What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning is a way for you, the student, to gain a better understanding of course content by experiencing it first-hand. Service-Learning students are placed in real-life settings where they have the unique opportunity to use and apply skills learned in the classroom to meet community needs. Service-Learners have the chance to apply their skills/knowledge, make real decisions that positively impact their surrounding, experience and embrace diversity, gain deeper understandings of themselves and society and develop as leaders.

How Do You Benefit From Service-Learning?

Here at ECU, we know that learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom. Because textbooks do not magically come to life, professors use Service-Learning to help you practice and question information that they teach you. By participating in Service-Learning, you're not just memorizing material- you're living it. 

So How Is It REALLY Going to Help Me?

Service-Learning forces you to think and work "outside the box." Creativity, ingenuity and experience are extremely valuable skills to possess. When you leave ECU, those extra adjectives on a resume and the proof you will carry in your portfolio as a result of Service-Learning will put you far ahead of the competition. Check out examples of how Service-Learning is being used here at ECU:

• In Communications Classes:
  Students are currently working on a promotional video to highlight the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, as well as writing and recording public service announcements for non-profits in the Greenville community. These students will leave ECU with copies of their work, detailing that they are competent in video production, marketing, script writing and public speaking.
  
• In Middle Education Classes:
  Students are working in placements such as the Food Bank, after-school programs, and the Family Violence program. They are learning how home-life impacts the students that they encounter in their classrooms. For example, a child who does not eat breakfast in the morning may not be as alert or attentive as a peer who eats his Wheaties. In middle education, students are learning not only how the community works to eradicate this problem, but they are seeing first-hand where the problem starts.

Interested In Learning More?

Students can contact the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center for more information by calling 328-2735 or emailing volunteer@ecu.edu . Our staff would be happy to discuss the list of service-learning courses available to you at ECU, or to explain how you can get the most out of your service-learning experience.