Reflection on Community Service

Your portfolio artifact for community service should be a one-to-two page reflection that not only describes the particular experience but one that also informs the reviewer of the multiple perspectives that you gained from this experience.  In addition to providing details describing your community service, consider integrating your reflections on the following questions into this artifact. 

• What did you learn about the lives of the individuals or organizations that you assisted?
• How was the teaching and learning process and your role as a change agent evidenced in your volunteer activities? 
• Did anything from this experience contribute to your personal goals as a prospective teacher?
• What about this experience will be the most helpful to you when you become a teacher?

The information about the Dakota State University community service requirement provided below might also be helpful in expressing your thoughts.

Rationale for Community Service:

In addition to many instructional duties and responsibilities, teachers are generally expected to also perform a variety of roles to meet the needs of their students such as counselor, community liaison, social justice advocate, and moral role model.  The College of Education believes that the education provided at DSU should develop social responsibility and prepare students to be involved citizens in democratic life.  Therefore, our Teacher Education Program strives to assure that these potential abilities and aptitudes are present in teacher education candidates by including a community service element in admission requirements. 

Requirements for Community Service:

Students preparing for entry into the Teacher Education Program at DSU must perform thirty (30) hours of post-high school community service in a volunteer setting.  A completed Verification of Community Service form is submitted with the application for admission to the Teacher Education Program. 

The College of Education encourages service in the community at large, especially with school-age individuals with special needs or from diverse populations.  The volunteer assistance can be direct (preparing meals in a shelter for the homeless; assisting in after-school programs or student organizations/activities such as Scouts, 4-H, Special Olympics, Odyssey of the Mind; participating in community clean-up projects, etc.) or indirect (organizing a food drive, doing clerical work for a social service agency, etc.) as long as the primary focus is on providing voluntary time and service to other members of a community.  Employment in these types of activities is generally not accepted to meet this requirement, and all exceptions must receive prior approval from the Director of Field Services.

Opportunities and Contacts for Community Service:

Contact Crystal Pauli, Director of Field Services, in the College of Education Office at KC 151 or 5177, about opportunities in local and area after-school programs.