Reflection and Assessment:

1
Reflection and Assessment

• Community-campus partners in service and learning
  
• Lynda Bachelor
• Fort Hays State University
• February 22, 2006

2
Service-Learning
Provides thoughtfully organized experiences that
integrate students academic learning with
service that meets actual community
needs. Source Billig and Kraft (1998)
3
Beneficary and Focus of Service-Learning

• Recipient BENEFICARY
  Student
• Service FOCUS
  Learning
• Service and learning benefits students AND
  recipients
• Service and learning are focused on EQUALLY.
• Service is integrated into coursework AND
  addresses a community need
• There are service AND learning outcomes
• Source Furco (1996)

4
Criteria for Service-Learning

• Relevant and Meaningful Service with the
  Community
• Enhanced Academic Learning
• Purposeful Civic Learning

5
All Three Criteria Needed for Service-Learning
Enhanced Academic Learning
Service-Learning
Relevant and Meaningful Service with the
Community
Purposeful Civic Learning
6
Key Elements of Service Learning

• Community Voice
• Preparation
• Thoughtful Action
• Reflection
• Evaluation/Assessment
• Source Eyler and Giles (2000)

7
Reflection

• Reflection separates service-learning from
  volunteerism or community service.
• Effective service-learning provide opportunities
  for students to reflect critically on their
  service experience.
• Structured reflection help students make
  meaningful connections between their service
  experience and course content and in the process
  develop skills.

8
Goals of Reflection

• To help students make connections between the
  service activity and coursework.
• Develop or refine critical thinking skills such
  as identifying issues, being receptive to new or
  different ideas and recognizing consequences of
  actions

9
Timing of Reflection

• not just a report or presentation at the end of
  class
• Opportunities should occur before, during and
  after the experience
• Ongoing reflection
• Enhances communication among partners and student
• Improves understanding of projects,
  problem-solving efforts and progress

10
Structured Reflection

• Examines critical issues related to service
  project
• Connects the service experience to coursework
• Enhances the development of civic and ethical
  skills and values
• Assists students in finding personal relevance in
  the work
• Source Rama, D.V. (2001)

11
Communication during Reflection

• Communication among faculty, peers, clients,
  staff and volunteers at community organizations
  can enhance reflection.
• Faculty offer suggestions, feedback and ask
  questions
• Community staff project requirements and
  prepare student for work environment
• Teammates and Community volunteers different
  perspectives and think critically

12

• Give me some examples of type of reflection
  activities and explain how they are used by the
  student.

13
Types of Reflection Activities

• Case studies
• Journals
• Structured journals
• Team journal
• Critical incident journal
• Portfolios
• Papers
• Discussions
• Presentations
• Interviews

14
Links between Outcomes, Reflection and Assessment

• Outcomes must be specified precisely
• Select appropriate service activities
• Consider reflection timing
• Consider how the outcomes are to be assessed
• Source Rama, D.V. (2001)

15
Reflection and Assessment

• Reflection is a key part of assessment when
• providing feedback to students on what is
  expected of them, what they have done well, what
  they need to improve on and how they can
  improve.
• Source Learn and Serve America National
  Service-learning and Assessment Study Group (1999)

16
Evaluation/Assessment

• An evaluation is
• a decision or judgment about whether an effort
  is successful and to what extent that effort has
  or has not met a goal.

17
What is Assessed?

• Determined by the service and learning outcomes
• Assessment can have multiple purposes
• Source Learn and Serve America National
  Service-Learning and Assessment Study Group
  (1999)

18
Who Participates in Assessment?

• Students
• Community partners
• Faculty
• Other stakeholders in the community

19
Why have Assessments?

• Allows student, community partners and faculty to
  assess the quality and productivity of
  service-learning activities.
• How can we improve the service, the experience,
  and/or the learning?
• It is imperative that community partners are
  included in the service-learning assessment.

20

• How many community organizations have
  participated in service-learning?

21
Community Partners as Co-educators

• Community partners
• become equal partners in service-learning
  activities
• have assets and strengths to build a solid
  learning experience and,
• can match learning objectives with service
  activities that will serve the learner and the
  community mission
• Source Freeman, N.L.. (2003)

22
Service-learning Preparation for Community
Partners

• Prior to meeting with faculty
• Clearly define the community need
• Identify possible service activities
• Have an initial plan for supervising students
• Develop the orientation
• Expect to take part in the reflection and
  evaluation process

23
Service-learning Preparation for Community
Partners

• Planning with faculty
• Talk about real needs of the community
  organization
• Discuss educational needs of the student
• Determine timeline and evaluation process
• Discuss what success looks like
• Understand each others roles

24
Service-learning Preparation for Community
Partners

• Prior to student arrival
• Know the class syllabus
• Develop activities and experiences that will
  teach
• Determine who will be the co-educator, not just
  the site supervisor
• Learn about citizenship and civic engagement
  requirements
• Know when and how reflection and evaluation will
  occur

25
Service-learning Preparation for Community
Partners

• During the students service
• Provide community organization orientation
• Discuss the specific service project, learning
  objectives and expectations
• Determine how to communicate and what do if
  challenges arise
• Conduct reflection and on-going evaluation

26
Service-learning Preparation for Community
Partners

• During and after service
• Maintain effective communication with faculty
• More contact with faculty during the project, the
  better the quality of the service-learning
  experience
• Participate and evaluation/assessment of all
  stakeholders

27
Community-Campus Partnerships

• Partnerships take time to develop and evolve over
  time
• Community partners can have a strong voice in the
  classroom
• Students can become community leaders and
  continue their civic involvement
• Community partners can become advocates and
  leaders for service-learning

28
References

• Billig, S. Kraft, N. (1998). Linking federal
  programs and service-learning A planning,
  implementation, and
• evaluation guide. Lancaster, PA. Technomic
  Books.
• Eyler, J. Giles, D. E., Jr. (2000). Wheres the
  learning in service-learning? San Francisco
• Jossey-Bass.
• Freeman, N.L. (2003). A meeting of minds A
  handbook for community-campus engagement.
  Retrieved February
• 21, 2006, from www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/pdf_fil
  es/Nola20Freeman.pdf.
• Furco, A. (1996). Expanding boundaries serving
  and learning. Washington, D.C Corporation for
• National Service.
• Learn and Serve America National Service-learning
  and Assessment Study Group (1999).Service-learning
  and
• assessment A field guide for teachers.
  http//www.umn.edu/serve/guide1.pdf
• Rama, D.V. (2001). Service-learning Using
  structured reflections to enhance learning from
  service. Retrieved
• February 21, 2006, from www.compact.org/discipli
  nes/reflection/.

29
"Education is not preparing for life education
is life itself.
John Dewey