Introduction to Service-Learning (Infographics)

Service-Learning is form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as leaders seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves. Vanderbilt University

Service Learning Supports for Students

Self Reflection

• Personal Development

• Critical Thinking

• Social-Emotional Wellness

Community Love

• Meaningful Service

• Civic Engagement

• Sense of Belonging

Academics

• Learning Objectives

• Knowledge & Skills Acquisition

• STEAM Education

Service-Learning Stages

• Reflect: examine thoughts, feelings and actions throughout the service-learning process

• Investigate: identify and analyze a community concern, existing resources, personal interests, and individual readiness

• Plan: design a service plan that describes the timeline, roles, responsibilities, goals and required resources, knowledge and skills

• Take Action: engage in learning, provide community service, monitor progress and make adjustments

• Evaluate: measure progress, evaluate impact and analyze effectiveness

• Share: demonstrate the results of learning and the impact of service

• Celebrate: honor the service team by recognizing their efforts and intention to improve the community

Types of Service

• Direct Service is hands on help to people or the planet - like handing out meals or cleaning up a park.

• Indirect Service is work performed separate from the people or cause supported – like fundraising or knitting blankets.

• Research is finding out information in order to take action – like collecting scientific data or conducting surveys.

• Advocacy is when you speak up for something you believe in – it could be live in a public setting, in-print or online.

Writing an Executive Bio for Nonprofit Leaders

An executive bio describes your personal values, interests, career history and accomplishments. You’ll need a bio for your website, professional networks, and for the many applications and proposals that are submitted to raise funds for your business.

You should have two versions available:

• Informal bio - short and written in first-person

• Professional bio - longer, written in third-person narrative

Here are a few tips to writing a compelling and concise executive bio:

• Be Consistent: your bio should reflect and summarize information on your resume, linkedin profile and other professional online channels

• Focus on Action: be sure to explain both who you are and what you do.

  • Example: “Vanessa King is an experienced community advisor, known for educating and supporting students as they transition from high-school into post-secondary opportunities.”

What to include in your bio?

• Share Your Passions and Personality: Let readers know what inspires you and how your interests and experience inform your current work

• Summarize Your Career Path: tell a story about your professional experience including your current role, showing how it all hangs together

• Share Professional Accomplishments: provide an account exemplary projects and the impact you’ve had on the organizations you’ve served

• Include Relevant Qualifications: Describe significant educational experiences, degrees, professional memberships and other credentials

• Get Personal: Briefly tell your readers who you are and what you enjoy outside of work

Habits of Mind: Thinking About Thinking

Reference: Habits of Mind: Strategies for Disciplined Choice Making | By Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick

Thinking About Our Thinking (Metacognition) “When the mind is thinking it is talking to itself.” - Plato

Occurring in the neocortex, metacognition is our ability to know what we know and what we don’t know. It is our ability to plan a strategy for producing what information is needed, to be conscious of our own steps and strategies during the act of problem solving, and to reflect on and evaluate the productiveness of our own thinking. Probably the major components of metacognition are developing a plan of action, maintaining that plan in mind over a period of time, then reflecting back on and evaluating the plan upon its completion. Planning a strategy before embarking on a course of action assists us in keeping track of the steps in the sequence for the duration of the activity. It facilitates making temporal and comparative judgments, assessing the readiness for more or different activities, and monitoring our interpretations, perceptions, decisions, and behaviors.

Metacognition means becoming increasingly aware of one’s actions and the effect of those actions on others and on the environment, forming internal questions as one searches for information and meaning, developing mental maps or plans of action, mentally rehearsing prior to performance, monitoring those plans as they are employed. It involves being conscious of the need for midcourse correction if the plan is not meeting expectations, reflecting on the plan upon completion of the implementation for the purpose of self-evaluation, and editing mental pictures for improved performance.