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Steps to Service Learning for Agencies
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Agencies
Congratulations! Just by visiting this Web page, you have taken your first step towards understanding how your role can determine the outcome of a successful service learning project. service learning involves a five-step process. If you are having any problems implementing a step, contact Angela Winters-Harmon for additional help, and she will gladly assist you.
Step 1: Preparation.
Preparation includes planning service activities and providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to participate in and benefit from the service activity. Depending on the nature of your planning process, preparation may include:
- Identifying the community need(s) to be addressed.
- Selecting and planning the specific service to be addressed.
- Identifying and enlisting the assistance of faculty and the service learning director, Angela Winters-Harmon.
- Providing content area instruction and specific training students need to conduct the service activity.
The community agency should:
- Work with the faculty and students to develop a well defined activity and specific program outcomes.
- Help identify specific knowledge and skills students will need to do the work.
- Be prepared to assist in the training of students in project related skills and knowledge in the areas of safety.
- Devise a schedule for the student to work with the agency on the project.
- Provide the student with the necessary supervision during the project.
- Evaluate the performance of the student and the success of the project.
The community agency representative should:
- Enter into a written agreement that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the faculty member(s), students, and the community agency.
- Complete the College-Agency Agreement form required by Prairie State College or the agency.
Step 2: Action.
Action is the service activity. Service activities should have the following characteristics:
- The service should be meaningful.
- There should be clear links between the service activity and the objectives of the course.
- Students should have a sense of ownership in the project.
- There should be adequate supervision and evaluation of student activities.
The community agency should:
- Provide any necessary training outside of PSC course curriculum to qualify the student(s) to participate in the service learning activity.
- Address needs, concerns and liability issues of the student(s).
- Provide the agreed-upon amount of supervision and evaluation of students.
The community agency should:
- Create a positive serving and learning atmosphere by contributing appropriately to the success of the project.
- Keep Angela Winters-Harmon informed about any significant achievements and/or reasons to celebrate.
Step 3: Reflection.
This step offers the opportunity for the student(s) to critically think about his or her service learning experience and apply insights to a broader academic and social context. Reflection activities also provide additional opportunities to link academic work with the service activities. Reflection is not just a third sequential step in the service learning process, but should be an integral part of all the steps of service learning.
The community agency should:
- Participate with students in regular
reflection activities by spending a few moments with them before leaving the site to discover what theylearned that day.
Step 4: Celebration.
This step recognizes the contributions made by the students, faculty and community agency, and provides closure to the service learning activity.
The community agency should:
- Recognize the efforts of all involved (that includes those being served!) in making the service learning project a worthwhile and rewarding experience.
Step 5: Evaluation.
As with reflection, evaluation is a step that must be integrated throughout the process rather than be considered only as the last step. Evaluation should serve several purposes including:
- Formative and summative evaluation of the impact of the entire project on students, faculty, partner, agencies, the university, and the community.
- An additional reflection opportunity.
- Evaluation of student performance.
- Information to be combined with data from other service learning projects to help assess the overall impact of service learning at PSC.
- Information to design future service learning projects and to enhance the services of Prairie State College.
The community agency should:
- Work with the faculty member and students in the development of appropriate student performance measures and overall project formative and summative evaluation.