Faculty
Service Learning
Service Learning is a high impact teaching approach utilizing community-based experiential learning to connect theory and practice through critical reflection. Service Learning emphasizes learning through community service activities that are fundamental to course outcomes. The SL team provides ongoing support to SL faculty, students, and community partners.
Service Learning emphasizes learning through community service activities that are fundamental to course outcomes. Service Learning provides benefit to students as well as community partners by promoting sustainable campus-community relationships that enhance student learning and address community-identified needs. Students develop their academic and critical thinking skills, gain a deeper understanding of course content, and develop an enhanced sense of civic engagement and social justice.
Service Learning benefits both the campus and the community by developing a culture that promotes civic engagement and social justice, deepening student learning, meeting community-identified needs, and by forming mutually beneficial partnerships that expand opportunities for our campus to contribute to the public good.
- Discover new and effective teaching resources and methods
- Engage and motivate students
- Articulate the relationship between academic material and its applications
- Acquire awareness and involvement in the community
- Assess students based on their capacity to link community service with course concepts, emphasizing connections rather than mere task completion.
- Enhances understanding of community concerns, organizations, and stakeholders.
- Fosters increased community awareness and a commitment to resolving its challenges.
- Offers cost-effective access to professional growth opportunities.
- Cultivates a collective student experience that fosters classroom unity.
- Encourages the development of civic duty and strategic preparation for future community engagement.
The Cal State Long Beach Policy on Service Learning, Policy Number 19-13, was recently passed by the Academic Senate and became effective on November 5, 2019.
This policy establishes guidance on Service Learning (SL) for the entire campus. It addresses the approval process and the role of the Center for Community Engagement (CCE). This policy does not apply to teacher preparation placements or clinical placements in professional programs.
The policy sets forth the minimum requirements for a course to be certified as a service learning course. All existing and future service learning courses will be reviewed by the Center for Community Engagement and should reflect the definition of service learning and incorporate the requirements as described within the policy in order to receive certification.
For the full text of the policy, please go to the CSULB Policy on Service Learning (19-13).
Deadlines for submitting courses for SL Certification to CCE-SL@csulb.edu:
| FALL | WINTER | SPRING | SUMMER |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 1st | February 1st | September 1st | September 1st |
Community Resources
- Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development – David A. Kolb
- Principles of Good Practice for Service-Learning Pedagogy – Jeffrey Howard
- Service-Learning – Peter Felten and Patti H. Clayton
- Talking about Service-Learning: Product or Process Reciprocity or Solidarity – Joan Clifford
- The Social Justice Turn: Cultivating “Critical Hope” in an Age of Dispair – Kari M. Grain and Darren E. Lund
- The Theoretical Roots of Service-Learning in John Dewey: Toward a Theory of Service-Learning – Dwight E. Giles, Jr. and Janet Eyler
S4 @ The Beach
- Your course and community partners are included on S4 @ The Beach
- Your students are registered for their placement sites on S4 @ The Beach
- A service learning agreement is in place for your community partners.
If any one of these conditions are not true for your service learning class, Contact us immediately and we will be glad to assist you.
