It has been roughly 15 years since PolyU decided to make service-learning a required, credit-bearing subject for all undergraduate students. In the process, we have acquired quite a bit of experience in all aspects of service-learning, and particularly in International SL. Based on our experience, ISL can now be understood to be a confluence of cross-cultural, experiential, and value-based learning in a civic context. Through which are cultivated moral, competent, globally responsible citizens who can apply professional skills to solve practical problems. How, then, can ISL achieve that?
From literature, as well as our own experience and research, in order for service-learning to achieve its intended learning outcomes, the service project must be meaningful, challenging, and create real benefits. If the project is too easy to carry out, the students are not challenged. It may please lazy students (and professors). However, consequently they cannot feel the satisfaction of exerting, stretching themselves to overcome a challenge. And the end result is little or no learning. No pain, no gain.
If the duration is too short, these is just not enough time for the experience to make a deep, lasting impression on the student. Hence the effort in designing and arranging the project goes to waste. It is a great pity. Often the effort that goes into preparing for s short project may not be the much different from preparing for a longer project. For example, a group of university students may design a game-based learning activity for children in an under-resourced school. For example, 5 university students may spend 20 hours in learning how-to and then actually design a 2-hour workshop, which is run only once, for 20 children. The duration is much too short to make a big impact. But it can probably be expanded in a number of ways. Perhaps by repeating the same workshop for different groups of children; or repeating, with some changes, for the same group of children multiple times, to reinforce and deepen the learning for the same group of children. The result may be much greater impact, on the students offering the workshop, as well as the children participating.
If the project does not create real benefits, it cannot create a sense of achievement for the students. There is also no heart-felt response from the recipient. And consequently, the students do not derive satisfaction from the gratitude from the recipients. It happens often to projects in which only a proposal is created, without actual implementation. Int may be argued that a good proposal can be a satisfying deliverable, hence bringing a sense of achievement. However, a proposal is obviously far less impactful than a successful implementation. A proposal to install a solar panel system delivers no tangible benefits, unlike a successful installation which delivers usable electrical power, and consequently, actual lighting. The impact on the community, and the gratitude expressed, in turn, encourages the students, deepens their learning, and strengthens their confidence in themselves. Many advocacy type of projects involve effortful studies in a social issue, ending in an exhibition, for a limited audience, for a short duration. It is doubtful whether such projects results in tangible benefits for anyone other than the students themselves. Research inform us that students may not find such projects very meaningful, being unable to see actual benefits for the target community. There is often little or no feedback, there being no clear beneficiary.
To achieve civic learning, the social need addressed must be clearly articulated. And the students guided to understand how the project addresses the need. The sharper is the need, the clearer is the success (and failure) of the service project. Some service project aim to benefit the “general public”, perhaps by improving the environment. Often the “general public” targeted in the specific project is very vaguely identified, and it is doubtful anyone actually benefit from the effort. In such cases, it is difficult to ascertain whether significant civic learning has been achieved.
Most social needs that deserve our attention are complex, and perhaps even “wicked”. That should be expected. Easy problems have probably been solved already. What remains are likely to be complex and difficult. On the other hand, projects that potentially make an impact probably also carry a certain degree of risk, of failure. Projects that are completely safe are unlikely to make a significant. The “trick” is to balance the (acceptable) risk against the (high) possibility of success.
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