YSA Semester of Service

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Learning Through ServiceTeaching and Engaging
for Student Success
Susan A. Abravanel, YSAPete Ready, ODE
2009 Superintendents Summer Institute
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Improving communities by increasing the number
and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25,
serving in substantive roles.
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Engaging young people in substantive roles
solving authentic problems leads to
Student Achievement
Workforce Readiness
Stronger Communities
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Engaging
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The Dropout Problem

• Percentage reporting that their schools
  graduation rates were 90 or higher . . .

Teachers 48
Principals 55
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The Dropout Problem

• Average on-time national graduation rate was
  between 68 and 75 at the time of the survey

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Activity

• As a pair, develop a written, verbal, artistic,
  or other picture of a disengaged student.
• How you can tell that the young person is
  disengaged, using at least some of the senses?
  (what does the person look like? what does the
  person sound like? how does the person feel?)
• What are the key cues to notice?

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Student Engagement

• Over 1/3rd of students do not take school
  seriously and get through the day by fooling
  around with classmates
• 1/2 said their classes were boring
• 2/3rds say they cheated on a school test
• 90 copied homework from someone else
• 80 say it is not important to get good grades
  in school
• 20 say they do not try hard in school because
  they are worried what their friends may think
• 20 say disengagement is a result of confusion
  or difficulty of subject matter, particularly
  in math and science.

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Engagement Research

• Researchers (Brewster Fager, 20007) recommend
• Ensure course materials relate to students lives
  and highlight ways learning can be applied in
  real-life situations (Lumsden, 1994 Skinner and
  Belmont, 1991)
• Help students feel that schoolwork is
  significant, valuable, and worthy of their
  efforts (Policy Studies Associates, 1995)
• Allow students to have some degree of control
  over learning (Brooks, et. al., 1998)

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Engagement Research

• Assign challenging but achievable tasks for all
  students. Tasks that seem impossible and those
  that are rote and repetitive discourage learners
  (Dev, 1997 Policy Studies Associates, 1995)
• Stimulate students curiosity about the topic
  being studied (Strong, Silver, and Robinson,
  1995)

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Engagement Research

• Design projects that allow students to share new
  knowledge with others. Projects are more
  engaging when students share what they are
  learning in reciprocal relationships, as in
  collaborative projects where each students
  knowledge is needed by others in the group to
  complete an assignment (Strong, Silver, and
  Robinson, 1995)
• Develop caring and trust between teachers and
  students (Nodding, 2000 36).

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The Dropout Problem

• Teachers and principals know students who were
  capable of graduating but failed to complete high
  school.

77 percent of teachers and 71 percent of
principals strongly favored alternative learning
environments to reduce the dropout rate.
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Service-Learning . . .
a teaching and learning strategy integrating
meaningful community service with academic
study and reflective practice to enrich
learning,build civic engagement, and strengthen
communities.
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Service-learning is not
An episodic volunteer program
An add-on to an existing curriculum
Completing minimum service hours tosatisfy a
class or graduation requirement
Service assigned as a form of punishment
One-sided benefiting onlystudents or only the
community
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Service-Learning is . . .
Real service
Real learning
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K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality
Practice
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Meaningful Service

• Service-learning actively engages participants in
  meaningful and personally relevant service
  activities.

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• School is kind of boring warm-up, lectures,
  PowerPoint's and videos. It is not very often
  that we get a class like this where we learn and
  do real sciencewe can help the community if our
  teachers show us how.

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Link to Curriculum

• Service-learning is intentionally used as an
  instructional strategy to meet learning goals
  and/or content standards.

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• Service-learning is doing something for your
  community but at the same time learning about
  something school-related like horticulture,
  science or math. You learn a lot more because you
  connect with your teacher and meet people who
  care about youyou never would have met them
  if it wasnt for service-learning.

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Reflection

• Service-learning incorporates multiple
  challenging reflection activities that are
  ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and
  analysis about oneself and ones relationship to
  society.

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Diversity

• Service-learning promotes understanding of
  diversity and mutual respect among all
  participants.

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Youth Voice

• Service-learning provides youth with a strong
  voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating
  service-learning experiences with guidance from
  adults.

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Partnership

• Service-learning partnerships are collaborative,
  mutually beneficial, and address community needs.

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• Service-learning is used to help the community
  through partnerships with other peoplewhen you
  have a happier community your friends and family
  are happierit will be a better placeto live.

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Progress Monitoring

• Service-learning engages participants in an
  ongoing process to assess the quality of
  implementation and progress toward meeting
  specified goals, and uses results for
  improvement and sustainability.

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Duration and Intensity

• Service-learning has sufficient duration and
  intensity to address community needs and meet
  specified outcomes.

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S-L at Lincoln K-8Title1, 6-8 Blend, 28 ELs,
45 at Risk

• Essential Question How can we maximize
  survivability of Kincaids Lupine and Nelsons
  Checkermallow in the school greenhouse?

Double Jeopardy!
Fenders Blue Butterfly
Kincaids Lupine
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• Week 1 Institute for Applied Ecology visits
  schools and explains problem with growing plants.
  Asks students for help.
• Week 2 Discuss research question for work
  sample plant lupine and checkermallow seeds
• Week 3 Plant lupine/checkermallow seeds in
  greenhouse, discuss final product of S-L project
  such as presentations, Youth Summit, and peer
  involvement
• Week 4 Plan and implement question
• Week 5-7 Implement project
• Week 8 Field trip for site-prep and
  examination of future planting site.
• Week 9 4-H Wildlife Stewards Conference, ODFW,
  and school wide assembly to recruit students to
  help plant the seedlings at the field site.
• Week 10 Planting at field site
• Years to come Monitor, survival rates, refine
  previous years hypotheses and keep growing
  plants!

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Link to the Curriculum

• 90 of students received a score of 4 or higher
  for 3 of the 4 Scientific Inquiry assessment
  areas.
• Success was driven by long-term goals, time to
  complete project, authentic learning objectives,
  student engagement, and student accountability to
  their community.

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Connections To the Oregon Diploma

• Learn Serve Grant (09-12)
• Implementation Districts
• Sustainability Districts
• Professional Development Tracks
• Priority Categories Include
• The Oregon Diploma Inquiry-Based Science
• Essential Skills Strategic Partnerships
• Credit for Proficiency Civic Engagement
• Career Technical Education

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S-L Connections To Other Initiatives
Content Standards
Oregon Diploma Essential Skills
Career Technical Education
Character Education
Safe/Drug-Free Schools
Community Education Title IV-B Afterschool
Education Plan Profile
Comprehensive Guidance Counseling -- Youth
Development
School to Work, Youth Pre-Apprenticeship
YSA, AmeriCorps
Title Programs
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Service-LearningProject Examples

• ODE 2006-9 Service-Learning Grants
• K-12 schools Astoria, Canby, Cascade,
  Corvallis, David Douglas, Lane ESD, Oregon City,
  Pendleton, Rainier, St. Helens, SOLV, Tillamook,
  WESD Robert Farrell.

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S-L Oregon Examples
Relief Nursery (35 HS Lit) Child Abuse
Welfare), Pediatric Cancer (35 HS Lit), Food for
Lane County (15 HS Lit.) Students studied Lane
Co. hunger poverty, engaged in an extended
learning project, toured Lane Co. Food Bank,
worked at local Food for Lane County farm 2
hrs/wk for 7 weeks. Art in Motion (15 HS Adv
Video Students work with Teachers make many Lrng
Art project Packets for teacher use Older
students teach younger students), Diversity
Circles (30 HS after 3 days of training Lead
Groups _at_ HS MS ES) Field/stream testing Wet
Well (Science classes, District-Wide EWEB
grant) Down by the Riverside 350 students ES
(45) MS (175) HS (95) - 4 env. projects across
multiple days trail construction, invasive
species, pond rehabilitation projects.
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S-L Oregon Examples
Classes using S-L Spanish ELL Buddy Program (35
AP Spanish 3) Students help high-need ES MS as
mentors buddies) Give Take Theater Project
(25 HS writing Theater project for ES perform
for ES) Veterans Projects (160 HS 11-12th
Global Realities Class interviewed vets, wrote
reflection papers, exhibits w/ photos
transcripts) U.S. Military Hero (45 Sr. Engl.
Interviewed military or family, built sent care
boxes overseas. Unit formal letter-writing.
Elder Memory Books (15 Sp Ed HS interviewed
seniors about their lives, researched their
period of time found graphics for seniors. Super
responses. Community 101 - Awarded 5,000 to
non-profits to respond to child abuse in the
community.
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S-L Oregon Examples
SPS High School 650 students participated in
S-L activities, engaging in a total of 5,600 hrs
of Preparation and/or Reflection and 6,100 hours
of Service. One Literature project implemented a
Service-Learning project related to childrens
literacy.
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S-L Oregon Examples
Students engaged in multiple activities
including researching literacy
statisticslearning why literacy is important for
brain developmenteducational progress and
economic survival. They received reading
training from school district Reading Trainers.
They also completed literacy training and
mentoring for preschool and early ES children.
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S-L Oregon Examples
Students used their literacy skills to organize
and conduct a book drive, write press releases to
publicize the event and its success. They wrote a
brochure explaining why reading to children is
important and they wrote a childrens book.
Students from this class have engaged in
presentations at the school, district and the
state level.
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Connections To Graduation Standards

• Learn and Serve-funded Oregon Resource Districts
  will work with interested Districts in
  understanding and implementing service-learning
  as an effective strategy to embed The Oregon
  Diploma graduation standards in district plans.

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More Information / Resources

• Oregon Department of Education
• www.ode.state.or.us/go/servicelearning
• Learn and Serve America
• www.learnandserve.gov
• Learn and Serve Americas National
  Service-Learning Clearinghouse
• www.servicelearning.org
• Youth Service America
• www.ysa.org

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Your questions?