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Students learn knowledge, skills and attitudes in a unit through activities. Many activities might sound suitable for L to L, especially for Community Service. But, L to L activities should not be just any activity. The activities must fulfill the four learning requirements in the following.
(1) The activity must be significant for student. It means the activity must involve higher order of thinking (evaluation, analysis, and synthesis). Fundraising from passersby is clearly not adequate in terms of thinking skills. The activity must assure that the students learn knowledge, skills, and attitude that make them meet the expectation of Sampoerna Academy.
(2) The activity must be challenging for student. Learning is located somewhere in between “easy” and “difficult”. It is called the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 2006). Any activity inside the learning area will be considered as challenging. Student is best motivated in this area. If it is too easy, then it will be boring for them. If it is too difficult, then they will be desperate. By finding out what they have learned and what they want to learn, instructor can accurately identify the zone of proximal development.
(3) The activity must be engaging for student. Learning will be best if they are involved actively instead of merely receiving. No student may be left behind and student should be given some degree of independence in choosing their learning approach. Instructors should use their creativity to engage all of the students in learning. Peer-tutoring and audio-kinesthetic learning are few strategies that might work. Instructor’s communication skills in delivering complex ideas clearly are also important.
(4) The activity must also be relevant for student. Activities must be imaginable for the students. Choose the activities that are make sense and feasible. This would be easy if the coordinators understand their students’ background, talent, interest, penchants, and predilections.
Community service involves voluntary social activities that have a learning benefit for the students. It involves interaction between individual and the community, local district, national or international community, such as:
1. Set up local neighborhood library, reading program, and storytelling.
2. Story Telling and fun learning with kindergarten or orphanage children.
3. Tutoring school subject, such as English, Mathematics, and Science for younger students.
4. Sharing skills learned at school with underprivileged children (computers, cooking, dancing, drawing, singing, sport, music, art, craft, etc.)
5. Joining a local community event.
6. Volunteering in social organization.
