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USEFUL TERMS Related to Service-Learning and Community-Based Education
 BEST PRACTICES: Guidelines that are seen as key to the implementation of quality teaching and learning.
COMMUNITY: Any group having a common interest, work or social relationship. This could be a classroom, school, neighborhood, town, state, region, nation, world or any group of people coming together for a common purpose.
SOCIAL EDUCATION: The building and sustaining of a caring community through a learning process that is intentional and integrated.
COMMUNITY BASED EDUCATION: An educational process or strategy that consciously seeks to connect students and learning to the local community.
COMMUNITY SERVICE: A voluntary act that benefits others.
SERVICE-LEARNING: An academic and social educational method that meets both student and community needs and requires the application of knowledge, skills, and systematic reflection about the experience.
NEED: In the context of service-learning, fulfilling a need refers to the learner contributing to the genuine growth or improvement of a community. The need being met is external to the learner.
PLACE BASED CURRICULUM: A curriculum that utiizes a communitiy’s resources, history, and local uniqueness to teach essential skills and concepts that stimulate discovery of the broader world. An interdisciplinary curriculum woven from the threads of local culture and heritage.*
REFLECTION: A thoughtful, serious looking back at one’s experiences, individually or as a group. Reflection can become part of future planning.
EVALUATION: A thoughtful look at service or program goals to see how successfully they are being — or have been — met.
ASSESSMENT: A thoughtful, ongoing process to determine the current level of student performance as a way to set future goals and needs. Student involvement is important.
definitions created by CLASS Focus Group, except for "place based education" which was contributed by Foodworks
©2000 \Community Works Press
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