I have taken three service-learning courses during my time at San Francisco State, and I have seen that it has been hit or miss when it comes to concepts being formally introduced in those courses. I feel that it is common to have service-learning be shaped as a semester-long project, with reflections papers that serve as benchmarks throughout the course. I think that in order to best reflect on my service-learning experiences, it is essential to speak on each of them separately.

My first service-learning class was an under division GE class. The teacher provided a list of possible service-learning sites and set up a day, whereas group we would go out and try to meet with as many community partners. We had some conversations on expectations she had of us while out meeting the partners. While this helped find a community partner, it did not introduce the importance of service-learning nor partnership that was being developed. I feel that it is pivotal for the class to introduce the concepts of service-learning and community partners because this class is primarily for freshmen and sophomores, meaning that they might not have experience with these concepts. Students participating in service-learning must understand what that means in order to get the most out of their experience. I feel like this would make the difference between intentional experiences and transactional.

The second service-learning class I had, focused around the partnership between one community partner. The professor clearly explained the structure of the collaboration between our class and the community partner. This approach allowed for the relationship with the community partner to be reciprocal. While I do believe the professor successfully introduced the role of community partners, I feel that service-learning could have been better introduced and explained. The professor had all the components that are required of service-learning but did not adequately explain how they related, which I feel made it less effective. This approach specifically impacted the quality of student reflections because many used the reflection as a technical writing assignment. I think that students would have gained more from their reflections if was frame a way that was reflective of their whole experience.

The third service-learning class I have taken focused on organizing. The professor provided the class with a list of possible community partners. The professor did not introduce service-learning but incorporated the critical elements of service-learning throughout the class. The final essay for the class is the culmination of the entire semester reflection, which can feel unhelpful to student learning. However, in addition to the essay, the professor has students speak on how their service-learning connects to the reading every week during class discussion. I feel that compared to the other service-learning classes I have been in, this class takes the reflection portion further. The reflection portion of this class allowed for the class as a whole to make more significant connections to the course material. I feel that while the professor did not directly address the role of community partners within services learning, they did cover the partnerships with community partners.

While all of these service-learning classes had their strengths and weaknesses, I think that we can determine from my experience that professors could serve to have further instruction on introducing service-learning and community partners to their students. By providing professors, additional guidance on introducing key concepts will lead to both students and community partners having more impactful experiences.