The application of community service learning in science education

Evaluation questionnaire
Overall, students perceived the entire CSL experience as positive (Table 1). They gained insights such as opportunities for personal development and growth, hence acquired the real world skills.

Table 1: Student volunteers’ responses to evaluation questionnaire

	Question	Excellent (%)	Good (%)	Fair (%)	Poor (%)
Q1	What is the overall impression of the community service learning in making a contribution to the Hill Tribe?	11 (50%)	11 (50%)	0	0
	Question	Yes (%)		No (%)
Q2	I have participated in volunteer work before.	11 (50%)		11 (50%)
	Questions	Strongly agree (%)	Agree (%)	Neutral (%)	Disagree (%)	Strongly disagree (%)
Q3	I established rapport with the villagers at the Hill Tribe.	6 (27.3)	12 (54.5)	4 (18.2)	0	0
Q4	I can see the link between what I learn in PBL and the objectives of this SL.	2 (9.1)	16 (72.7)	4 (18.2)	0	0
Q5	I can connect my science disciplines learnt in 2nd and 3rd years to the objectives of this SL.	3 (13.6)	11 (50.0)	6 (27.3)	0	2 (9.1)
Q6	As a result of my community service experience, I gained new insights into this tribe.	12 (54.5)	9 (40.9)	1 (4.5)	0	0
Q7	As a result of my community service experience, I gained an awareness of community issues particularly in relation to this project.	15 (68.2)	6 (27.3)	1 (4.5)	0	0
Q8	As a result of my community service experience, I would like to continue my volunteering as a part of my further development.	13 (59.1)	6 (27.3)	3 (13.6)	0	0
Q9	I understand myself better after this trip.	12 (54.5)	6 (27.3)	4 (18.2)	0	0
Q10	I feel more confident working in the real world.	10 (45.5)	8 (36.4)	4 (18.2)	0	0

Of the students who participated in the evaluation questionnaire, 50% (n = 11) reported that their overall experiences on the community service experience was ‘excellent’ whereas the remaining half reported as ‘good’. Similarly, 50% had involved such volunteering experience before. Over 80% (n = 18) strongly agreed or agreed that they had established rapport with the villagers there as well as could make connection between PBL and this CSL.

This community service experience was beneficial to the students’ learning as 63.6% (n = 14) could connect to their prior science knowledge to this service learning. However, 9.1% (n = 2) indicated that they did not make connection between the science disciplines and the project. Over 90% (n = 21) affirmed that they had gained insights and awareness of the community issues related to the project. About 86% would like to continue volunteering as a part of their future development. In addition, over 80% strongly agreed or agreed that they understood themselves better and were more confident in working in the real world.

Although the results from this study were positive, they were unable to predict if such experience would have long lasting effect on the students’ development when they are working in the real world.

Critical reflections on the community service experience
The reflective questionnaires were completed by the students at the end of the project. The students responded to seven questions (Table 2) and they were very positive about the whole experience. The key element in this experience was the impact of learning. They felt they had benefited significantly in terms of personal development and civic responsibility. 21 agreed that this experience was meaningful. 3 stated that the process of the biogas project was the most significant experience whereas 19 affirmed that it was the culture and lifestyle of the village. In particular, one student commented that the community service experience had left a significant impact to him whereas 21 agreed that such experience had influenced their personal values and thoughts. In addition, 22 agreed that this service learning experience was transformational, with 15 agreed that it was the most transformational experience they ever had. The last question fell into the category of civic responsibility and all the participants agreed that ‘no one owes them a living’.

Table 2: Student volunteers’ responses to reflection questionnaire

	Questions	Number of Responses	Students’ comments
Q1	Was the service meaningful for the overseas community?	22	21 agreed it was meaningful. 1 commented, “I hope it was meaningful”.
Q2	Were the facilitation sessions interesting and useful?	22	22 agreed. 7 stated that experiences were shared and they were meaningful sessions.
Q3	What is the most significant moment in this SL programme?	22	3 stated the biogas project and the construction of the anaerobic bioreactor. The rest stated the culture and lifestyle of the village.
Q4	What lessons could you learn from this overseas community?	22	7 stated they had learnt survival skills. 15 stated they were more appreciative of the things around them.
Q5	Has the SL experience influenced your personal values and thoughts about community service?	22	21 agreed. 1 stated, “SL experience did not influence my personal values and thoughts about community service but it did leave a significant impact.”
Q6	Did the SL experience leave an impact on you? It is by far the most transformational experience I have had. It is one of the more transformational experiences I have had. It is just an interesting programme with not much impact. It is a disappointment for me. It has no impact on me at all.	22 15 7 0 0	2 commented that they had been to such similar SL trip before.
Q7	It has been said that “no one owes us a living”. How does this statement apply to you?	22	22 agreed with this statement. Some selected comments: “No one will spoon-feed us” “…we determine how we want to lead our lives…” “The community can lend a helping hand; but we have to put in our own effort to sustain better condition.” “..we have to be give and take…” “We create our own future and walk our own path.”

Students’ reflection journals were coded into the following four categories (Parker et al., 2009):

reflection on personal role within the group setting;
increasing awareness of community issues;
lessons learnt about non-governmental organisation; and
challenges faced.

Overall, students expressed positive feedback about the whole CSL experience. Majority of students demonstrated positive reflections on their personal role towards the bioreactor and biogas project (see Table 3). They gained increased awareness of the community issues in rural areas such as Chiang Rai. As these 22 student volunteers were bred in Singapore, they did not have such rural exposure. Besides learning lessons about utilising raw materials such as animal wastes to produce biogas for cooking purpose and fertilisers for vegetables cultivation (Figures 5 & 6), they also learnt about the cultural values from the villagers and the roles of non-profit organization, Mirror Foundation.

Table 3. Selected students’ comments from their reflective journals

Student	Comments
1	“This SL trip I enjoyed it a lot; I learnt a lot of things such as digging requires a lot of techniques. … The working together to build biogas reactor requires lots of teamwork and hard work. Overall, this trip is very meaningful and memorable.”
2	“The experience brings out the real character of one’s self. … To them is normal, but to me I think it’s hardship.”
3	“… construction of biogas reaction… I was surprised how the Thai people were able to think of such innovative ideas with so little raw materials. This example totally changed my perception of Thai people, and I grew to respect them and their way of living.”
4	“Doing hands-on on the bioreactor also gives me better understanding on how it works. Also providing benefits for the local, as they can save for cooking using biogas.”
5	“This trip to Chiang Rai was meant to build a biogas reactor for a school … Having learnt about the biogas system, the next was to build it in school. I understood that with this system, they would save a lot of money for the village which isn’t very developed.”

Students realized the importance of the biogas project in a rural setting, the team’s effort and rapport in order to complete the project on time. Biogas is not common in cities or developed countries. However, for developing countries such as Chiang Rai, some of the rural areas use raw materials for cooking purpose. Gas is considered as an expensive source for cooking and biogas is an alternative to most rural communities. Many learnt the skills of biogas construction in which they would not have experienced from textbooks or in classroom. One participant stated, “With awesome friends with me and meaningful project waiting for us to complete”. Indeed, he realized the importance of individual contributions in order to maintain a healthy working environment and to complete the given task.

Majority regarded such experience as a lesson in life and issues they need to be aware of in the workplace. Moreover, they were appreciative that such opportunity allowed them to realize the way in which the villagers operate in such a setting. One of the student’s written comments was “an opportunity for me as an eye-opener to see the world in a different view and not to look down on people who are not as fortunate as me because that is their way of living”. Hence, students developed a greater understanding for the role of non-profit organizations.

Finally, there were some challenges faced during the project, particularly the process of biogas construction. An example was the collection of the cow dung as the raw material to obtain biogas was manure. Despite the hardship faced by the students, they were very positive. Comments expressed by them included “from digging the steep slope to the collection of cow dung and pig dung, mixing the dung, is something that is worth doing” and “I had an awesome time doing hard work like digging the ground, collecting cow dung”. Hence, the students were able to turn such challenges into a positive learning experience which is a reflective nature in this study.