assessing service learning outcomes for students & partners

Assessing Service Learning Outcomes for Students & Partners

Cathy Burack, Mary Prentice,

and Gail Robinson

IARSLCE Conference, Indianapolis, IN

October 29, 2010

Session Goals

Share American Association of Community Colleges data on student learning outcomes

Share Learn and Serve America higher education consortia data on community partner outcomes

Discuss how to gauge the impact of service learning beyond the campus

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Service Learning and the Acquisition of Learning Outcomes

2006-2009 AACC Research Project 10 community colleges (1687 SL: 630 NSL) 26 disciplines Six institutional-level learning outcomes:

Critical thinking Communication Career and teamwork Civic responsibility Global understanding and citizenship Academic development and educational success

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Survey of Student Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes questions:

Students were asked: “As a result of taking this course…” followed by the specific learning outcomes questions

Students rated their responses on a six-point Likert-type scaleStrongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

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Analyses: Service Learners and Nonservice Learners

Overall survey scores were compared for the two groups (t-tests, ANCOVA).

The six learning outcomes sections were then compared for the two groups.

Five out of the six comparisons revealed that service learning participation was a predictor of increased student learning outcomes.

Each analysis statistically controlled for faculty use of service learning and degree of learning outcomes focus as reported in faculty surveys.

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Additional Analyses: Questions Regarding Service Learning Experience

Service learning students were asked an additional six questions specifically about the effects of the service experience.

These results were compared to the same questions asked in AACC’s 2003-2006 Horizons project.

Current results mirrored earlier findings.

There are now six years’ worth of student data that

affirm the benefits of service learning.

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Student Focus Group Comments

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• “I wouldn’t have done that well in the class if we hadn’t gone out and done the service learning project. It made me more committed to the class, getting the project done, and getting my degree.”

• “I’m a displaced worker—I have to learn a new profession. [Service learning] has given me experience to step into another field.”

Faculty Focus Group Comments

“We can give them all the book knowledge they want, but if they can’t use it when they leave here, what have we given them?”

“The great advantage of service learning is that it’s realistic. It’s life itself happening.”

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Current AACC Research (2009-2012)

Service learning’s influence on student retention and persistence

Post-course surveys at 27 colleges over 6 semesters

531 students to date Institutional agreements to track enrollment

of a random subset of students over the course of the study

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Learn and Serve America Higher Ed Partner Survey

Focus of LSAHE grants: meet community needs as a result of the economic downturn

Three consortia programs (AACC, California Campus Compact, Tufts) created a common end-of-year instrument to measure community impact (2009-2012)

2009-2010 academic year data complete for AACC and CaCC

84 CBOs and K-12 schools; 3,070 students14

Q2: Students Increased Partners’ Capacity to Meet Community Needs

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Q4: Students Provided Valuable Services to Constituents

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Q6: College Student Service: Curricular or Co-Curricular

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Q7: Frequency of Student Service

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Q8: Partner Organizations

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Q9: Organization Size by Budget

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Collecting Data on Student and Community Impact and Outcomes

Who has collected outcomes data from students and/or partners?

What do we need to know as a field? How can we encourage consortium-like

efforts to collect outcomes data? How do we advance the conversation?

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Links to Handouts

AACC research brief: “Improving Student Learning Outcomes with Service Learning” www.aacc.nche.edu/Resources/ aaccprograms/horizons/Documents/ slorb_jan2010.pdf

LSA higher ed partner survey www.servicelearning.org/lsa/ lsa_page/instruments.php

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For More Information

Cathy Burack, Senior Research Associate for Higher Education

Heller School, Brandeis University, MA

burack@brandeis.edu

Mary Prentice, Associate Professor , Educational Management and Development

New Mexico State University, NM

mprentic@nmsu.edu

Gail Robinson, Director of Service Learning

American Association of Community Colleges, DC

grobinson@aacc.nche.edu23