Kendall Lambert

Dr. Schmalz
Student Teaching Seminar
31 March 2023
Service Learning Project

According to Suffolk University, a highly-reputed college in Boston, service learning is

“a pedagogy integrating academically relevant service activities that address human and

community needs into a course. Students connect knowledge and theory to practice by

combining service with reflection in a structured learning environment” (Suffolk University,

2023). Suffolk University is saying that service learning is a style and method of teaching that

requires students to participate in acts of service to the community and the people around them

for the dual purpose of addressing human needs and connecting what students are learning in the

classroom to real-world experiences. Not only does service learning benefit the students by

giving them concrete experiences of what they are learning in the classroom and benefit the

community by providing for human need, there are also a variety of other benefits to the students

discussed by the research conducted by Education Commission of the States (ECS). The ECS

researched the benefits of service learning and found that there are a variety of benefits including

the development of workplace skills as the students must interact with one another and those in

the community in appropriate ways, and the cultivation of critical thinking. The ECS says that

“Through service-learning, students learn to reflect on their experiences and develop critical-

thinking skills, such as the ability to bring disparate elements of experience together in

meaningful ways, to analyze information for patterns and deeper meaning, and to make

evaluations and judgments” (WDPI, 2016). Clearly, service learning is beneficial to students

themselves as well as the community around them.

 For my service learning project, I decided to have my students research the most

appropriate seeds and planting conditions for an aquaponics setup and then plant the seeds

themselves. An aquaponics setup involves growing plants without soil using nutrient-rich water

produced by the fish that are also being cultivated in another segment of the aquaponics

enclosure. Rochester Area High School received a grant to purchase the aquaponics kit and have

it installed in a classroom. In preparation for the installation I had my students create models of

the room where it was going to be installed and determine the best place for the aquaponics kit to

be placed in the room. This was part of fulfilling the educational aspect of my service learning

project, as creating models and explanations is part of the requirements for Science as Inquiry in

the state standards. The next learning aspect of my project was to have the students research

which plants would grow the best in the aquaponics kit and under what planting conditions. This

related to the ecology unit of biology because it helped them to see how nutrients cycle through

systems and how they are used and recycled by plants and animals. I directed student focus on to

food-producing plants rather than flowers to help fulfill the service aspect of the project.

The service part of my service-learning project was to have the students plant seeds in the

aquaponics kit with the goal of producing food that will be used by the community. After the

students had researched the most appropriate types of plants to be grown in the aquaponics kit, I

had them pick out their seeds and the material they chose to plant the seeds in and plant the

seeds. Over the course of the rest of the school year, the plants will grow in the aquaponics kit

until they are large enough to eat. The students will regularly check in on their plants and help to

ensure proper growth. Once the plants have grown enough to produce food or are large enough

to be eaten, the food will be available for use by the community and possibly the school kitchen.
Students will also be able to take produce home with them. This food will help to supplement

diets and reduce costs, albeit temporarily, for students’ families.

This project built community within the student body because students knew that they

were planting and culturing plants not only for themselves but for others, and that they

themselves would benefit from the work of others. The students really enjoyed being able to

plant seeds and this activity gave them useful tools if they desire to grow their own food in the

future. In the future, I would prefer to be able to do this kind of activity during the ecology unit,

which we were only a week away from. However, doing the service learning project when I did

will set the stage well for students as we go into the ecology unit and will give us a concrete

example to use and prior knowledge for the students to draw from.
 Bibliography

“What Is Service-Learning?” Suffolk University Boston, 2023, https://www.suffolk.edu/student-

life/student-involvement/community-public-service/service-learning/what-is-service-
learning.

“Service-Learning Improves Education.” Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 30 June

2016, https://dpi.wi.gov/service-learning/why#:~:text=Develops%20critical%20thinking
%20skills%3A%20Through,and%20to%20make%20evaluations%20and.