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Service Learning: Service Learning: Academics in ActionAcademics in ActionCate Hart Cate Hart camhart@indiana.educamhart@indiana.edu

Diane Monroe Diane Monroe dlmonroe@indiana.edudlmonroe@indiana.edu

Sponsored bySponsored by Indiana Department of Education, Learn & Serve Indiana Indiana Department of Education, Learn & Serve Indiana ~A Partnership Fostering the Integration of Service and ~A Partnership Fostering the Integration of Service and

Education~Education~

Summer, 2004Summer, 2004

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Guiding Questions• What is Service Learning? • How can Service Learning help our

students become more engaged in civic responsibilities in our changing world?

• How do we align and incorporate Service Learning with academic standards and other educational initiatives?

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Service LearningService learning involves students in communityactivities that compliment their classroomstudies. Programs aim to help students increasetheir academic skills through understandinghow what they learn can be applied to the realworld. Service learning helps students becomeinterested in their communities and learn howthey can affect the quality of life in them. Corporation for National Service, Learn and Serve Grants

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Youth Service: A paradigm Shift

• Traditional view– Utilize resource– Passive– Consumer– Needs help– Recipient– Victim

• Service Learning– Act as resource– Active– Producer– Offers help– Giver– Leader

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Service Learning… an instructional strategy that

• Enhances students’ civic and academic engagement.

• Engages students in meaningful service to strengthen their schools or communities through careful integration with established curricula.

• Enables students to become active and informed citizens who carry forward our democratic traditions and become committed to an ethic of service.

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Service-learning is NOT:

• An episodic volunteer program• An add-on to an existing curriculum• Logging a set number of community

service hours• Compensatory service assigned as a form

of punishment by the courts or schools• Only for high school or college students• One-sided: benefiting only students or only

the community

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Service Learning is… School-Wide Infusion

• Pedagogy-instructional strategy

• Philosophy-caring and collaboration

• Process-quality of life improvements for school/community

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Service Learning aligns with educational

initiatives• P.L. # 221-writing & reading• Scans Basic Skills and Competencies• Character Education• Safe and Secure Schools• Character Counts• Problem Based Learning

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Service Learning Aligns with Curricula• Language Arts/ English –reading & writing across

curriculum/content• Math/Science• Social Studies/Civic Engagement• Technology• Visual & Performing Arts• FACS/Physical Education/Vocational and Technical

Arts• SCANS- ‘soft skills’• Leadership Development• Problem Based Learning, Socratic Seminars,

authentic engagement, bullying prevention

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Service Learningaligns with educator standards

• INTASC & IPLA Standards• Best Practices • What Principal’s Should Know and Be

Able to Do• National Staff Development Council

Standards for Professional Development• Ruby Payne Poverty Framework

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Essential Elements of SL

• Youth Voice • How is youth voice incorporated in decision making?

• Genuine Community Needs/Issues• What are the needs/issues and how are they documented? Multiple measures of evidence?

• Meaningful Service• What planned activities will provide meaningful service? What positive social changes will occur as a result?

• Community Collaborations• How will partners be identified, engaged, assigned roles, evaluated?

• Alignment to Indiana Academic Standards• How will academic alignment be documented?

• Reflection• How will reflection activities be integrated throughout the project?

• Evaluation• What tools will be used to evaluate community impact, program effectiveness, and student academic performance?• Are they SMART goals?- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic. Tangible/Timely

• Recognition/Celebration• How will student achievement, program goals and participant engagement be recognized and celebrated?

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Service Learning is effective when…

• Outcomes are clear and linked to curricular objectives.• Activities apply course concepts and skills.• High levels of thinking and construction of knowledge are

promoted.• Students communicate diverse information and ideas.• Learning is connected to state /local standards.• Students are engaged in tasks that challenge and stretch

them cognitively and developmentally.• Assessment enhances student learning and documents

and evaluates how well students have met content and skills standards.

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Service LearningContinuum

• Community service credit - Individual student or service club

• Service Learning Class • Integrated into one subject/one grade• Co-curricular- partners • Integrated into a multidisciplinary curriculum School

wide focus or theme – poetry, CARE SKILLS, C.L.A.S.S., Peace Village

• Service learning infused into curriculum and supported through the culture and structure of the school

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Preparation - Go slow to go fast

• Introduce concept of service, learning, and good citizenship.

• Teach leadership, interpersonal, communication skills.

• Examine community for needs.• Explore specific skills needed to carry out the

project.• Use problem solving and organizational

strategies.

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Needs/IssuesAdapted by Learn & Serve, Indiana, from Corporation for National Service

2004-2005

• Human Issues• Educational Issues• Changing Communities• Environmental Stewardship• Homeland Security & Conflict

Resolution

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Human Needs• Concerns relating to persons/

groups with special needs (i.e. health, poverty, addiction, housing, learning abilities, intergenerational dimensions, employment, abuse, life span transitions, transportation, etc)

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Educational Concerns• Issues such as literacy, inclusion,

differentiation, knowledge of history, civic participation, retention, life-long learning, technology, character education, etc

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Changing Communities• Issues relating to diversity,

tolerance, urbanization, economic self-sufficiency, active participation in government, population growth, English language learning, gentrification, etc

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Environmental Stewardship• Issues relating to Sustainability-

reducing, reusing, recycling, renewing of products, community gardens, resource depletion, environmental degradation, pollution, production and consumption of energy resources, genetic/biotic/species research, rivers, streams, wetlands, agriculture, etc

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Homeland Security & Conflict Resolution

• Issues relating to national security, safe schools, public safety, tolerance, bullying, violence, cross-cultural conflicts, equity, Student Emergency Response Teams, Community Emergency Response Teams, Project Ophelia- creating safe schools program

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White River Valley Homeland Security

1. Professional Development– PBL, inquiry based learning, Socratic

seminars, writing across the curriculum, authentic student engagement

2. Student Leadership– Retreats, camps, at-risk students

3. Mini-grants– Service learning projects

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Direct Service Learning

(person-to-person, face-to-face service)

• Benefits: Personal responsibility, caring for others, dependability, interpersonal skills, problem-solving.

• Tutoring other students and adults • Conducting art/music/dance lessons for younger students • Helping other students resolve conflict • Giving performances on violence and drug prevention • Creating lessons and presenting them to younger

students • Creating life reviews for Hospice patients

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Indirect Service Learning (addressing broad issues, advocacy, environmental/ community

development) • Benefits: cooperation, teamwork skills, playing

different roles, organizing, prioritizing, project-specific skills.

• Compiling a town history • Volunteering at local clinics to conduct health

screenings • Restoring historic structures or building low-income

housing • Removing exotic plants and restoring ecosystems,

preparing preserve areas for public use

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Research-Based Service Learning

(gathering, presenting information on areas of

interest/need) • Benefits: Learn to find answers/info, make

discriminating judgments, assess, evaluate, test hypotheses.

• Conducting longitudinal studies of local bodies of water; water testing for local residents

• Gathering information and creating brochures or videos for non-profit or government agencies

• Mapping state lands and monitoring flora and fauna• Writing a guide on available community services and

translating it into Spanish and other languages of new residents

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Advocacy Service Learning

(educating others about topics of public interest)

– Benefits: Perseverance; understanding rules, systems, processes; engaged citizenship, work with adults.

– Planning, hosting public forums on topics of interest in the community

– Conducting public information campaigns – Working with elected officials to draft legislation to improve

communities – Training the school/community in fire safety, homeland

security measures/disaster preparation, bullying, conflict resolution, etc

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Reflection – ~BEFORE, DURING, and

AFTER~• Continuous reflection allows students to

• explore the impact and importance of citizen service to the community.

• understand how to learn from experience.• develop a language of caring and

commitment.• instill habits of participation as an

expectation of citizenship.

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Servant Leadership’s Best Test –

Do those served grow as persons; dothey become healthier, wiser, freer,more autonomous, more likely themselvesto become servants? And what is the effect of the leastprivileged in society, will they benefit?

Robert Greenleaf

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“You cannot buy heart, mind and spirit. Inthe competitive reality of today...onlythose organizations whose people willinglyvolunteer their tremendous creativetalent, commitment and loyalty-whoseorganizations align with structures,systems and management style to supportthe empowerment of their people, willsurvive and thrive”

Stephen R. Covey, Insights on Leadership

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Great leaders are responsible for creating workenvironments in which people care about each other,share pride in a common goal, and celebrate thesuccesses for all.

For this atmosphere to flourish, we have to realizethat, though we can’t change everyone around us, wecan change ourselves, and make a difference.

Jim Blanchard, CEO, Synovus#5, Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for in America

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Win – Win for Students• Increases attendance, self-esteem, commitment to learning.• Challenges and stretches students cognitively/developmentally.• Documents and evaluates how well students have met content

and skills standards.• Allows practice, fosters social and political change, encouraging

young people to become responsible engaged citizens.• Gives experiential learning for real world application and problem

solving.• Increases tolerance, compassion, sensitivity to others, character

judgment, insight, understanding. • Provides career exploration opportunities.• Helps students discover greater purpose for their lives.• Promotes collaboration among students and all stakeholders.

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Win – Win for Schools!• Curricular objectives link to clear outcomes.• Enriched curriculum links to life applications.• School links with community in positive ways.• Reluctant learners are motivated/engaged.• Problem solving, teamwork, conflict management,

other SCANS ‘soft skills’ are fostered.• Students develop responsibility for their own

learning.• Students, families and communities come

together.• A new meaning of democracy is encouraged.

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Win – Win for Communities!• A new generation is introduced to leadership and

to important work of community.• Career options are explored/expanded.• Community capacity building and creative problem

solving for community needs is increased.• Resources match relevant needs/issues.• Creative approaches tackle ingrained ways of

doing business.• Public images are enhanced.

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Indiana Learn and Serve

Michele L. SullivanDirector, Learn & Serve Indiana

Indiana Department of EducationOffice of Program DevelopmentRoom 229, State House Indianapolis, IN 46204-2798 Phone: (317) 233-3163

msulliva@doe.state.in.uswww.doe.in.us/opd/svln/

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• Cate HartIndiana University Bloomington2853 East 10th StreetBloomington IN 47408-2601w. 812-855-7780

c. 812 322-4344

camhart@indiana.edu

• Sheila Hamilton-Taylor10925 Stoneoak Ct.Fort Wayne IN 46845Phone: 219-482-9279 garden4@infionline.net

• Marti Reece 12092 North Paddock Road Camby, IN 46113 Phone:(317) 831-9781 repelly@earthlink.com

• Diane Monroe1301 Bucklew Rd.

Spencer, IN 47460 w.812- 829-2712 c.812-360-9133

dmonroe@ccrtc.com

• Pat Swanson Valparaiso Community Schools

6 City View DriveValparaiso IN 46383Phone: 219-531-3070 ext. 319 pswanson@imail.valpo.k12.in.us

Corporation for National and Community Service www.cns.gov