I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.

Community Partner assessing Service Learning experience using a survey instrument: A Best Practices ModelDr. Susan Waters: Auburn UniversityDr. Joanna Cemore: Missouri state universityIARSLCE Conference, October 29, 2010

I hear and I forget; • I see and I remember; • I do and I understand. Confucius, 551-479 B.C.

Introduction Student in El Salvador Outline • Importance of assessment • Brief project history • Literature review • Method • Results • Conclusion

Importance of assessment Rationale Types • For publication purposes • To improve student learning • To provide immediate feedback • Help with program planning and improvement • Regulatory requirements • Ensures sustained, high quality relationships • Evidence of impact • Gelmon, Holland, Driscoll, Spring & Kerrigan, 2006; Ferris, 2010 • Programmatic • Activity

Assessment Importance in a Nutshell Student NamikGeydarov works with clients Assessment needed: • Justification • Improvement • Expansion of program • Gelmon et al., 2001 • Working to make a difference in our communities • Ehrlich, 2000

Experiential learning theory • “Offers the foundation for an approach to education and learning as a lifelong process that is soundly based in the intellectual traditions of social psychology, philosophy, and cognitive psychology” (Kolb, 1984, pp. 3-4) • Learning through experience • Learning from direct experience • Learning from simulated experience • Intentionality • Potential for assistance in learning • Role of reflection

Review of literature Four major categories • Community characteristics • Student characteristics • Institutional characteristics • Faculty characteristics • Roldan, Strage, & David, 2004

Assessment project: Beginning Online Student Angela Fredrickson at Hispanic Educational Access Initiative Five basic forms of assessment • Student assessment of community partner • Community partner assessment of program • Community partner assessment of student • Instructor assessment of program • Student assessment of program

Review of literature: Examples of Community Partner Variables • Capacity to fulfill organizational mission • Economic benefits • Social benefits • Nature of community-university relationship • Nature of community-university interaction • Satisfaction with partnership • Sustainability of partnership

Review of literature: How do we measure variables? Methods • Survey • Interview • Focus groups • Documentation review • Critical incident review Data Providers • Community partner • Students • Faculty • Advisory committees • Governing board

Our Method: Qualitative Bryman, 1988, p. 94

Our Method: Qualitative Looking at the Survey Assessments • 92 assessments from 28 states • Colleges: community, four-year, and satellite • Range from open-ended reflection to multi-page specific Likert-type questions • Some asked only about the relationship to course content or evaluation of instructor or site while others addressed several areas, including self-awareness variables

Our Method: CP questioning themes examples

Our Method: CP questioning themes adjusting for lit review Examples

Conclusion • Assessment is critical to success of service-learning program • Model(s) will be in upcoming manuscript • After this study is completed, we have data for these other assessment survey instruments: • Student assessment of community partner • Community partner assessment of student • Instructor assessment of program • Student assessment of program

Thank you very much! Questions? Seattle, Washington

I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.