Research+Based

What the research says...

 * Components of Service Learning **
 * "Research has shown that when done well, reflection can help learners place their actions within the context of personal development and the cultivation of civic and social responsibility." (Koliba, Campbell, and Shapiro, 2010, p. 686)
 * "The inability to quantify learning through SL, or any other form of experiential education for that matter, lies at the heart of the struggle about SL and academic achievement at the schools we studied." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 706)
 * "...the assessment of SL, completed in a quality way, was a crucial factor in engendering ongoing support for SL." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 706)
 * "Entire classes of students or members of youth organizations work cooperatively to identify a community problem in their community. They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a political action plan to enlist local or state authorities to adopt their proposed policy. Participants develop a portfolio of their work and present their project in a hearing showcase before a panel of civic-minded community members." (Center for Civic Education, 2008)
 * Themes that emerged during the study: 1) "community service frequently made the students feel good about themselves; 2) community service introduced students to the world outside their regular school and family life; 3) service placed these adolescents in situations where they were responsible to others and where others counted on them; 4) service frequently provided the students with opportunities to become successful, and 5) in their work settings, the students met many new people and learned about the many ways people live and view the world."(Johnson & Notah, 1999, p.458-459)
 * "Service learning activities provide opportunities for participants to use newly-acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities; such activities enhance teaching in school by extending student learning into the community and helping to foster a sense of caring for others." (Terry & Bohnenberger, 2004, p. 17)
 * Community service: "students volunteering in their community and increasing their awareness of the community. Usually involving a high degree of service with a lesser degree of learning, activities at this level include working with senior citizens or in daycare centers, tutoring, picking up trash on highways, and shelving books in libraries" (Terry & Bohnenberger, 2004, p. 20)
 * Community exploration: "involves not only awareness, but exploration and engagement as well. Under the classification of Community Exploration, the students go out into the community or elements of the community come into the school where information from the real world is shared and explored at a more authentic level than the distancing abstraction of a textbook. It can include activities that have always been associated with experiential education but not always with service learning, such as internships, outdoor/environmental education programs, and other types of experiential education. Community Exploration does not necessarily involve direct service to the community although it may involve a high degree of learning." (Terry & Bohnenberger, 2004, p. 20)
 * Community action: "involves students not only becoming aware of, exploring, and becoming engaged in. their community, but also involves students making a positive impact on their community; becoming empowered to make a difference in the real world. Activities can include civic reform, such as legislative initiatives, and health and human services; professional services, such as historic nominations and grant writing; and commiuiity enhancement such as cultural and aesthetic ventures, and environmental improvements. Community Action involves a high degree of service producing a broader community impact and the highest degree of learning." (Terry & Bohnenberger, 2004, p. 20-22)

**Service Learning and curriculum**
 * "[SL] Teaches students to monitor and influence public policy." (Center for Civic Education, 2008)
 * "Working with four cooperative teams, the students learn to interact with their government through a five-step process that includes the following: 1) Identifying a problem in their community that requires public policy solution; 2) Gathering and evaluation information on the problem; 3) Examining and evaluating alternative solutions; 4) Developing a proposed public policy that addresses the problem; 5) Creating an action plan to get their policy adopted by government." (Center for Civic Education, 2008)
 * "Curricula should include both action and reflection so that students can see the interconnection between what they do and the informing principles" (Terry & Bohnenberger, 2004, p. 16)
 * “majority of SL programs are integrated into the formal K-12 educational system (RMC Research, 2003), with an increasing emphasis for grades 6-12, as secondary schools have shown a greater ability to integrate knowledge and experiential learning involving service activities” (Webster & Worrell, 2008, p. 172)


 * Teacher perceptions about Service Learning **
 * "32 percent of all public schools in the US organized SL as apart of their curriculum, including almost half of all high schools." (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999)
 * "Quality service learning therefore asks people to redefine and strengthen a series of relationships at the center of education; student to student; teacher to teacher, student to teacher; student to their own learning; and student to community." (Toole, 2002, p. 57)
 * "SL, as it existed within the seven schools at least, existed somewhere along a continuum: from // no // to // great deal of reflection // and from // clearly defined community needs // to // none // ." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 692)
 * "Kids come to school really disconnected. They're videoed out-- the spend their lives in front of the screen-- on kind or another. The connections they make to the community, the connections they make to each other, and feeling that they are apart of something larger than themselves... is so important." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 701)
 * "...SL experiences can give students accomplishments that they can be proud of." (Koliba et al., 2010, p.703)
 * "...teachers interviewed believed that present state standards leave room for teachers to teach using SL." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 705)
 * "I think the standards are expecting you to do more experiential things with them." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 705)
 * "On implementing service learning with her students who are deaf and blind: "Here on campus it was an idea that everybody immediately bought into because we are eager to turn the 'blind person/deaf person' with their hand out stereotype about handicap people into these people being the givers of service-- not necessarily the receivers all the time." (Byers, 1995, p. 3)
 * "The Alliance for Service Learning in Education Reform (ASLER) describes service-learning in the following way: a method by which young people learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet actual communtiy needs; that are coordinated in collaboration with the school and community; that are integrated into each young person's academic curriculum; that provide structured time for a young person to think, talk, and write about what he or she did and saw during the actual service activitiy; that provide young persons with opportunities to use newly acquired academic skills and knowledge in real-life situations in their own communities; that enhance lessons taught in school by extending student leanring beyond the classroom; and that help to foster the devleopment of a sense of caring for others." (Seitsinger, 2005, pg. 2)
 * "That finding supports the position argued by Waterman (1997), Bhaer-man et al. (1998), and others that service-learning is aligned and complementary with reform-recommended instructional practices for meaningful teaching and learning." (Seitsinger, 2005, p. 28).
 * "Implementation of service-learning in classrooms may provide students with an equitable opportunity to learn a standards-based curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and may help them participate in community service that is integrated into the curriculum." (Seitsinger, 2005, p. 28)


 * Opponents of Service Learning curriculum **
 * "SL is an 'either/or' proposition putting the psychological and social health of and development of students against their capacity to digest academic content." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 707)
 * One community member reacted to SL this way: "Teach the academics and leave the morals to the parents..." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 707)
 * "To date, three legal challenges have been issued by students and their parents who have argued that mandatory community service is a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibits involuntary servitude. However, none of these legal challenges has been successful. In each of the three cases, Steirer v. Bethlehem Area School District (1993), Immediato v. Rye Neck School District (1995), and Herndon v. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Board of Education (1996), the federal courts have upheld requirements for student service as a prerequisite for high school graduation." (Johnson & Notah, 1999, p. 456)
 * "A service-learning curriculum must enable all students to move from where they are to a place across the bridge; they must be able to describe and make sense of the journey in a meaningful way" (Jones, 2002, p. 12).
 * Service Learning assessment and accountability **
 * "Several teachers felt that the real key to successful assessment of SL students was classroom-based [reflection] dialogue and discussion." (Koliba et al., 2010, p. 706)
 * On presenting students' projects to community leaders as a culminating activity to the Project Citizen curriculum: "Each of the four working groups prepares and presents a statement on its section of the portfolio before a panel of community representatives who act legislative or administrative committee members. Each group then answers questions posed by the committee members. The format provides students an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how public policy is formulated while providing teachers with an excellent means of assessing performance." (Center for Civic Education, 2008)
 * Service Learning motivates students to become advocates for social justice **
 * "Service-learning experiences that involve participation in K-12 education, as well as engaging with diversity and social justice issues provides both university students and communities with ideal opportunities to promote as equitable and positive society as part of their learning." (Zimmerman, Krafchick, and Aberle, 2009, p. 196)
 * "Furthermore, when an integration of service-learning and course content is practised, students’ academic learning is enhanced, as they are able to tie course content into practical application." (Zimmerman et al., 2009, p. 197)
 * “…researchers believe SL benefits both the individual and society.” (Webster & Worrell, 2008, p. 171)
 * “National studies have shown that students who engage in SL activities: (a) increased their cognitive and social skills, (b) developed a more positive attitude toward school, (c) made connections to their community and cultural heritage, and (d) increased civic engagement knowledge and awareness of societal issues.” (Webster & Worrell, 2008, p. 171)
 * “…other benefits…SL learning activities include improvements in students’ moral reasoning and problem solving; growth in personal development; more respectful attitudes toward diverse groups; an enhanced ability to connect academic learning to societal issues and concerns; and a practical understanding of theories.” (Webster & Worrell, 2008, p. 171)