Maximizing the Impact of Service-Learning

1. Maximizing the Impact of Service-Learning Shelley H. Billig RMC Research Corporation Teri Dary WI Dept of Public Instruction 2008

2. Agenda • Why Standards? • The K-12 Standards and Indicators for High Quality Practice • How to IPARDC - activities woven into the presentation of standards • Q and A

3. Common Impacts of High Quality Service-Learning on Students/Youth • Increase in academic engagement including affective, behavioral, and cognitive; • Increase in valuing school; • Increase in academic achievement; • Increase in social-emotional outcomes such as resilience, managing conflict, respect for diversity and character development (caring, bonding, social responsibility); • Increase in civic outcomes including knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

4. But outcomes are provisional… • Research showed repeatedly that without high quality, there was limited student benefit.

5. What is Quality? • Research studies within service-learning identified key variables by testing Essential Elements and other hypotheses; • Variables were compared to those in the greater body of research on what works in education; • Expert practitioners tuned the variables into statements of standards and indicators; • Results were compared back to the literature to ensure they were supported, measurable, and actionable.

6. Why Standards? • Important part of improving practice • Critical for field building • Common language in schools • Other reasons?

7. Service-Learning Components • Investigating a Community Issue Through Research and Community Needs Assessments • Planning the Ways Students Will Address the Issue • Action – Performing the Service Activity • Reflection – Thinking About Impact on Others and Self, What Worked and What Did Not, Relationship of Oneself to the World • Demonstration – Showing Impact on Others and Self • Celebration of Impact

8. New Standards for High Quality Service-Learning Practice • Duration and intensity; • Link to curriculum; • Mutually beneficial partnerships; • Meaningful service; • Youth voice; • Diversity; • Reflection; • Progress monitoring. www.nylc.org/standards

9. In this session… • We will cover a few of the standards and indicators, then stop for some activities so you can apply what you have learned.

10. Duration and Intensity Standard: • Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

11. Duration and Intensity Indicators • Service-learning experiences include the processes of investigation of community needs, preparation for service, action, reflection, demonstration of learning and impacts, and celebration. • Service-learning is conducted during concentrated blocks of time across a period of several weeks or months. • Service-learning provides enough time to address identified community needs and achieve learning outcomes.

12. Investigation Ideas • Community mapping • School walk • Community walk • Community survey • Newspaper activity • Million dollar brainstorm

13. Planning and Preparation • Be strategic: Traffic jam activity • Planning template

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

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

16. Lots of Linking Guides and Examples Available • E.g., National Service-Learning Clearinghouse • Planning Guides that include link to standards or curriculum • SLICE

17. Partnership Standard: • Service-learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs.

18. Partnership Indicators • Service-learning involves a variety of partners, including youth, educators, families, community members, community-based organizations, and/or businesses. • Service-learning partnerships are characterized by frequent and regular communication to keep all partners well-informed about activities and progress. • Service-learning partners collaborate to establish a shared vision and set common goals to address community needs.

19. Partnership Indicators (continued) • Service-learning partners collaboratively develop and implement action plans to meet specified goals. • Service-learning partners share knowledge and understanding of school and community assets and needs, and view each other as valued resources.

20. Partnership Scenarios • What could be done better?

21. Meaningful Service Standard: • Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.

22. Meaningful Service Indicators • Service-learning experiences are appropriate to participant ages and developmental abilities. • Service-learning addresses issues that are personally relevant to the participants. • Service-learning provides participants with interesting and engaging service activities. • Service-learning encourages participants to understand their service experiences in the context of the underlying societal issues being addressed. • Service-learning leads to attainable and visible outcomes that are valued by those being served.

23. Youth Voice Standard: • Service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences with guidance from adults.

24. Youth Voice Indicators • Service-learning engages youth in generating ideas during the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes. • Service-learning involves youth in the decision-making process throughout the service-learning experiences. • Service-learning involves youth and adults in creating an environment that supports trust and open expression of ideas. • Service-learning promotes acquisition of knowledge and skills to enhance youth leadership and decision-making. • Service-learning involves youth in evaluating the quality and effectiveness of the service-learning experience.

25. Diversity Standard: • Service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.

26. Diversity Indicators • Service-learning helps participants identify and analyze different points of view to gain understanding of multiple perspectives. • Service-learning helps participants develop interpersonal skills in conflict resolution and group decision-making. • Service-learning helps participants actively seek to understand and value the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of those offering and receiving service. • Service-learning encourages participants to recognize and overcome stereotypes.

27. Reflection Standard: • Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.

28. Reflection Indicators • Service-learning reflection includes a variety of verbal, written, artistic, and nonverbal activities to demonstrate understanding and changes in participants’ knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes. • Service-learning reflection occurs before, during, and after the service experience. • Service-learning reflection prompts participants to think deeply about complex community problems and alternative solutions.

29. Reflection Indicators (continued) • Service-learning reflection encourages participants to examine their preconceptions and assumptions in order to explore and understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens. • Service-learning reflection encourages participants to examine a variety of social and civic issues related to their service-learning experience so that participants understand connections to public policy and civic life.

30. Reflection Ideas • Casting director • Storyboard summaries and perspectives • Taxonomy dice • Paseo wheel • Connecting Thinking and Action: www.rmcdenver.com; www.servicelearning.org • Other ideas?

31. Progress Monitoring Standard: • Service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.

32. Progress Monitoring Indicators • Collect evidence of progress toward meeting specific service goals and learning outcomes from multiple sources throughout the service-learning experience. • Collect evidence of the quality of service-learning implementation from multiple sources throughout the service-learning experience. • Use evidence to improve service-learning experiences. • Communicate evidence of progress toward goals and outcomes with the broader community, including policy-makers and education leaders, to deepen service-learning understanding and ensure that high quality practices are sustained.

33. Measuring Impact • On self • Reflection tools • Surveys • Storytelling/anecdotes • Portraiture • On neighborhood/community • Direct measures from baselines • Civic health indices • Neighborhood health indices • Many others…

34. Resources • Research papers and standards: • www.nylc.org/standards • Research summaries, lesson bank, standards: • National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: • www.servicelearning.org