ServiceLearning to Enhance Academic Achievement, Character and Civic Development

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Service-Learning to Enhance Academic Achievement,
Character and Civic Development

• Shelley H. Billig, Ph.D.
• RMC Research Corporation

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Overview

• Why Service-Learning Should Enhance Academic
  Achievement, Civic and Character Development
• Evidence That Service-Learning Works
• How to Maximize Results

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How Service-Learning Works

• Service-learning is a form of experiential
  education where learning occurs through a cycle
  of planning, action, and reflection. Working
  with others, students acquire knowledge and
  skills and apply what they learn in community
  settings as they try to meet community needs.
  They experience consequences, both literal and
  emotional.

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Relationship to Learning (Eyler and Giles, 1999)

• Service-learning experiences
• are typically positive, meaningful, and real
• involve cooperative rather than competitive
  processes, thus promoting skills associated with
  teamwork and interdependency
• address complex problems in complex settings
  rather than simplified problems in isolation

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Service-learning experiences (continued)

• offer opportunities to engage in problem solving
  by requiring students to gain knowledge in
  specific contexts rather than drawing upon
  generalized or abstract knowledge
• promote deeper learning because results are
  immediate and are not contrived (no right
  answers in the back of the book)
• are more likely to be personally meaningful and
  to generate emotional consequences

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How People Learn (National Research Council, 1999)

• Understanding is much more than knowing facts.
• People build new knowledge and understanding on
  what they already know and believe (scaffolding).

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• Learning is mediated by the social environment in
  which learners interact with others.
• Effective learning requires that students take
  control of their own learning.
• The ability to apply knowledge to novel
  situations, that is, transfer of learning, is
  affected by the degree to which students learn
  with understanding.

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Memory is a ProcessPat Wolfe. (2001).
Rehearsal
Sight
Sound
Elaboration Organization
Sensory Memory
Long-Term Memory
Working Memory
Smell
Initial Processing
Retrieval
Taste
Touch
Forgotten
Forgotten
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Other Supporting Theories

• Multiple Intelligences
• Constructivism
• Developmental Theories (youth need
  relationships!)
• Experiential Learning Theories
• (show meinvolve me)

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Evidence

• Service-learning has been found to make an impact
  on state tests in
• Pennsylvania (Philadelphia service-learning
  programs)-reading/language arts and science
• Michigan (all Learn and Serve programs)
  writing, social studies, historical perspective,
  earth science, inquiry and decision making
• New Hampshire (environmental programs) language
  arts, math, science, and social studies and
• Vermont (environmental programs) reading.

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Evidence

• Students have made gains on problem solving
  essays in Hawaii, Colorado, and Pennsylvania
• Students have shown increases in attendance rates
  and decreases in dropout rates in many states
  and
• Students have shown increases in affective,
  behavioral, and cognitive engagement in Hawaii,
  Colorado, Michigan, Florida, Oregon, and
  Pennsylvania.

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Enhancing Outcomes

• Research shows that four Essential Elements were
  connected with higher academic outcomes
• Link to standards
• Direct contact with those being served
• Reflection that contains higher order thinking
  skills and uses multiple strategies (writing,
  visualization, systems thinking, perspective
  taking)
• Youth voice in planning, implementation, and
  assessment.

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How to Maximize Academic Achievement with
Service-Learning

• In addition, using the learning theories
• Use instructional strategies with the greatest
  effect sizes and
• Create a nurturing learning environment.

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Research-based StrategiesEffect Sizes and
AchievementMarzano, et al. (2001).
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Creating a Climate for Learning
Safe
High Challenge
Low Threat
Nurturing
Inclusive
Encourages Risk-taking
Multi-sensory
Stimulating
Collaborative
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Helping Students Build Character (Schaps, et.
al., 2002)

• Students care about a schools goals and values
  when the school cares for them and they feel
  connected to the school. Some best practices
  include
• Class meetings
• Ethics-rich academic classes
• Cooperative learning groups
• Buddies programs
• Inclusive, all-school events and
• Service-learning opportunities.

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How Students Develop Character (Lickona, 2002)

• Processes to build character in the classroom
• Build students self-esteem and a sense of
  community
• Help students learn to cooperate and help others
• Facilitate students reflections on moral values
  and
• Engage students in participatory decision-making.

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Service-Learning Can Help!

• Research in the states of Texas, Florida,
  Michigan, California, Ohio, Colorado,
  Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Mississippi strongly
  shows that service-learning promotes students
• A sense of efficacy
• Improved conflict resolution skills
• Real life responsibilities
• Linkages with adults to nurture trust and
  
  
  
  models of
  positive character
• Prosocial skills and caring
• Avenues to demonstrate moral action and
• Greater cooperation and teamwork.

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Quality counts

• In each of these studies, outcomes were most
  likely when
• Students had a choice in planning or
  implementation of the service project
• Teachers strongly facilitated understanding and
• Reflection activities took character into account.

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Service-Learning Can Enhance Civic Development

• Civic Identity Theories
• Self as citizen ideas are formed primarily
  through family and school
• Knowledge and skills in civics are related to
  ability to understand and make judgments based on
  issues, not just character.
• Social Capital Theories
• Need to relate to others and form networks to
  feel attached to community and become
  interdependent
• Generational Theories
• Generations have characteristics and each takes
  on an issue that they perceive others have failed
  to address.
• Millennials are more optimistic, more likely to
  volunteer, more likely to follow rules.

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Students Civic Development

• Two national studies and multiple state studies
  (sites in FL, TX, CO, NM, OK, MI, MN, WI, MA, IN,
  OH, SC, ME, OR, NH) show that service-learning
  has civic impacts in three areas
• Knowledge
• Understanding how government works
• Understanding how consensus is reached and
  decisions are made
• Skills
• Public speaking
• Decision making
• Analysis and critique
• Dispositions
• Likelihood of voting
• Ethic of service
• Prosocial attitudes

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Quality made a difference

• Quality elements that predicted outcomes
• Use of active instructional strategies
• Duration of a semester (rather than one month or
  an entire year)
• Teacher experience and quality and
• Student choices of projects.

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Impacts went beyond active learning strategies

• In examining outcomes, much of the impact was
  related to a combination of teacher quality and
  use of active learning strategies.
• Service-learning added value beyond these
  variables most likely because students were in
  more authentic settings, felt a sense of
  efficacy, or were in relationships with others
  (we need to find out exactly why)

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Summary

• SL capitalizes on what we know about how students
  learn best and how they relate best to each other
  and adults.
• Quality SL makes a difference in student
  learning, test scores, character and civic
  development.
• Outcomes can be maximized when specific elements
  of service-learning are incorporated into
  practice.