Running head: SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Service Learning Proposal

Amanda Mathy
Ferris State University

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Abstract
This service learning proposal will describe what I, a Ferris State University Nursing
Student, will be doing to gain knowledge in the nursing field while volunteering in the
community. This paper will give details on the facility that I am volunteering at and how the
facility supports the community. It will also state the specific tasks I will be performing, and how
my actions will benefit the community and myself in regards to further knowledge in the nursing
field. An evaluation will also be given based on what I learned from my volunteer work.

Service Learning Proposal

Service learning is a process that combines students academic experiences with
community service activities. Students take the knowledge they obtain in class and apply it to the
needs of a community. Students not only learn the most common techniques of health care
practices, but they also develop their own ways of completing tasks that will benefit them the
most in the future. Kim Kankiewicz best describes service learning by stating it as a balance
between learning goals and service outcomes (Kankiewicz, 2014). The students are being
benefitted due to a further understanding of the health care field as well as more experience in
the practice setting.
Agency Description

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

The agency I choose for this service learning proposal is The Anchor Bay Early
Childhood Center. The purpose of the Early Childhood Center is to offer care and educational
programs for young children. The children enjoy their time by challenging and improving on
their vocabulary, cognitive growth, socialization abilities, and motor skills. The children will also
be exposed to math, science, and technology concepts that will further their knowledge (Anchor
Bay School District, 2014). See Appendix A for contact information.
Volunteer Role Description
My roles at the agency will be to help care for and educate the traditional 3 and 4 year old
preschoolers. I will be taking care of the children and making sure they are safe at all times.
Assistance will also be provided to the teacher for any activities that need to be set up or other
tasks that the teacher needs help with. Education will be a priority, which gives me the task of
assisting the children with vocabulary, communicating, writing, reading, and counting.
Throughout these basic teachings, I will incorporate knowledge in the nursing field by
implementing them in daily activities the preschoolers take part in. Applications of hand hygiene
and contact spread will be my main topics.
Objectives as Related to Program
My main priority of this project is to educate people at a young age to try and help with
disease preventions in the future. I am going to mainly focus on the chain of infection and how
the mode of transmission can be broken. The mode of transmissions I will focus on will be hand
hygiene and contact spread such as sneezing and coughing techniques. Hand hygiene is a priority
with younger children, so I am going to focus mostly on hand washing techniques and how it can
cause many diseases inside and outside of the practice setting. For contact spread, I will focus on
breaking the mode of transmission of an organism by explaining proper sneezing and coughing
techniques that allow the organism to be contained. Cleaning skills will also be implemented in

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

order to prevent organisms from transmitted by direct contact with tables, doorknobs, and other
objects. According to the article, Preventing the Spread of Germs, Philip M. Tierno Jr explains
that Contact spread is responsible for 80% of all infectious diseases in children (Tierno, 2011).
Contact spread is highly preventable and can be taught at an early age. I hope by working with
the preschoolers at Anchor Bay Early Childhood Center, I am able to educate them on proper
hand hygiene and contact spread in order to prevent diseases.
Activities to Meet Objectives
In order to properly educate the children in disease prevention, I will implement hands-on
activities. I will first demonstrate the necessary steps and techniques to hand washing. Every day
that I am at the facility, I will teach specific steps to hand washing including the proper amount
of time and the proper drying process. I will also explain to them what types of soap to use and
where scrubbing should occur on the hands and wrists. For prevention of contact spread, I am
going to incorporate disease prevention lessons that show where and how organisms (germs) can
be spread. Hands-on activities will be incorporated after by allowing the children to pretend
cough and sneeze while using proper techniques. The proper techniques I will demonstrate will
be to cough and sneeze into their elbows and make sure they wash their hands and wrists
immediately after. Throughout all of the activities, I plan to get my message across to the
children by communication. Communication with younger children will be the hardest task for
this project because they are uneducated on medical vocabulary that is involved in nursing
education. I know that I have to keep this in mind when it comes to talking to the children or else
their attention span will be gone. For example, instead of using the term organisms when talking
about the chain of infection, I will use the term germs because that is the term they have had
experience with. Hands-on activities will mostly be used because of their attention spans. I will
also plan to use more pictures and drawings instead of wordy handouts or powerpoints because

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

of their attention span and knowledge-based learning. I will send home flyers or handouts with
these pictures, so they can explain to their parents about the new information they learn in class
every day.
Evaluation Plan
To evaluate how beneficial my teaching is, I plan to split up my service learning into two
separate occasions. The first period will be in December and the second will be in late January.
The first period, I will teach the children about hand washing and contact spread techniques. I
will do this every day for about ten days. When January comes around, I will have the children
show me what they have learned in the past month without giving them any specific help. By
doing this, I will be able to evaluate their learning skills as how much information they really
absorbed. I will not make them feel as if they are being quizzed because I dont want them to
panic. During their evaluations, I will also ask questions that were on the handouts to see if they
have truly retained any information regarding disease prevention.

References
Anchor Bay School District. (2014). Home of the Tiny Tars. Retrieved from
http://www.anchorbay.misd.net/schools/ecc/docs/earlyprogram.pdf
Kankiewicz, K. (2014). Definition of Service Learning. Definition of Service-Learning.

SERVICE LEARNING PROPOSAL

Retrieved from
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/service_learning/definition.cfm
Tierno Jr, P. M. (2011). Preventing the Spread of Germs. Scholastic.com. Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/health-nutrition/preventing-spreadgerms

Appendix A
Contact Information
Anchor Bay Early Childhood Center
52680 Washington St.
New Baltimore, MI 48047
Phone Number: (586) 716-7862
Facility Supervisor: Barbara Healey
Email: bhealey@abs.misd.net