THE INTEGRATION OF AUTHENTIC LEARNING PRINCIPLES AND FACEBOOK IN SERVICE LEARNING

ABSTRACT

To date, lots of research was carried out solely on the effectiveness of Authentic Learning principles in service learning. The results showed positive relationships between theories and practices because students had become relatively analytical thinkers, problem-solvers and collaborators. The uses of Authentic Learning and Facebook in service learning, however, are under research.  Hence, this paper tends to investigate the effectiveness of Authentic Learning Principles and Facebook in promoting active learning among students in their service learning curriculum. These students are from Albukhary International University (AiU) whereby service-learning curriculum also known as Community Engagement Project (CEP) has been introduced to all undergraduate students across their 3-year curriculum. Purposive samplings were employed to find out the students’ preferences in using Authentic Learning Principles together with Facebook as a social media tool in their service learning projects. Surveys which consisted of Likert-scale questions were administered to ninety-six (99) students from 20 different countries. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the students were males and the other forty-nine (49%) were females. The results have shown that Authentic Learning Principles and Facebook as a tool of communication have effectively enhanced students’ learning experience in service learning.