Athens, Ga. – “Why do we have to learn this?” It’s a question asked daily in countless Georgia classrooms by students who seek connections between classroom learning and the “real world.”
The University of Georgia will host two workshops for area educators this winter that offer ways to make curriculum more relevant to students, engage them in meaningful learning and help them make a difference in their community. The workshops are being co-hosted by UGA’s Office of Service Learning and the College of Education.
The all-day workshops-one focused on middle and high school classrooms on Jan. 25 and the second on elementary classrooms on Feb. 22-will be interactive, introductory sessions on service learning. Both will be held at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
Service learning is a teaching and learning approach that has been documented to result in positive academic, social, civic and skills development for young people. Well-designed service-learning experiences can also serve as a bridge between school and community as students see how they can make a difference by applying their learning to address local issues, needs and concerns.
In the workshops, participants will:
• explore the concept of service-learning and how it relates to your grade level;
• examine project examples from local classrooms;
• learn about funding support, community partners, project ideas, and how to demonstrate the impact of the project;
• develop a plan for implementing service-learning in your own classroom; and
• learn from and work with experienced K-12 service-learning educators.
Registration cost is $175 per workshop (includes the text and companion CD, The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, and Social Action by Cathryn Kaye, as well as a resource binder with additional materials, refreshment breaks, lunch and a parking pass). Registration deadline is Jan. 11.
For more information or to register online, see www.coe.uga.edu/events/.
Founded in 1908, the UGA College of Education offers 14 undergraduate majors and more than 34 graduate programs leading to careers as educators, counselors, psychologists, administrators, researchers, and educational and health-related specialists.
