and
surveys to determine opinions of advocates, opponents and the general
public, and offer recommendations to improve local policies
• Assist with tracking and monitoring of butterfly migratory paths

SL enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development. A

meaningful SL program is a journey of discovery of self and others. Each
individual student has a different starting point and different needs and goals.
An SL program is, therefore, individualized according to student interests,
skills, values and background.

Successful completion of SL is a requirement for the award of the IB CP. The

SL program formally begins at the start of the IB CP and continues regularly,
ideally on a weekly basis, for at least 50 hours in 18 months.

SL Portfolio

All SL students are expected to maintain and complete a SL portfolio as

evidence of their engagement with SL and achievement of the five SL learning
outcomes.

Further, students undertake a SL project of at least one month’s duration that

challenges students to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop
skills such as collaboration, problem- solving, and decision-making.

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Students use the SL stages (investigation, preparation, action, reflection and
demonstration) as a framework for SL experiences and the SL project.

There are three formal documented interviews students must have with their SL
coordinator/adviser. The first interview is at the beginning of the SL
programme, the second at the end of the first year, and the third interview is at
the end of the SL programme.

SL emphasizes reflection which is central to building a deep and rich

experience in SL. Reflection informs students’ learning and growth by allowing
students to explore ideas, skills, strengths, limitations and areas for further
development and consider how they may use prior learning in new contexts.

Responsibilities of an SL Student

SL students are expected to:

- Approach SL with a proactive attitude

- Develop a clear understanding of SL expectations and the purpose of SL

- Explore personal values, attitudes and attributes with reference to the IB

learner profile and the IB mission statement

- Determine personal goals

- Discuss plans for SL experiences with the SL coordinator

- Understand and apply the SL stages where appropriate

- Take part in a variety of experiences, some of which are self-initiated, and at

least one SL project aligned to their career path

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- Become more aware of personal interests, skills and talents and observe how
these evolve throughout the SL program

- Maintain an SL portfolio and keep records of SL experiences including

evidence of achievement of the five SL learning outcomes

- Understand the reflection process and identify suitable opportunities to

reflect on SL experiences

- Demonstrate accomplishments within their SL program

- Communicate with the SL coordinator/adviser and/or SL supervisor in formal

and informal meetings

- Behave appropriately and ethically in their choices and behaviors.

Responsibilities of an SL Coordinator, Advisor and Supervisor

SL Coordinator:

As per the SL guide, the SL coordinator is the person who is given overall
responsibility for establishing and overseeing the school’s SL programme with
sufficient support, time and resources to carry out the role.

SL Advisors:

SL advisors refer to teachers or other school staff whose role is to provide

ongoing support and advice to individual or groups of SL students in relation to
their SL programme.

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SL Supervisor:

The SL supervisor assists, offers guidance and oversees the students SL

experiences when needed.

SL Reflection

Reflection is a dynamic means for self-knowing, learning and decision-making.

Four elements assist in the SL reflective process. The first two elements form
the foundation of reflection.

- Describing what happened: Students retell their memorable moments,

identifying what was important or influential, what went well or was
difficult, obstacles and successes.

- Expressing feelings: Students articulate emotional responses to their

experiences.

The following two elements add greater depth and expand perspectives.

- Generating ideas: Rethinking or re-examining choices and actions increases

awareness about self and situations.

- Asking questions: Questions about people, processes or issues prompt further

thinking and ongoing inquiry.

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Reflection is Reflection is not
Honest Forced

Personal Right or wrong

Done in many different ways Good or bad
Sometimes difficult Marked or graded
Sometimes easy Difficult
Sometimes creative Copying what someone said
Building self-awareness Predictable
Necessary for learning To be judged by other
What I did, combined with how I felt Only a summary of what happened

Surprising Done to please someone else

Helpful for planning A waste of time
Done alone or with others Only written
About thoughts, feeling and ideas Only discussion
Adding perspective Only led by teachers

Students can move forward through deeper questions. For example:

• What did I do?

• Why did I make this particular choice?

• How did this experience reflect my personal ideas and values?

• In what ways am I being challenged to think differently about myself and

others?

• How did I feel?

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 • How did I feel about the challenges?

• What happened that prompted particular feelings?

• What choices might have resulted in different feelings and outcomes?

Following reflection, feedback from the SL coordinator and/or adviser is

beneficial and necessary as is peer feedback. Feedback provides
acknowledgment, confirmation or clarification of students’ understanding and
insight, and opportunities for further development. Purposeful reflection is
about quality rather than quantity. The preferred emphasis is for the student to
determine key moments during SL experiences that inspire reflection.

The following approaches may be helpful.

1. Students choose significant moments as the basis for reflection, for example
when:

- A moment of discovery or a skill is mastered

- A challenge is confronted
- Emotions are provoked
- Achievement deserves celebration.
2. Students reflect during or at the end of a SL experience or series of SL
experiences, to identify important moments, discuss a possible learning
outcome, recognize personal growth and achievements, and plan for their next
SL experience.

3. Students engage in group reflection with their peers to discover shared

insights. Students reflect at the beginning, during, and at the end of a series of
SL experiences. This enables students to deliberate on such elements as
planning, opportunities, expectations, challenges, progress, and personal
growth.
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Reflection offers students’ opportunities to understand the concept, process and
value of SL experiences. With experiences that add meaning and self-
knowledge, students can adapt, adopt and integrate reflection into a lifelong
practice.

Forms of reflection

Reflection can appear in countless forms. SL students should be able to identify

forms of expression that have personal meaning and best enable them to explore
their experiences. For example:

- A student might take photographs while hiking and use these to reflect in
writing

- Two students could compose a song describing how they helped children.

- A student might dramatize a poem to capture a feeling of creative endeavor.

- A student could produce a short video summarizing a SL experience.

- A group of students create a poster highlighting aspects of a shared

experience.

SL Interviews

The initial interview (August of CP 1st year):

This interview is conducted at the beginning of the CP Program. The SL

coordinator/adviser ensures the student understands the requirements for SL,
explains the SL learning outcomes and how the student might achieve these
outcomes, discusses the student’s interests and ideas for SL experiences,
determines what form the student’s SL portfolio should take, and reviews the
SL stages.

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The second interview (End of CP 1st year):

This interview is normally held towards the end of the first year of the Diploma
Program. The main purpose of the interview is to assess the progress of the
student in SL. This interview is conducted to make sure that the students have
committed to a range of SL experiences, and they are achieving the SL learning
outcomes. Students at this stage may have completed or are planning to carry
out a SL project. The student’s SL portfolio is used as a reference in this
interview and reviewed for gathered evidence including achievement of any of
the five learning outcomes.

The Third Interview: (End of CP 2nd year):

This is the summative interview for SL. It is conducted just before the CP
Program finishes. In this interview the student outlines how they have achieved
the learning outcomes for SL. In addition, they discuss and evaluate their
overall SL program and reflect on personal growth. The student’s SL portfolio
is used as reference in this interview. This third interview may provide the
opportunity for discussion on development of the SL program for future SL
students based on this student’s personal experience linked to career path.

The information in this Handbook is a compilation of information from

ibo.org and other IB School Handbooks.

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