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Transcript of Community Service-Learning: Design, Implementation and Evaluation Cheryl Rose, Canadian Association...
Community Service-Learning:Design, Implementation and Evaluation
Cheryl Rose,Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning
Steps: Partnerships and Design
Building partnership between university and community – conversations about environments, goals, resources, assets, needs and identifying potential
Course or Program Design – integrating into existing courses/programs and/or designing new offerings
Service Placement Design – in collaboration with community organizations to meet needs and build on strengths
Evaluation Design – for each of the partners in CSL initiatives: learning, development, service, teaching, partnerships
Community/Campus Partnerships
Necessary to Successful Partnerships:
Established infrastructure to support a CSL program
Administrative buy-in and support at university
History of town/gown relationship
Trust and accountability
Clear goals and expectationsFurco, 2004
Community/Campus Partnerships
Service placements must be designed in collaboration with community agencies
Points to relationships that call for significant investments of time and effort on both sides
University and community come together as equal partners, creating experiences that equally benefit all participants and fulfill core missions
Course Design
PRINCIPLES Academic credit is for learning, not for service Do not compromise academic rigor Set learning goals for students Establish base criteria for service placements Provide mechanisms to maximize learning from
service (experiential education models) Provide supports for students to learn “how to learn”
from their service experiences Move instructional role to one of facilitation and
guidance Maximize the community engagement orientation of
the course Howard, 1993
Suggestions for Course Design
Relate the learning objectives of the service component to the overall course objectives
Identify the partnerships and projects that could facilitate the service-related objectives
Consider how the partnerships/projects would benefit the larger community
Identify best format for service component (e.g., mandatory, elective, short-term, long-term, extra credit)
Course Design - continued
Review traditional workload of course and make any required adjustments to integrate service component (learning that can be covered through the experience that are currently covered in some other manner)
Identify strategies to assist students to prepare for service placements in community (e.g., ethics in helping situations, experiential education models)
Incorporate strategies for intentional reflection on experience as related to course (e.g., journals, group discussions, whether face to face or electronic, presentations, papers)
Course Design - continued
Explore the integration of appropriate civic/social issues (e.g., professional responsibility, discipline specific contributions to public good, peace and justice issues, diversity/stereotypes, public policy)
From learning objectives, identify indicators and plan assessment strategies
Consider how your community partner could be of educational assistance, and how they might be compensated for the time and expertise they are able to contribute.
Zlotkowski (handout)
Reflection
Reflection activities act as a bridge between experience and learning. Intentional, purposefully planned reflection activities conducted before, during and after experience, can positively affect learning.
Reflection can take various forms and accommodate different learning styles. Some common activities include:
• individual journal writing
• guided written activities (for example, goal setting exercises, skill assessment forms, team journals or logs)
• guided discussions between two people or in a group setting
• drawing activities
• photo journals
REFLECTION MAP
Reflection
Alone
Reflection
With Group
Reflection
With Supervisor/Advisor
Activities Before
Experience
Activities During Experience
Activities After Experience
Canada, Mark and Speck, Bruce W., Developing and Implementing Service-Learning Programs, New Directions for Higher Education, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2001
Service-Placement Design
Consider both traditional and new opportunities to involve support through service – be creative!
Staff or faculty member and organization staff work together to design an appropriate service placement
Organization staff to provide orientation, ongoing supervision, evaluation of benefits to community.
Consider opportunities that can be flexible to realities of student schedules and course timeframes
Placement design - continued
Consider organization’s realities. (e.g., time, space, supervisory capabilities, schedules, priorities)
Service placement should relate to the learning goals of the course – all should be informed of these goals.
Accept that not all potential partnerships are good fits – be open to exploring possibilities together and assessing whether or not, considering various factors, this would be a mutually beneficial partnership.
Evaluation
Meeting Community Needs (surveys, interviews, focus groups)
Student Learning (journals, written assignments, demonstrating theoretical and experiential integration)
Teaching Environment (course evaluations, faculty surveys, identifying research opportunities)
Citizen Leadership Development (pre and post surveys, leadership skills inventories, Social Change Model of Leadership Development)
Scenario
You are integrating a CSL placement within a third year Children’s Literature course. It has been offered before with a long reading list, short paper, midterm exam and major essay as course requirements.
Will CSL “work” in this course? If so, will it be mandatory or optional?
Ideas for community partner and type of placement?
First steps in building a partnership? Considerations for course design? placement
design? What to evaluate with respect to learning
and service to community?
Questions?
?