Finally, faculty can play a crucial role in creating transformational service learning
experiences (e.g., Eyler & Giles, 1999). Interestingly, a service learning class is likely
to be more effective in developing leadership and citizenship skills if it is designed in
such a way that the instructor has a less prominent role as the disseminator of knowledge.
Cress, Yamashita, Duarte, and Burns (2010) examined which teaching techniques
best support students’ understanding and development of leadership skills.
They found that traditional techniques such as lectures, quizzes, and exams were much
less effective than transformational techniques such as reflective journals, collaborative
projects, group decision making, and student-selected topics.