Service-Learning

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Service-Learning

• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2006)
• Service-learning combines service objectives
  with learning objectives with the intent that the
  activity change both the recipient and the
  provider of the service. This is accomplished by
  combining service tasks with structured
  opportunities that link the task to
  self-reflection, self-discovery, and the
  acquisition and comprehension of values, skills,
  and knowledge content.

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Components of the Process

• Pre-field Preparation
• Action
• Reflection
• Assessment and Evaluation
• Celebration

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Components of the Process

• Pre-field Preparation
• Awareness of cultural, safety, and ethical issues
  involved in off-campus projects
• Classroom education
• Off-campus and university contacts as required by
  project design
• Modified from Stanford University Policy
  regarding community-based undergraduate research
  projects

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Components of the Process

• Action
• Exercising course content to project
• Reflection
• Tied to course content and project experiences
• Ex. Journaling, small group discussions

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The Process of Reflection
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Components of the Process

• Assessment and Evaluation
• Tied to project and educational objectives
• Celebration
• Celebrate after each success
• Recognizes people for their efforts
• Builds and sustains relationships

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Concepts

• connection to learning, also integrated learning
• partnerships, also reciprocity
• preparation
• genuine need
• systematic reflection
• assessment and evaluation
• participant voice
• recognition

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Integrated Learning

• Students learn skills and content through varied
  modalities the service informs the content, and
  the content informs the service.
• -Cathryn Berger Kaye
• The Complete Guide to Service Learning

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Reciprocity

• each partner must understand the capacity,
  resources, and expected contribution of effort
  for every other partner, up front.
• -Barbara A. Holland
• Director, NSLC

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Reciprocity

• the focus of the project activity and
  partnership interaction is not a set of tasks,
  but the relationship itself. The core work is to
  promote ongoing knowledge exchange, shared
  learning and capacity-building.
• -Barbara A. Holland
• Director, NSLC

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Preparation

• Preparatory study of the context, problems,
  history, and policiesenriches student youth
  learning as do deliberate discussion and other
  classroom (school-based) or related
  (community-based) activities. Preparation also
  should introduce the skills and attitudes needed
  for the service to be effective.
• -ASLER
• Standards of Quality

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Systematic Reflection

• Cathryn Berger Kaye
• -The Complete Guide to Service Learning
• Donald Schon
• - The Reflective Practitioner
• Steven Sek-yum Ngai
• -Hong Kong

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Genuine need

• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
• "...addresses complex problems in complex
  settings..."
• "...engages problem-solving in the specific
  context of service activities and community
  challenges, rather than generalized or abstract
  concepts."

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Assessment/Evaluation

• Assessment that involves all partners is the
  glue that creates trust, generates new lines of
  work and funding, and keeps shared goals and
  expectations visible to all.
• -Barbara A. Holland
• Director, NSLC

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Participant Voice

• One effective design element in after-school
  programming is an open and responsive structure
  that allows for ongoing evaluation, evolutionary
  design, and participant voice. This structure
  uses participants resistance and critique in a
  process of ongoing refinement of the programs.
• -Honorine Nocon
• University of Colorado-Denver

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Participant Voice

• Rea Kirk
• -University of Wisconsin-Platteville

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Recognition

• Young people engaged in service benefit from
  effective recognition. Recognition makes youth
  feel good about what they have done, it
  strengthens their self-esteem and can provide
  closure to projects. When youth feel good about
  their involvement they are motivated and likely
  to stay involved.
• -Points of Light Foundation

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Research

• Mary Hutchinson
• Used a Civic Values Survey from Pennsylvania and
  West Virginia Campus Compact
• When asked about civic responsibility
• Student responses (pre-service)
• 47 indicated to obey all democratically adopted
  laws
• 23.8 felt to provide assistance, care, and
  comfort to others
• 38.1 felt it should be to provide assistance,
  care, and comfort to others

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Research

• Mary Hutchinson
• Student responses (post-service)
• 47.6 stated to obey all democratically adopted
  laws
• 14.3 responded to provide assistance, care, and
  comfort to others
• 52.4 felt it should be to provide assistance,
  care, and comfort to others

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Benefits of

• allows students to help their community while
  simultaneously gaining an understanding of why
  the services are important
• applying knowledge learned in the classroom to
  real situations
• strengthening the student's experience in
  career-related activities

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Benefits of

• Amy Strage
• overall, students in the "service-learning"
  sections earned grades that were 4.8 higher than
  those of the "non-service-learning" students

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Benefits of

• Green Mountain College
• Community Benefits
• aids in community's efforts to address social
  issues and problems
• utilizes the available wealth of knowledge and
  resources of the college
• brings the community and college together,
  enhancing town-gown relations
• increases understanding of community problems and
  processes

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Benefits of

• William Woods University
• Community Benefits
• Infusion of people power
• Client/agency needs met
• More informed/involved citizenry
• New ideas and energy
• Access to University resources
• Reinvigorate supervisors/staff

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Benefits of

• George Mason University
• Community Benefits
• Provides the community with substantial human
  resources to meet its educational, human, safety,
  and environmental needs.
• Develops a commitment to a lifetime of
  volunteering, creating a democracy of civic
  participation.
• Implements the opportunity to participate in an
  educational partnership.
• Promotes students as one of the community's most
  valuable resources.

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Learning Retention
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Models of Service-Learning

• Heffernan, Kerrissa. Fundamentals of
  Service-Learning Course Construction. RI Campus
  Compact, 2001, pp. 2-7, 9.

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Models

• Pure Service-Learning
• Discipline-based Service-Learning
• Problem-based Service-Learning
• Capstone Courses
• Service Internships
• Undergraduate Community-Based Action Research

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Models

• Pure Service-Learning
• Students are sent out into communities
• Service to the community by engaged citizens
• Interdisciplinary

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Models

• Discipline-based Service-Learning
• Students are sent out into the community
• Service linked to course content
• Analysis and understanding based upon course
  content

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Models

• Problem-based Service-Learning
• Consultant-Client relationship
• May work alone or in teams
• Shared experience to understand need
• Students have some initial knowledge

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Models

• Capstone Courses
• Defined by academic program
• Usually students in final year
• Students use prior knowledge to address need
• The goal
• explore new topics
• synthesize student understanding

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Models

• Service Internships
• More time-intensive than a course
• Student generates work of value to community
• Reflection used to analyze experience
• A focus on reciprocity

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Models

• Undergraduate Community-Based Action Research
• Work along side faculty
• Can be in teams
• Students learn research methodology to community
  benefit
• Students serve as advocates

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Bibliography

• Hutchinson, Mary. "Living the Rhetoric Service
  Learning and Increased Value of Social
  Responsibility." Pedagogy 5.3 (2005)427-444.
• Schmidt, Michelle E, Jaime Marks, and Lindsay
  Derrico. "What a difference mentoring makes
  service learning and engagement for college
  students." Mentoring and tutoring for partnership
  in learning 12.2 (2004)205-217.click here

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Bibliography

• Strage, Amy. "LONG-TERM ACADEMIC BENEFITS OF
  SERVICE-LEARNING WHEN ANDWHERE DO THEY MANIFEST
  THEMSELVES?." College student journal 38.2
  (2004)257-261.click here