When Learning Feels Different: What Service Reveals About Learning Beyond School

We often think of learning as something that happens in classrooms -  structured, intentional, and assessed - and there is a lot of meaningful learning that happens there, but sometimes learning outside of school connects with students in ways that feel more socially relevant and authentic to them.

During a two-week trip to Bali, my students spent their mornings at a local children’s center. Each day, they were placed into small groups with children of different ages, engaging in activities that shifted daily, including games, conversations, and informal English practice. They went expecting an experience.

But something shifted.

At first, they were focused on what they were doing. Over time, that shifted toward the connections they were building and the impact they could have.

They started noticing what the centre had and what it didn’t. A lack of books, rugs, and even basic supplies. Not because anyone asked them to look, but because they were paying attention. The questions changed from “What are we doing today?” to “What could we do to help?”

They had raised money before the trip, but now those decisions felt more intentional and personal. They were no longer completing a task. They were engaging in authentic learning, grounded in real-world application and driven by care.

What stood out most wasn’t the activities. It was the relationships.

Students connected with the children and with each other in ways that don’t always happen in school. Some who were quieter became deeply observant, noticing small but important details. Others built connections quickly. Through this, they were learning about the community, themselves, and each other.

One moment that stayed with me was when my students met some of the teenagers at the centre. They were surprised to find them on Instagram, but that quickly shifted into something more meaningful. They connected, followed each other, and stayed in touch after the trip. They still see what they post and occasionally send messages. It became a point of realization. These students, who at first felt so different, were actually just like them.

When we reflected at the end, their responses weren’t about what they had been taught. They talked about perspective, seeing how people could have less and still be happy, how the children cared for their environment, and what they learned from each other.

It didn’t look like traditional learning. But it was deep, contextual, and meaningful.

This kind of experience reflects what Lauren Resnick (1987) describes as learning outside of school, that learning that is contextualized, social, and connected to a real purpose. Similarly, Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur (2006) highlights how learning in informal contexts emerges through participation and relationships rather than direct instruction.

In this sense, what my students experienced aligns with informal learning, situated learning, and practical intelligence. It was learning that developed through interaction with real environments and was applied in meaningful ways. It was also deeply experiential, shaped by inquiry, interest, and context.

This idea is also reflected in the talk below by Girish Gopalakrishnan, which highlights how much of our learning happens informally, through experience rather than structured instruction:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn-5OFcwpkM

This talk highlights how informal learning shapes much of what we come to understand outside structured environments.

Why don’t similar opportunities at home have the same impact?

These students come from a privileged context. There are places in their own community where they could volunteer, connect, and contribute. And yet, those experiences don’t always lead to the same level of empathy or reflection.

So what was different?

Part of it may have been the shift in context. In Bali, students were navigating unfamiliar environments and ways of living. They felt out of their depth at first. Over time, that discomfort sharpened their awareness.

They noticed more. Asked more. Cared more.

And despite the differences, they began to see how much they had in common with the students they were working with.Perhaps it is this combination, a shift in perspective paired with genuine human connection, that made the learning feel so powerful.

But this also raises a difficult question.

Are experiences like this equally accessible?

Not every student can participate in a trip like this. And yet, the learning that happened, the empathy, the inquiry, the problem-solving, the shift in perspective, feels too important to be limited to those who can access it.

If learning is most powerful when it is social, emotional, and connected to real purpose, then how often are we creating those conditions for all students?

And if we’re not, what are we prioritizing instead?

This experience didn’t replace academic learning. In many ways, it deepened it, not through generalized knowledge, but through meaningful, lived experience.

I keep coming back to one question. How do we ensure that all students - not just those who can travel - have access to this kind of meaningful, contextual, and connected learning?

References

Resnick, L. B. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13–20.

Vadeboncoeur, J. A. (2006). Engaging young people: Learning in informal contexts. Review of Research in Education, 30(1), 239–278.

TedX Talks. (2017, February 7). Informal learning: The future | Girish Gopalakrishnan | TEDxNITTrichy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn-5OFcwpkM