What is Service as Action
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme is built around service as action (MYP). It seeks to develop caring community members who act to improve the lives of others and the environment. Service as action requires students to engage with their local community through community or personal projects and allows students to investigate, design, implement, and reflect on their efforts to positively impact their local environment. Students learn the value of community participation and gain a deeper understanding of the issues that affect their immediate surroundings through service as action experiences.
Service as action leads towards a set of developmentally appropriate outcomes. It helps students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and their developmentally appropriate responsibility in their community by engaging them in-depth inquiry that leads to action.
MYP learning outcomes for service
Become more aware of their own strengths and areas for growth
Undertake challenges that develop new skills
Discuss, evaluate and plan student-initiated activities
Persevere in action
Work collaboratively with others
Develop international-mindedness through global engagement, multilingualism and intercultural understanding
Consider the ethical implications of their actions.
Types of Action
Direct Service
Students have interaction that involves people, the environment or animals. Physical distancing guidelines are observed during face to face interactions that do not involve immediate family members.
Indirect Service
Though students do not see the recipients during indirect service, they have verified that their actions will benefit the community or environment.
Advocacy
Students speak on behalf of a cause or concern to promote action on an issue of public interest. Examples include initiating an awareness campaign on hunger in the community, performing a play on replacing bullying with respect, or creating a video on sustainable water solutions.
Research
Students collect information through varied sources, analyse data and report on a topic of importance to influence policy or practice.
Service as Action and Community Project = Community Service
Here in Al Jabr Islamic School, we tried to combine Service as Action and Community Project. Our MYP start at Grade 6 and ends at Grade 10, which means that the MYP students will have Personal Project in year 5. However, not all the students of Grade 9 will continue to Grade 10; therefore we have a Community Project for Grade 8 and 9 students. We call it Community Service, where we encourage students to achieve 7 Learning Outcomes of Service as Action through their Community project.
Meanwhile, Service as Action is still part of all subject in Grade 6, 7 and 8. We encourage them to do Service as Action in the end of summative assessment, especially during Interdisciplinary Unit.
This strategy is our way to create a better world by being compassionate people