Designing Service–Learning to Empower Students and Community: Jackson Elementary Builds a Nature Study Center

We propose an approach to service–learning in which projects are designed so as to empower undergraduate students and community members. When student service scholars take away control from citizens, they can undermine citizens' perceptions of competency; when faculty reduce students' choice and responsibility, they can undermine students' efficacy and desire to learn. We propose four guidelines for optimizing student and citizen experiences: (1) service should serve both the community and the students; (2) service should empower; (3) service should be contextual; and (4) service projects should endure. We elaborate this philosophy and illustrate it with a project in which nine university students and 30 fifth–graders built a science and nature study center for a K–6 elementary school.