Student Handbook for Service As Action

Service as Action in MRSM Balik Pulau

MYP Community and Service Learning is now known as Service as Action (S&A). Service as Action is a key component of MRSM Balik Pulau mission to be a learning institution which seeks to embrace the mission statement of the IBO. We strive to develop ‘caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

Service as Action in MRSM Balik Pulau

MYP Community and Service Learning is now known as Service as Action (SAA). Service as Action is a key component of MRSM Balik Pulau mission to be a learning institution which seeks to embrace the mission statement of the IBO. We strive to develop ‘caring young people who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

What is Service as Action in the MYP?

This is a required component of the IB MYP which supports MRSM Balik Pulau aim to be a school committed to develop internationally-minded people who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet. Service as Action activities can take a wide variety of forms, including, recycling or helping with school events.

Service as Action helps students connect what is learned in school with the real world. This can happen in school, at the local food bank or at a distant destination. The end results of these connections are lifelong memorable and treasured experiences that help the students understand the needs of our world.

Service as Action extends beyond the classroom, allowing students to participate in the community where they live, paying special importance to developing their sense of social responsibility and, improving those skills that will enable them to make effective contributions to society.

Students should strive to find a variety of Service Activities in order to broaden their horizons. The idea is to find a way to help others, especially someone who is less fortunate than they are and to identify and meet a need from within one of their respective communities. It is an act that stresses the idea that it is better to give than receive.

Service as Action in the MYP involves three central elements:

·   a sensitivity to the needs of the community and society in general

·   an awareness of the role of the individual within the community

·   a willingness and the skills to respond to the needs of others

What is NOT Service as Action?

It is not an activity in which the students receive a tangible benefit (internship credit or extra credit, school credit) or financial.

All forms of duty within the family or family friends cannot be used for Service. (Mowing the lawn, making dinner, babysitting, cleaning, gardening, pet sitting, grocery shopping, etc.)

Why is Service as Action important?

· Provides students with opportunities for helping the school, local, and international

   communities.

· Helps students apply academic, personal and social skills to improve the community.

· Develops an awareness to make a positive difference in the life of others

· Encourages responsible citizenship by increasing students understanding of the world.

· Allows the student to discover new skills, talents, and interests.

· Helps students develop as leaders who take initiative.

Service as Action Goal

The goal of Service as Action is to meet the Service as Action Learning Outcomes.

1. Investigating

Student can define a clear goal and global context for the service and action, based on personal interests.

2. Planning

Student will develop criteria for the product/outcome.

3. Taking Action

Student will create a product/outcome in response to the goal, global context and criteria.

4. Reflection

·            Student will evaluate the quality of the product/outcome against their criteria.

·            Student will reflect on how completing the service has extended their knowledge and

        understanding of the topic and the global context.

·            Student will reflect on their development as IB learners through the service as action.

Examples of SAA activities

Ideally, students should aim to participate in Service as Action activities such as bellowed example.

Suggested Activities	Suggested Activities
- Peer Counseling - Beautifying neighborhoods - Residence recreational - Knowing neighbors - Week job - Helping old residents in foster homes	- Cleaning places of worship / foster home /    homes - Proposal to increase public facilities for the    disabled - Volunteering in orphanage / children special    need - Multi-ethnic cultural performances - Multi-ethnic food sales
- Exhibition of various Malaysia cultures - Proposal of building conservation / artifacts    historic - Exhibition of independence intention /    Independence meaning - Designing house plan / environmentally    friendly housing model	- Proposal to increase quality of local life: For example: - § Improving public transport system § Placing of squatters § Cleaning the river / road /beach /recreation area § Greening local area
- Solving residential community problems    / school - Helping refugees / nature disaster victims - Designing environmentally friendly    transport system - Overcoming social issues campaign	- Farmers / breeders / modern farmers service    and action - Building a website promoting Malaysia as the    center of excellence various field - Exhibition of Malaysia as an international    educational center - News / Healthy citizens bulletin - Design new millennium modern tools

All Service and Action must be completed by 1 November 2018

Interim Deadlines:

Should a student have not completed any documented service as action, a letter or message will be sent to homeroom advisor. It is hoped that by keeping you informed of your child’s progress in this regard, we can address any concerns well in advance of the final deadline, 1 November 2018.

How to obtain your Service as Action 

Before taking on a Service as Action or activity, student should consider whether it will achieve the outcomes below:

Will this activity increase your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth?

Is this activity a new challenge for you?

Will this activity allow you to work collaboratively with others?

Will this activity require perseverance and commitment?

Will this activity allow you to develop new skills?

For on-going activities, students should be reflecting at least once a month.

What do you perceive and notice?

How did you help the community?

Who did you work with? How do you feel being involved?

What obstacles did you have to overcome?

What did you learn from this activity and how might you apply this learning to your life in general?

What did you achieve as part of this activity and how has it allowed you to show personal development?

At least three (3), and hopefully all five (5), of these learning outcomes must be achieved through student’s activities for them to successfully complete the service and action requirement.

A selection of the following questions should be reflected at the end of Services as Action:

What new skills did you learn during your Service as Action activities?

What changes would you make if you were to do these activities again?

How did your understanding of community change as a result of your Service as Action activities?

Give an example of how you showed initiative and/or a willingness to help others.

How did you use your strengths to enhance one of the communities to which you belong?

Give an example of how you came up with a solution to resolve an issue in a community to which you belong.

Give an example of a situation where you showed commitment to a cause.

Do you believe Service as Action is a valuable experience? Justify your answer

All of the learning outcomes must be achieved through their activities and reflections for students to successfully complete the Service as Action Learning requirements.

Why reflections?

Reflection is an essential component of the MYP Service as Action Learning Requirement. It is the element that helps to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO Mission).

The SAA should be filled out before, during and once the activity is completed in given form and then reviewed by the advisor.

What are the steps?

· To earn Service as Action credit, students must complete the form [given by homeroom advisor]. It is important students complete this form as detailed as possible; this will make the approval period faster. The students need to write down the activity and obtain approval. Approval means that the student has selected an authorized activity and may begin participation right away.

· Before, on-going and once the activity has been completed, students should write their reflections in form given. This step is perhaps the most important. The aim of the Service program is to help students grow into compassionate, concerned global citizens, and the reflection questions are meant to prompt thoughtfulness in the students to help them grow.

· The final part is verification. Once the reflection is complete students need to get the review of the activity supervisor. They should take it to their supervisors to get it sign before returning it.

The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile

The International Baccalaureate Learner Profile The IB learner profile represents ten attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe these attributes, and others like them, can help individuals and groups become responsible members of local, national and global communities. (IB, 2013)

Disposition                                                                 Description

Inquirers                     We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.

Knowledgeable          We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.

Thinkers                      We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.

Communicators         We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.

Principled                   We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

 Open-minded            We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.

Caring                         We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.

Courageous                We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

Balanced                     We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives — intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

Reflective                   We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Global Contexts

Subject content is organized around themes or perspectives called Global Contexts. They are designed to encourage the students to make worthwhile connections between the real world and classroom learning.

Teaching and learning in the MYP involves understanding concepts in context. Global contexts provide a common language for powerful contextual learning, identifying specific settings, events or circumstances that provide more concrete perspectives for teaching and learning. When teachers select a global context for learning, they are answering the following questions.

• Why are we engaged in this inquiry?

• Why are these concepts important?

• Why is it important for me to understand?

• Why do people care about this topic?

The six MYP Global Contexts (right) inspire explorations of our common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet. They invite reflection on local, national and global communities, as well as the real-life issues and concerns of 11 to 16-year-old students. For each MYP unit, teachers should identify one global context that establishes a focus for meaningful teaching and learning in a program of international education. Over the course of their study, students should encounter all six global contexts, which are shown in the diagram.

Inquiring into subject content through a global context enables students to develop a deeper understanding of both the subject and its application in the real world. Repeated cycles of inquiry, action and reflection can lead students from academic knowledge towards practical understanding, developing positive attitudes towards learning as well as a sense of personal and social responsibility.

Approaches to Learning (ATL)

Through approaches to learning in IB programmes, students develop skills that have relevance across the curriculum that help them “learn how to learn”.

The MYP extends IB approaches to learning (ATL) skills categories into ten developmentally appropriate clusters. The focus of approaches to learning in the MYP is on helping students to develop the self knowledge and skills they need to enjoy a lifetime of learning. ATL skills empower students to succeed in meeting the challenging objectives of MYP subject groups and prepare them for further success in the IB Diploma Programme.

There are ten Approaches to Learning (ATLs) MYP clusters explained below:

Communication	I. Communication skills
	Exchanging thoughts, messages and information effectively through interaction	How can students communicate through interaction?
	Reading, writing and using language to gather and communicate information	How can students demonstrate communication through language?
Social	II. Collaboration skills
	Working effectively with others	How can students collaborate?
Self-management	III. Organization skills
	Managing time and tasks effectively	How can students demonstrate organization skills?
	IV. Affective skills
	Managing state of mind • Mindfulness • Perseverance • Emotional management • Self-motivation • Resilience	How can students manage their own state of mind?
	V. Reflection skills
	(Re)considering the process of learning; choosing and using ATL skills	How can students be reflective?
Research	VI. Information literacy skills
	Finding, interpreting, judging and creating information	How can students demonstrate information literacy?
	VII. Media literacy skills
	Interacting with media to use and create ideas and information	How can students demonstrate media literacy?
	VIII. Critical thinking skills
	Analysing and evaluating issues and ideas	How can students think critically?
	IX. Creative thinking skills
	Generating novel ideas and considering new perspectives	How can students be creative?
	X. Transfer skills
	Using skills and knowledge in multiple contexts	How can students transfer skills and knowledge across disciplines and subject groups?

Every MYP unit identifies ATL skills that students will develop through their inquiry and demonstrate in the unit’s formative (if applicable) and summative assessments. Many ATL skills directly support the attainment of subject-group objectives.

Acknowledgements: This Services as Action handbook for MRSM Balik Pulau has been put together with input gained from Service as action Guide MYP International Baccalaureate, the C&S program me Fairview International School, International School of Berne and Cedar International School, Somersfield Academic, Civic and Citizenship Education Curriculum as well as SMK Presint 9 (2), Putrajaya.