(2006)

€ In-contextlearning that connects specific

educational goals with meaningful community service
€ Berman emphasizes that "service learning is brain-
compatible learning"
€ It motivates students to learn content
information, processes, and skills while
making authentic connections to their
surrounding community.
€ Used as a curriculum model, service learning
allows students to experience the feeling of
being needed.
€ Learn to do for others rather than “being
done for”
€ The introduction and first chapter = principles
and benefits of service learning
€ Remaining chapters present 9 service learning
projects that teachers can implement as is or
adapt as needed making them potentially
useable by most teachers and students.
€ The nine projects are grouped into
- basic projects
- intermediary projects
- advanced projects
€ identifying the service need
Begin by finding out what service needs exist in
the community and how to go about offering
services

€ assessing risks
A primary concern of a service learning project
is the safety and well-being of the students
who provide the service

€ finding a community partner

Appropriate community agencies or groups are
contacted to enquire if they are willing to be
community partners for the project.
€ aligning service and educational goals
Both students and teacher must ensure that the
goals are clearly stated and aligned with the
academic and service project work.
€ managing the project
Berman lists three key components as being involved in
managing a project
- preparing
- monitoring
- evaluating

€ fostering reflective learning

Student reflection on both the service experience
and academic learning must be included in the
service learning projects.
€ assessing student learning

- Observation checklists
- Rubrics for evaluating team work
- Writing evaluation rubric
- Tests
- Quizzes
- Poems and lyrics
- Essays
- Visual images
- Surveys they collect
- Project portfolios
™ CLEAN STREETS, GREEN STREETS
a road is “adopted” by students through identifying
a trouble spot in their locality, picking up litter from a
selected stretch of a city street or highway.

™ THE LENDING LOCKER

donations of “pre-owned, yet usable” athletic equipment is
collected from students in the school and kept in a locker or
closet to be loaned free of charge to children who want to
participate in a sport but lack the necessary equipment.

™ THE HYGIENE TREE

distributes the hygiene kits to the homeless or to low-income
community residents.
™ READING PALS
Student partner with a young child or adult and spend
two hours per week reading aloud.

™ THE SOUP TROOP

learning about nutrition and serving needy members
of the community by working in facilities such as soup
Kitchens, local food pantries school kitchens and cafeterias.

™ COMPUTER TUTORS PROJECT

establishing students as mentors or computer tutors
™ THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
find out whether the bills will fail or become law

™ COMMUNITY VISION
students in the cleanup of graffiti using murals

™ MAIN STREET GARDENS

planting ornamental plants to soften and brighten the
appearance of commercial buildings and streets, thereby
adding a touch of nature by creating ground floor beds,
sidewalk containers or window boxes.
€ valuable resource
€ provides a step-by-step guide for using the
instructional model.
€ The project chapters are nearly identical
making it easy to read and understand.
€ features multiple intelligences sidebars,
assessing risks sections, and exemplary
projects sidebars making it unique from other
service learning books.
€ emphasis on the safety risks and protocols
involved in all the projects.
€ encourages learners to make use of search
engines such as Google and Yahoo when
researching the projects
€ gives contemporary relevance to service
learning.
€ includes reproducible documents such as
rubrics or observation checklists
€ In view of the South African context the
projects will need to be adapted in some
ways.
€ Projects are modifiable
€ Activities that foster reflection and self-
evaluation
€ tips for differentiating to suit different
learning styles
€ teachers involved in service learning projects
€ project coordinators
- reproducible masters in the back of the book a
time-saver and asset.
- highlights safety risks and protocols
- The projects are suited for all grades and cover
a variety learning areas.

€ Students studying community education

- Step-by-step guide on implementing service
learning projects
- help to positively impact on their communities.
€ We enjoyed reading the book and could find
no relevant recommendations except that
the book was mainly written for an American
audience, we recommend that such a book
be written looking at projects that could be
implemented from a more South African
perspective and the needs communities in
South Africa experience.