Navigating the Sea of Definitions

In this chapter, we set out some ways to help you navigate through the sea of key terms and concepts in service-learning. To do so, we ask you to think about the associations, values, and beliefs that you bring to understanding these terms. Then we ask you to reconsider these terms from the associations, values, and beliefs of others. Our point is not to come up with a single, definitive definition for any term or concept. This is not a "Build Your Vocabulary in 30 Day" kind of chapter that instructs you to memorize words out of context. Instead, we hope to provide some clarifying questions that you can use when you reflect or talk with others about what you and they really mean. We believe this approach takes advantage of the diversity of opinions and experiences in our field. Indeed, even the Carnegie Foundation's community engagement classification for campuses does not come with hard and fast criteria, but instead supports multiple definitions and diverse approaches. Asking questions about service and learning, therefore, encourages ongoing dialogue that leads to deepening our individual and collective understanding of the complexity of our work and what high-quality service-learning really means to you and those with whom you work. This chapter includes several short exercises throughout the text, as well as longer worksheets at the end to help you complete these exercises. [authors]