Service Learning Through the Looking Glass: Shifting Grasps on Service Learning Reality from the Rearview Mirror

Abstract

Service learning is a rapidly growing program that assists students in the comprehension of course materials. This technique allows students to learn about a subject both in a traditional classroom setting and through community-based research, or through serving at a site that provides valuable information which helps exemplify the concepts of a particular course. I first became acquainted with the service learning program at Oglethorpe University when I enrolled in BIO 224–Cancer Biology. This course, and many others like it, focus on how service complements and enhances conceptualization of course material, which helps students to achieve a better understanding of the subject matter. This alone would have been an effective learning experience, but it turns out that, for me, service learning in BIO 224 had an unanticipated benefit. While at Oglethorpe, I participated in athletics, the Center for Civic Engagement program, and the University’s Biology and CORE course programs. While these seemed like separate activities to me at the time, it later became clear that they were in fact interconnected. My service learning experience within the Cancer Biology course provided me with the opportunity toreflect on past experiences of seemingly separate learning and service opportunities, which, in turn, allowed me to make an intuitive connection between the services I rendered and the themes presented in my college courses. Therefore, I discovered that service learning not only has the traditional classroom approach, but it also has an unconventional intellectually driven approach that is possible through reflecting on past experiences.