The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning and essence of college students’ voluntary participation in educational service in the unstable learning situation of non-face-to-face and face-to-face classes due to COVID-19. For this purpose, data were collected by conducting questionnaires and in-depth interviews from July to August 2020 for 18 college students who voluntarily participated in educational volunteer activities, and data were analyzed using Giorgi(2004)’s phenomenological research method. As a result of the study, two meanings of the educational volunteer experience were derived: ‘Precious happiness shared together and meeting’ and ‘me, you and a beautiful class we made’. Seven sub-components were derived: ‘when fear turns to joy,’ ‘the preciousness of another experience in time together,’ ‘the meaning and necessity of a short but intense face-to-face class,’ ‘a lesson where normal daily life remains precious,’ ‘from the excitement of the beginning to regret at the end,’ ‘self-reflection on myself through experience,’ and ‘another challenge to dreams.’ The results of this study will be able to contribute to laying the foundation for a meaningful way for college students and pre-service teachers who want to do educational service in the future, about the correct perception of educational service and how to operate it.

educational volunteer activity , learning experience , self-reflection , phenomenological research