Community Service Learning Program

What is Community Service Learning?
Community Service Learning (CSL) is a teaching method that promotes student learning through active participation in meaningful and planned service experiences in the community that are directly related to course content. Through reflective activities, students enhance their understanding of course content, general knowledge, a sense of civic responsibility, self-awareness, and commitment to the community. Students also gain valuable leadership experience and greater self-confidence in their abilities to offer valuable talent and resources beyond the campus experience. In short, CSL provides students opportunities to apply the skills and concepts they are learning in the classroom and in real-life settings.

CSL is not the same as volunteering; although it does involve volunteer activities in the community, these activities are coordinated with specific educational objectives identified in each course. For example, students in an accounting course may volunteer with local nonprofits to do bookkeeping assignments.

CSL courses occur in almost every discipline, from sociology, arts and management to physics, biology and engineering. Almost any course can be designed with a CSL component that will enhance the student’s educational experience. The time that students spend in the community on their service projects is integrated into the course structure, so that service-learning courses require the same amount of effort and hours as do their traditional counterparts. Furthermore, they also fulfill graduation requirements in the same way that regular courses do.

CSL, although relatively new to The California Maritime Academy, has occurred in some form or another in The California State University since the first campus opened in 1857. A recent study conducted by the CSU Needs and Priorities Survey indicates that more than 135,000 CSU students performed a total of 33.6 million hours of community service in 1999. Of the students surveyed, 65% stated that CSL courses helped them master the subject material more than traditional courses did. Seventy percent said the service-learning courses developed more civic awareness and responsibility, and 69% said service-learning courses provided more opportunity to explore career options.

Indeed, job recruiters actively seek and hire students with CSL experience since they are aware of the valuable insights that students gain when they engage in CSL—working with diverse populations and touching the lives of people in the community who are most in need.

To learn more about the CSL courses offered at Cal Maritime or obtain information about events, community partners, opportunities at other CSU campuses, and resources for faculty and students, please contact Dr. Kathryn Marocchino, Director of the Community Service Learning Center, at 707/ 654-1227 or Mr. René Viargues, Community Partnerships Coordinator, at 707/654-1146. The CSLC is located in the Center for Excellence and Learning (CEL), in the Laboratory Building, and is open every day of the week.