Powell Center Director of Service Learning Leads
Service-Learning Roundtable on "Reflection"

On January 17, 2008, the New York Campus Compact, an association of metro-area higher education institutions who promote service learning, presented a day-long roundtable discussion on effective methods. The event, entitled “Reflection: The Essence of Service-Learning” was held at Mount Saint Mary College, in Newburgh, New York. Nora Heaphy, director of service learning at the Powell Center co-led the program, which was designed as a practical, hands-on approach for faculty and service-learning practitioners.

Nearly 50 attendees participated in the event, sharing questions, issues and solutions. Participants brought in their syllabi, learning objectives and other material for courses they were designing or currently teaching. The discussion benefited both newcomers and veterans of the approach.

Service learning is a transformational pedagogy designed to enhance students' understanding of course content and deepen their appreciation of complex social issues. However, the experience of service itself does not necessarily result in learning, Ms. Heaphy noted during the roundtable. Reflection activities have proven to be indispensable in helping students harvest the learning from service. In the classroom and within the community, well-structured reflection challenges students to think more critically and it provides the glue that holds together the service and the  learning.