zachery holder's sahe...

Running head: INTERVENTION: SERVICE-LEARNING 1

Intervention Paper: Service-Learning

Adam Crawford, Zachery Holder, Katelynn James, and Riley O’Dell

Missouri State University

INTERVENTION: SERVICE-LEARNING 2

Intervention Paper: Service-Learning

The issue that is being addressed within this intervention revolves around the idea of

developing students as a “whole.” As student affairs professionals, it is vital that we ensure that

a student gains the most experience possible while in college and grows into an individual that is

well-rounded. One area that we found was lacking in our institution was the implementation of

service-learning into the academic setting. For this reason, we are requiring all students to take

part in some form of service-learning while in college. Service-learning provides students the

opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situations, and reflect

upon that interaction. Students are able to get out of the classroom setting and get involved

within the community that the university is housed. Also, this new implementation would

provide a bridge between academic and student affairs at the university; something that has

constantly shown to be disconnected.

Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community

service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic

responsibility, and strengthen communities (Flecky, 2011). The relationship the school could

build within its community is one of great strength. While doing so, the student is also growing

as an individual and applying classroom material in a real-world situation.

Setting

As we begin to look at how we are going to utilize our intervention proposal, it is

important to look at the institutional type and where the institution is located. Our institution is a

small to medium sized university with roughly 10,000 enrolled students. This particular

institution is located in a lower income area of a larger city. We are looking to connect with

community partners for service-learning opportunities. These service opportunities are available


in all areas, including lower income areas. Within this developmental context, we are looking to

begin implementing the service-learning component into the academic side of the university.

Service-learning is currently available for all students as an extracurricular activity unassociated

with their courses. Our intention is to broaden the scope and incorporate the academic side of

the college/university for the students to gain hands-on experience with what they are learning in

the classroom.

Theoretical Analysis

Kolb’s theory of experiential learning underscores the importance of service-learning in

the classroom. Based on how one takes in information and makes that information meaningful,

an individual can experience learning in four different stages (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, &

Renn, 2010). Concrete experience involves hands-on learning, reflective observation consists of

watching and absorbing, abstract conceptualization describes the integration and analysis of

ideas, and active experimentation involves decision-making and problem solving. While

learners may prefer one of these steps to the other, Kolb emphasized that effective learning

occurs when learners move through each step in the cycle (Evans et al., 2010).

Kolb categorized these preferences into four main learning styles (Evans et al., 2010).

Converging individuals enjoy technical tasks and practical solutions. Diverging individuals

prefer using their imaginations and generating alternatives. Assimilating individuals are drawn

to logic and inductive reasoning. Accommodating individuals are action-oriented problem-

solvers. Kolb noted that these learning styles are not permanent, and each has their own

strengths and weaknesses. Further, “individuals need flexibility in style in order to have the

competencies needed to be contextually adaptive” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 141).


Service-learning is by nature more typical of the active experimentation and concrete

experience steps. Therefore, individuals who prefer reflective observation and abstract

conceptualization are not going to be as attracted to hands-on opportunities (Evans et al., 2010).

However, it is important to encourage the learning development of all students, regardless of

learning theory preference. Students need to be able to utilize all four skillsets of the learning

cycle in order to be effective and dynamic learners. Allowing opportunities for reflection,

observation, and analysis of students’ service-learning experiences will allow for students

uncomfortable with hands-on activities to ease into the experience (Evans et al., 2010).

Chickering’s identity development theory describes multiple aspects of campus life that

can have a positive or negative impact on students’ development (Evans et al., 2010).

Chickering enumerated seven key influences in an individual’s environment. A student’s

curriculum must be relevant and offer diverse perspectives, and teaching should include active

learning to maximize student development. It is also important for faculty and staff to

collaborate in order to provide effective student development programs and services that

facilitate the education of the whole student. Chickering also noted three admonitions that

contribute to powerful educational environments. One of these admonitions is the integration of

work and learning, in which Chickering contended that “collaborative relationships are needed

among business, the community, and institutions of higher education that will maximize the

developmental potential of work and volunteer experiences” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 71).

Service-learning serves as a mode of education that meets all of Chickering’s

aforementioned criteria. Service-learning involves students taking their knowledge and skills

gained in the classroom and applying them to the real world. This provides for a relevant and

diverse experience for the student. Service-learning and volunteer coordinator staff will need to


effectively partner and collaborate with the various colleges and professors in order to maximize

student development. Service-learning programs form a bridge between the university and the

community, and the collaborative environment contributes to both institutional and student

development (Evans et al., 2010).

Literature Review

Kathleen Fleck (2011) examined the foundations of service-learning with the aspect that

service-learning provided a structured opportunity for students, faculty, and community partners

to reflect on their interactions and activities. To be successful, a balance must exist between the

service and the learning in the outcomes resulting from the experiences within the partnership.

This must be done within individual course settings but also in the broader academic institutional

goals of community engagement (Flecky, 2011). There is a distinction between volunteering and

service-learning; the latter’s end means is to link the course objectives with structured

community interactions to meet the needs of a community. “Civic engagement and reflection

about service are essential elements of service-learning” (Flecky, 2011, p. 2). This introduces

the need for learning to help develop students as a whole as they understand themselves in

relationship to the rest of the world.

Service-learning presents an opportunity to challenge the teacher, learner, and community

partners to connect the service work that is being done within the community with the course

material. Through the approach of David Kolb, expanding the concepts of reflective thinking

presents the opportunity to process and adapt to the learning styles (Flecky, 2011). Reflection on

concrete experiences, thoughtful observation, abstract conceptualization and active

experimentation lead to inclusion of reflective activities prior to, during, and after service as part

of service-learning assignments (Flecky, 2011). The challenge is that few colleges and


universities require service-learning in the academic core while also facing the barrier of

students, faculty, and staff members’ perception on the rewards of service-learning (Eyler, Giles,

Stenson, & Gray, 2001).

The role of institutions and faculty in higher education is to support communities through

engagement (Flecky, 2011). This idea was supported by the increase in service-learning with the

Learn and Serve America Corps and Campus Compact. This was part of the establishment of the

National and Community Service Act of 1990, which was created with the goal to renew the

civic responsibility in the United States (Flecky, 2011). There is a need for more rigorous and

sophisticated research to examine longitudinal impacts of service-learning, which is something to

take into consideration for the application of the intervention.

“The primary mission of Service-Learning Programs is to engage students in experiences

that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities for reflection

intentionally designed to promote student learning and development” (Council, 2011, p. 4). This

provides us with the foundation to move service-learning forward as a partnership between

academic and student affairs. Examining the Council for the Advancement of Standards in

Higher Education (CAS) Standards for Service-Learning Programs, service-learning is defined

as follows: Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in

activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities

intentionally designed to promote student learning and development (Council, 2011). Both long-

term community enhancement and shorter-term service projects can make considerable

contributions to communities in both direct and indirect ways, providing the opportunity for

students to engage with others rather than working to gain something for themselves.


The idea of community in terms of service-learning includes the local connection, but

also expands to include the state, national, and world community (Jacoby, 1996). This stresses

the need for individuals to be global citizens while also being active in their immediate

community. Service-learning address a variety of learning goals, including intellectual, civic,

ethical, moral, cross-cultural, and spiritual enrichment through active reflection and involvement

beyond the self (Eyler et al., 2001). These provide us with direct learning outcomes for our

intervention.

We can begin to look at the effects of service-learning to form tangible goals that our

intervention can expand on and achieve in our application. As a good foundation for our

intervention, the studies done on service-learning break down several benefits and positive

outcomes that we can utilize to guide our ways of intervention (Eyler et al., 2001). Outlining

positive personal, social, career, and institutional highlight areas for learning outcomes are key

factors in our intervention (Eyler et al., 2001). This provides us with a variety of goals that

address developing the student as a whole, bridging the gap between academic and student

affairs, and connecting everyone to their community.

The CAS Standards for service-learning (2011) highlighted required needs when

developing a program. The programs must assess relevant and desirable student learning and

development. Coordinators need to provide supporting evidence of how outcomes are being

met, and should utilize said evidence to create strategies for improvement of their programs and

services. To do this the programs must be intentionally designed, guided by theories and

knowledge of learning and development. The service-learning program must be integrated into

the life of the institution by being responsive to the needs of all individuals, in turn reflecting the

developmental and demographic profiles of the student population. The implementation should


use multiple formats, strategies, and contexts to address the needs at the particular institution

while being reviewed on a regular basis (Council, 2011).

Developmental Context

Our intuitional setting at a medium-sized school in a larger city will have many of our

students coming from smaller towns in surrounding areas and the state, similar to Missouri State

University. The surrounding community’s socioeconomic status falls between lower to lower-

middle class, which presents students with the opportunity to see challenges people face that the

students may have never had to experience. This will challenge the students with a new

perception of themselves in relation to the world around them and their sense of identity.

Some of these incoming students are not completely emotionally independent and have

not been challenged to develop intercultural and interpersonal tolerance (Evans et al., 2010).

Never being introduced to others who are different than them, students do not know how to

appreciate differences. Students are often transitioning from the typical American high school

setting of constant lectures and classroom discussion. Kolb identified the development process

of acquisition in adolescent students, when students are learning abilities and building cognitive

structure development (Evans et al., 2010). As students transition into the specialization during

college they will begin to shape their learning off of their social, education, and organizational

experiences. Entering the college setting will be the first time that students have a chance to

actively explore their learning style (Evans et al., 2010).

Students have different learning styles that the institution needs to integrate into the

curriculum, as Kolb demonstrated with his learning cycle (Evans et al., 2010). Student will be

looking for opportunities for engagement in their learning that best address the needs of their

learning style. However, there is the need to develop the student as a whole (Evans et al., 2010).


Description of Target Audience

For this intervention, our target audience will focus on freshman business students,

typically around the age of 18 or 19. There is no emphasis on male or female participants, but

rather the entire freshman business class as a whole. We want to include all races as well, even

though our university is predominantly white. These students would typically be placed in a

lecture setting for most of their classes. In relation to Chickering’s Theory of Identity

Development, our students would usually be placed in vectors three and four. During these

stages, students are beginning to develop a sense of independency and exploring their emotional

feelings. Some will even begin to appreciate differences among others and develop healthy

intimate relationships (Evans et al., 2010).

We chose to begin this research with business students because, according to Kolb’s

theory of experiential learning, these particular students typically prefer active experimentation

as well as concrete experience, making them potentially more willing to engage in service

learning than other students (Evans et al., 2010). Because students transition through vectors

while in college, we thought it would be best to target the ones that are at the lowest stages in

order to implement the idea of service-learning at a more receptive time in their lives.

Intervention Goals

In creating the following intervention through service-learning we had several goals in

mind: (a) developing the individuals socially and personally, (b) make individuals more engaged

in their academics, and (c) integrate service-learning into the campus as a whole. We have been

intentional in designing our interventions to work with the academic and the student affairs

departments to foster the growth of the student as a whole. Our intervention will also allow for

students to take an active stance in their community, making them more of a global citizen.


Chickering’s vectors identify several areas for students to develop themselves socially

and personally which further help them understand and develop their own identity (Evans et al.,

2010). Service-learning researchers have identified positive effects on student personal

development through gaining a sense of personal efficacy, spiritual growth, and moral

development. Further, service-learning provides opportunities for students to improve their

interpersonal development, their ability to work well with others, leadership skills, and

communication abilities (Eyler et al., 2001). Kolb’s concept of reflective thinking in experiential

education (Flecky, 2011) lends to positive social outcomes, including reducing stereotypes and

facilitate cultural and racial understanding (Eyler et al., 2001) to secure interpersonal

relationships (Evans et al., 2010). During their experience, we want to encourage students to

develop a sense of social responsibility and citizenship skills while securing their commitment to

service (Eyler et al., 2001). If students have positive experiences through engaging in service-

learning, then it will encourage them to continue involvement.

Through learning outcomes we hope to improve the students’ academic success.

Through addressing the individuals’ learning styles and engaging them through the service-

learning program we can begin to build the students’ confidence and exploration of other means

to learn and develop (Evans et al., 2010). From there student will gain competence in applying

what they have learned to the real world. This can include improved problem analysis and

critically thinking skills (Eyler et al., 2001).

With the implementation of our intervention starting out on a small scale through the

Business Department, we hope to gain success proven with assessments and evaluation, which

can then be utilized to secure academically-tied service-learning across campus. The intervention

ultimately would further integrate the university community by connecting academic affairs,


student affairs, and the student body. The positive effects of service-learning will translate into

improving students’ satisfaction with the college and increasing the amount of students

graduating (Eyler et al., 2001).

Intervention

As we begin to look at how to incorporate service-learning into an academic setting, there

is a progression that needs to occur to establish a good working relationship between service-

learning and academic departments. This progression will occur with the development of a

Service-Learning Interim Coordinator. The coordinator’s responsibilities will include (a) creation

of a database to host all service-learning submissions and process service transcripts to be

utilized as an additional piece to a student’s graduation success and job employment portfolio,

(b) presentation or orientation of service-learning opportunities in student introduction classes,

(c) incorporation of a service-learning component into the Business Department coinciding with

the Service-Learning Coordinator for a four year study and research, (d) design and analyze

surveys and reflection journals to assess the progress of the service-learning component within

the academic setting, and finally (e) incorporating a service-learning component into all

academic departments within four years’ time upon completion of the survey’s and study.

Utilizing this progression will help develop a connection with the student affairs division and the

academic affairs division on our campus.

Service Learning Interim Coordinator

To begin the progression, we believe that developing a position of a Service-Learning

Coordinator would be beneficial for the job responsibilities that will be required for the position.

Due to the size of our established campus, the funds to hire an individual for a four year interim

position are limited; therefore, we have decided that we will ask an employee within the Office


of Student Development and Activities to take on the additional responsibilities of the Service-

Learning Interim Coordinator with a respective pay increase.

The position responsibilities of the Service-Learning Coordinator will be to (a) develop

the service-learning program requirements for our pilot focus, the Business Department; (b)

develop service-learning orientations/presentations for the university student introduction class,

along with lecture guidelines, readings, and resources for additional support; and (c) recruit

faculty and academic departments to buy into service-learning and create relationships for future

incentives incorporating service-learning within the classroom (Northeastern, 2012).

Additionally, a database will need to be constructed by the Interim Coordinator to host all

submissions for service-learning. The job of the Interim Coordinator for Service-Learning is an

important position to have when looking to better the use of service-learning, and provides an

individual the ability to connect with the community.

Database

Next in the progression is the development of a database for service-learning submission.

The creation of this database will provide a few different services for the students and the

Service-Learning Interim Coordinator. The idea of the database is that it will be a common

online place for students to go to and find service-learning opportunities outside of the

classroom. This database will also be used within the classroom setting for students to learn

about what service-learning will be incorporated, and also for individual students outside of the

classroom wanting to become more involved with the surrounding community. The service-

learning database will be housed on the university website, within the service-learning site.

When developing the database, it should be interactive for the faculty, staff, and students

utilizing the site, and should be easily accessible.


An outsourcing group to run this type of information would be Campus Labs

(Collegiatelink, 2012). Campus Labs is a well-known company that supports working

relationships with higher education institutions in accreditation assistance, assessment and

evaluation, student involvement, early alert notification experiences, and course evaluations.

Collegiate Link is a site that can be utilized be an institution to help expand on the student

experience. This site is manly used for student organizations, but depending on the need for the

university, this site can be mainly used for service-learning at the university administrators’

discretion. It is important to keep in mind that this site will require some financial backing, but

discussion with the Student Government Association and university administration could provide

insight to the benefits, student backing, and financial support needed to acquire this online

database.

Collegiate Link is a useful site that can house the service-learning database that we are

looking to incorporate. Instead of utilizing the site for student involvement, the university could

use this site as hub for all the service-learning opportunities for students, along with the

community partners willing to work with the institution. The database is designed with a home

page that provides news updates, therefore any announcements that the Service-Learning Interim

Coordinator would want to post can be seen on the home page of the site. There is also a flyer

board on the homepage where service-learning events and trips could be posted, and students can

click on those events and/or trips to take them to the direct link within the database, or add it to

his/her school calendar via e-mail. The flyer board is beneficial as students can see what events

are coming up, and it provides direct information to the event. Upon moving to the next tab of

involvement, there is a directory in alphabetical order for all the service-learning opportunities

and community partners willing to work with students, academic departments and classes, along


with student organizations. The service-learning opportunities and community partners can also

be searched by typing in the name, or searching by category. The “search by category” option

can provide easy access to all opportunities, and a student would be able to search by what type

of service most interests him or her (CampusLINK, 2012).

Along with the aforementioned options above, there are more detailed options for this

particular site of Collegiate Link. Each service-learning opportunity and community partner

would have its own personal page within the site. This personal site provides various functions

to be used for that individual project, trip, or community partner. The categories range from a

home page, news updates, a profile to provide additional information about the trip, project, or

community partner, an events tab to keep up-to-date with what will be coming next, a rosters

page for individuals who would like to participate may ask to join that particular trip, project or

community to gain more information when e-mails and notifications are sent out from the server,

a photo gallery to document what is occurring on the outings, a documents tab to post any

necessary documents that are needed to be accessed by participating individuals, and finally a

forms tab for individuals to download and submit any necessary forms needed for that particular

trip, project, or community partner (CampusLINK, 2012). The Service-Learning Interim

Coordinator could create a specific link within the involvement piece of the site to be named

“Service-Learning Hub,” and within this piece utilize the site as outlined above. Particularly in

the forms tab of the Service-Learning Hub, there could be a document available for submission

of any hours in relation to a service-learning trip, or project.

Within the appendices, you will find a hard copy of the submission document that we are

utilizing for our students to submit online for tracking purposes (see Appendix A for an

example). Collegiate Link provides tracking options within this site, and all information can be


exported into excel documents for easier use and sharing purposes. Along with the tracking

option, a printable transcript is available for students upon request. This transcript will provide

documentation of hours completed in service-learning and brief descriptions of the service-

learning opportunity. Students would have the ability to edit any information on the transcript

before requesting a copy from the Service-Learning Interim Coordinator. The Interim

Coordinator would then be responsible for cross-referencing with the Collegiate Link documents

to finalize the student’s transcript before printing on university approved paper and sealing it

with the university seal and administrator signature. We believe that acquiring a database of this

stature will provide organization and professionalism to service-learning as we work to support it

throughout campus, and throughout the surrounding community.

Academic Integration

Once development of the internal portions of the service-learning database is complete,

we then move forward and coordinate with the Business Department about including a service-

learning component into at least one 100-, 200-, and 300-level class. Thirty hours of service will

be required throughout the three courses, ten hours per each class. We believe that incorporating

ten hours of service to each class will encourage students to participate in other service activities

throughout his/her collegiate experience. The freshman business students will comprise the

participants for a four-year study on the service-learning program. Pre-test and post-test surveys

will be given to all students in the participating study. Doing a four year study will be beneficial

to learn whether incorporating service-learning will be helpful to all students, and if so, then the

next step will be taken to include other academic areas.

As we begin the test process of service-learning in an academic setting, the Business

Department instructors willing to test out a service-learning component in their classes will be


asked to work with the Service-Learning Interim Coordinator on what community partners

would be best to work with in relation to the material being taught. Once a community partner is

established for each class, the instructors can then develop their syllabi, incorporating the ten

hours of service for the class. Additional lecture guidelines to prepare the students for service-

learning in the community, readings, and resources will be provided to the instructors who are

opting to include service-learning in their curriculum.

Reflections & Surveys

Additionally in the curriculum, instructors will be encouraged to include assignments of

reflection journals of the student’s service-learning experience, along with surveys to be taken at

the beginning and end of the semester. The encouragement for the reflection journals is to help

the students process what he/she has experienced during their hands-on experience, and provide

a way to track personal progress, along with academic progress within the class. The journals

can be collected by the instructors and taken for a grade at the end of the semester to provide

incentive to do the journals. The reflection piece of service-learning is important as students

learn more about themselves, as individuals, along with what he/she is learning in the academic

setting.

Surveys will be given at the beginning and ending of the semester to learn what the

students understand about service-learning from the beginning, and how he/she has progressed

through the four months of classes and hands-on experience. Surveys are a useful way to gage

the learning experience and the progression of the students. Throughout the four years with

permission of the participating students, it would be beneficial to have a resource library where

all reflections and anonymous surveys could be accessed by faculty, staff, and students to see

how the service-learning component is beneficial to student development (Religious, 2012).


Utilizing surveys and reflection journals will help provide the Service-Learning Interim

Coordinator with information about how to further proceed in the future, and what are best

practices when working with academic departments.

Analysis & Expansion

Once the four year study has been completed, and the information has been complied, we

will look to see how service-learning will benefit all students at the institution, within academic

settings or by individual motivation. If a positive reaction is gathered by both students and the

Business Department, it will be easier to work with other academic departments and encourage

the use of a service-learning component within the classroom. Positive intake is vital to

successfully promote service-learning. In hopes that all feedback and research is positive, the

possibility of expanding the service-learning experience into a student affairs office would be

ideal. This would be an expansion that would require additional research and funding, but

expanding service-learning in the academic field would provide opportunities for students in all

areas. It would be encouraged that the service-learning component begins with the incoming

freshmen class that following year to jump start the students’ experience with a positive service-

learning environment.

Rationale

All of the steps in our intervention were designed with student development theory and

best practices in mind. Our decision to ground service-learning in the academic experience

while hiring a Service-learning Coordinator to help manage the program was based on several of

Chickering’s key influences. A curriculum is most beneficial to student development when it is

relevant, reflective, and diverse (Evans et al., 2010). Teaching methods that include active

learning and address individual learning differences are also important to student development.


The collaboration between faculty and student affairs professionals on programs such as service-

learning can also be a powerful factor in student development. By integrating service-learning

into the classroom, the students will be better able to connect their learning experiences to the

real world. The bridge created between academic and student affairs will better serve the

development of the whole student (Evans et al., 2010).

We felt that utilizing a service-learning database and offering service transcripts would be

effective strategies for these developmental programs. They provide both ease and incentive for

students to not only participate, but to value and utilize their experiences in the future. We

limited the service-learning requirement to one department at the university so it can serve as a

pilot program. This will allow us to focus on the effectiveness of the program before expanding

to a larger student population.

Throughout the design of the service-learning program, we felt it was important to

address students’ varied learning styles. Service-learning provides a great opportunity to

complete the cycle of Kolb’s experiential learning if designed with proper reflection and analysis

(Cone & Harris, 1996). Therefore, we made sure to develop our service-learning program in a

way that would help students of all learning styles. Our program orientation will include written

instructions, relevant readings, and lectures to ease diverging and assimilating students into a

learning experience they may not find as comfortable. The service-learning experience itself

provides active experimentation and concrete experience. The cycle continues with reflections

in the form of journals, essays, and presentations as part of the classroom curriculum.

Reflections are vital for connecting the community service to educational content (Bringle &

Hatcher, 1999). This cyclical nature will ensure that all students’ learning styles are being


addressed, while helping students to become more adaptive learners and practitioners (Cone &

Harris, 1996; Evans et al., 2010).

We will judge the success of our program using assessment tools to evaluate learning

outcomes. We will also assess the students’ ability to adapt to various learning situations, based

on Kolb’s experiential learning theory (Evans et al., 2010). We will discuss the details of our

assessment techniques later. Assuming the program is a success, we then plan to expand the

service-learning program to a service-learning center, with more than one staff position. We did

not want to expand before this point in the interest of responsible resource management. Once

the program is integrated into all academic programs, the demand for more staff and resources

will justify our expansion.

Evaluation Plan

We will assess our program using pretests and posttests to evaluate student development.

These tests will be in the form of surveys designed to quantify students’ progress toward our

identified learning outcomes (see Appendix B for survey examples). These outcomes include

personal efficacy, exposure to diversity, moral development, and greater connection to the

community. Some questions will also address students’ perceptions of the program’s relevancy,

helpfulness, and effectiveness. The surveys will be administered to students at the beginning and

end of each semester. The surveys will feature a Likert scale in which students can agree or

disagree to the statements or questions provided. Other researchers have used this method to

evaluate service-learning programs (Werder & Strand, 2011). Student reflection assignments,

such as journals and essays, will also be used to evaluate the program’s effectiveness at student

development.


Faculty and community partners will also be administered surveys for their participation.

These surveys serve as a form of quality control as we ensure that the faculty and community

organizations are satisfied with the service-learning program. Questions will address perceived

educational benefits, usefulness of the volunteers, and ease of service (see Appendix C and D for

survey examples).

Students will also complete the Adaptive Style Inventory at the beginning and end of the

service-learning program. We will use this assessment to “assess an individual’s ability to adapt

to different learning situations” (Evans et al., 2010, p. 146). We chose this assessment because

of its ability to assess learning flexibility, which is a learning outcome goal in our program. Our

hope is that we will see that students have become more competent in all four stages of Kolb’s

learning cycle model following the service-learning program.


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National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2012a). Community partner survey. Great Cities

Great Service. Retrieved from

http://www.servicelearning.org/sample_form_template/community-partner-survey

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2012b). Student post-service survey. Center for

Learning Through Service. Retrieved from

http://www.servicelearning.org/sample_form_template/student-post-service-survey

Northeastern University (2012). Associate director & service-learning coordinator. HigherEd

Jobs. Retrieved from http://www.higheredjobs.com/

Religious Lives of Ozarks Women Collection (2012). Missouri State University. Retrieved from

http://library.missouristate.edu/archives/speccoll/m040.htm

Werder, K. P. & Strand, K. (2011). Measuring student outcomes: An assessment of service-

learning in the public relations campaigns course. Public Relations Review, 37, 478-484.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.0


Appendix A

Service-Learning Tracking Form

Service-Learning Tracking FormThe Service-Learning Tracking form is used for all students who are registered and taking any academic classes with a service-learning component. This form is required to be completed for data collection purposes and individual tracking for future service-learning transcript requests.

Form Requirements:

You can submit your volunteer/service hours for your individual class service hours with this form.

All hours must be recorded within 7 days of the service to be counted towards class participation

and hours required for the class service-learning component.

Questions can be directed to:Service-Learning Interim Coordinator, Office of Student Development and Activities

Personal Information

First Name: (required)

_____________________________________________

Last Name: (required)

_____________________________________________

Institution Email Address (required)

_____________________________________________ddl3374181

Service InformationNumber of Hours Completed_____________________________________________

Dates of Hours Completed (e.g. 12/7/2011, 12/9/2011 or 12/7/2011 - 12/9/2011)

_____________________________________________

If for a service-learning course, please indicate which academic course. (Please include Class, Section, and Instructor)

_____________________________________________rb3376138

Name of Agency Served (required)

_____________________________________________


Contact Person (Name) (required)

_____________________________________________

Contact Phone Number (xxx-xxx-xxxx)

_____________________________________________

Contact Email Address

_____________________________________________

Brief Description of Service (required)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________rb3374234

Adapted from Missouri State University’s Individual Service Report Form, 2012

Citation: (CampusLINK, 2012)


Appendix B

Student Survey Example

ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY COLLEGESTUDENT SERVICE-LEARNING SURVEY

Post-Service

This survey is designed to measure general attitudes and perceptions of service-learning students. This information will be used to improve the college’s service-learning program.

Course Number or Name _____________________

Instructor’s Name____________________

Today’s Date:______________________

Approximate Grade Point Average: _____

Male _____ Female _____


Please respond as honestly as possible, relying on your current beliefs or attitudes. Indicate your level of agreement with each statement by circling the appropriate choice.

Strongly Agree

Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

Not

Applicable

1. The service aspect of this course helped me to see how the subject matter I learned can be used in everyday life.

4 3 2 1

2. I will probably continue to volunteer in the community after this course ends.

4 3 2 1

3. As a result of my service-learning experience, I have improved my critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

4 3 2 1

4. As a result of my service-learning experience, I think I have learned more in this class than I would had I not participated in a service experience.

4 3 2 1

5. As a result of my service-learning experience, I have an increased level of awareness of cultural differences and attitudes toward helping others.

4 3 2 1

6. As a result of my service-learning experience, I have improved my communication skills.

4 3 2 1

7. As a result of my service-learning experience, I have an improved sense of civic and social responsibility.

4 3 2 1

8. I plan to enroll in more courses that offer service-learning.

4 3 2 1

5. Was your service-learning assignment a requirement or an option? _______________________

6. Was this your first service-learning experience in higher education? ______________________

7. Where did you do your service-learning assignment? ____________________________


8. What did you like or dislike about your agency or site?

9. Would you consider doing service-learning in another class? Why? Why not?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________

10. Please recommend any suggestions on how this program or the service-learning option in this class might be

improved for students in the future.

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Optional:

Your name: _______________________

Email address: _____________________

Citation: (National, 2012b)


Appendix C

Faculty Survey

Instructor Survey Name: ________________________________Date: _________________________________Please answer the following questions as completely as possible about the current course you are teaching that involves Service Learning.

COURSE DEMOGRAPHICS

1.

What campus are you teaching this course? ___________________________________________

2. What is the name of the course? ____________________________________________________

3. In what department, division, or major is your course listed? _____________________________

4. What social issue or community need do you anticipate your class deciding to target? (check all that apply)

Hunger Health & Wellness Children and Youth Programs Homelessness Mental Health Neighborhood DevelopmentOther (please describe): __________________________________________________________

5. How many students are enrolled in your course? _________________ students6. How many hours a week does your course meet? _________________hours/week7. How many weeks does your course meet? ____________________weeks8. On average, how many hours per week do you expect your students to spend doing work

outside of formal class time to do well in this course, EXCLUDING the required non-profit service learning/volunteering? _____________________hours/week

9. What percentage of in-class time do you expect to focus on service learning? Less than 25% Between 25% and 49% Between 50% and 75% More than 75%

COURSE INFORMATION

10.

When you developed the service learning component of this course, did you: Look at other syllabi Speak with instructors who had taught similar courses Attend training Speak with Campus Compact representatives Other____________________________________


11. To what extent did your course contain:Not at all Rarely Sometimes Often

Group Work Lecture Discussion Outside Speakers Independent Work Student Presentation

12.

12. Have you taught this course before without the service learning component? Yes (Move to question 13) No (Move to question 14)

13. If you have taught this course before WITHOUT a service learning component, in which version did you observe the following in students? (If this is the first version of this course, please continue onto the next question).

Course taughtWITHservice learning

Course taught WITHOUTservice learning

No difference between courses

Students were more personally invested

Students spent more time working on the course outside of class

Students held each other more accountable

Students worked harder Students developed more as leaders

Students understood the course content better

14.

14. What were the critical skills developed by the students in this course? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. To what extent were the following components used to evaluate student performance in your course?


Not at all

Rarely Sometimes

Often

Research Paper Participation Presentation Peer Review Journal/Reflection Community Partner Feedback

16.

16. If you were to teach this course again, what would you change? ___________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

17. What were the benefits, if any of using a team approach (development officer, campus liaison, and you)? ______________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. What were the drawbacks? ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTOR DEMOGRAPHS

19. What is your title? Professor Assistant/Associate Professor Adjunct Professor Instructor

20. How long have you been teaching at the college level? _______________ years

21. How long have you been teaching at Gateway Technical College? ___________years


Citation: (Gateway, 2012)

Appendix D

Community Partners Survey


Citation: (National, 2012a)

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