Service-Learning Curriculum Development and Assessment

1. Service-Learning Curriculum Development and Assessment Rhode Island PK-16 Partnerships for Success Service-Learning Project March 2011 www.ricompact.org Prepared by Jill Glickman, Consultant, Rhode Island Campus Compact with support from Learn and Serve America

2. Why, How, How!? Whywould you want to do this? Howcan you use s-l as a teaching and learning strategy to support your academic, social and personal goals for your students? And, howwill you know if you have been successful?

3. Where do we stand today? RI GSEs & Graduation Requirements Common Core Standards Standardized testing Budget constraints What else?

4. Why Service-Learning? Student Engagement Academic Performance/Achievement Drop out Prevention 21st Century Skills

5. What We Know… “Students who participated in service-learning made significantly greater gains in reading, math, history and science than nonparticipating students.” Source: Reanalysis of date from National Education Longitudinal Student of 1988, Davila and Mora, 2007 as cited in Service-Learning: Effective Teaching to Prepare Youth for College and Career, prepared by SEANet & NYLC.

6. What We Know… AND….. “Those who participated in service as part of a class had significantly higher performance in math and science than those who performed voluntary service.” Source: Reanalysis of date from National Education Longitudinal Student of 1988, Davila and Mora, 2007 as cited in Service-Learning: Effective Teaching to Prepare Youth for College and Career, prepared by SEANet & NYLC.

7. What We Know… “Students in inner city Philadelphia that participated in high quality service-learning had significantly higher test scores in reading/language arts, mathematics, and/or science than those who did not participate in service-learning and those with low quality service-learning.” Source: Billig, Jesse & Grimley, 2008; Billig, 2009 as cited in Service-Learning: Effective Teaching to Prepare Youth for College and Career, prepared by SEANet & NYLC.

8. What We Know… AND…… “Ratings of academic engagement were also significantly higher for service-learning students compared to their nonparticipating peers.” Source: Billig, Jesse & Grimley, 2008; Billig, 2009 as cited in Service-Learning: Effective Teaching to Prepare Youth for College and Career, prepared by SEANet & NYLC.

9. What We Know… AND, Finally… “Linkage of service-learning to content standards or curricular objectives was among the strongest predictors of all academic outcomes.” Source: Billig, Root, and Jesse (2005) cited in K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice An Annotated Bibliography. Shelley H. Billig and Judith Northup, RMC Research Corporation, 2008

10. What We Know… High quality practice = results for students Being purposeful is critical

11. Promising Areas of Research • Academic Engagement • “21st Century Skills” • Critical thinking • Problem solving • Communication • Teamwork • Creativity • Information Literacy • Action Planning

12. K-12 Service-Learning Quality Standards • Meaningful Service • Link to Curriculum • Reflection • Diversity • Youth Voice • Partnerships • Progress Monitoring • Duration and Intensity

13. Link to Curriculum Standard: Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.

14. Link to Curriculum Indicators: • clearly articulated learning goals. • explicitly aligned with the academic and/or programmatic curriculum. • helps participants learn how to transfer knowledge and skills from one setting to another. • takes place in schools, is formally recognized in school board policies and in student records.

15. What About Non-School Settings? Same principles apply… but your learning outcomes for students may not be academic in nature.

16. How: Setting Up For Success Ready, Set, Go  Set, Ready, Go Laser-like Focus on Most Important Learning Objectives Leave Space for Teach-able Moments & Un-intended Outcomes

17. How: Setting Up For Success Wisconsin Example: “Setting the Context” • Identify Instructional Goals • Develop essential questions • Determine assessments NYLC Generator Schools • Understanding by Design • Big Ideas, Essential Questions, Learning Targets

18. How: Setting Up For Success Generator Schools & Backward Design • Identify the desired results of instruction • Determine acceptable evidence of learning • Plan learning activities Blackstone Academy Example: CIP Other examples from RI

19. Rhode Island GSEs for Civics & Government/RI History

20. How Will You Know You Are Successful? Assessment includes: • the extent to which students achieved the learning outcomes identified for the project. • the extent to which the service project met the identified community need. • What else?

21. Service-Learning Assessment • Conventional methods – Formative & Summative • Performance Standards, Tasks & “Real” Products • Applied Learning • Group work • Woven into the work of the s-l project

22. For Example • 5th grade: Development of Recycling Game • High School Self-Contained Class: Making theme books for preschoolers • Any Grade: Public presentation

23. For Example Blackstone Academy Assessment includes 5 components: • Group Work • Research Skills • Writing Assignments • (incl informational and reflective writing) • Contribution to final project • Public presentation skills

24. Finally…A Word or Two (or three) About Reflection.. • Always the first thing to let go of when we run out of time, but… • One of the best ways to easily assess in an ongoing way the degree to which you are meeting your learning outcomes • Multiple ways to engage students in reflection beyond talking and journaling.

25. Models & Tools • Blackstone Academy materials • Wisconsin resource book • CBK Book and CD • Generator School Network, NYLC • Kids as Planners Book • LSA Project Planning Toolkit • Assessment Field Guide • Understanding by Design • Examples of specific project curricula online!