MAKE IT LAST FOREVER: THE ... - National Service Resource Center

develop written, multi-year
plans for the development of
service-learning throughout the
system. These plans include
roles and responsibilities of all
stakeholders, time lines for
action, and methods of
assessing progress. A second
element is the provision of
planning time for teachers to
developing service-learning
strategies. In some cases, grants
are provided to facilitate
planning efforts.
Project Evaluation: Using national, state, or local
standards of effective practice,
reflection on the quality of the
service-learning experience
from design through
implementation is critical to
continuous improvement
efforts. This can be done by
teachers, students, and other
participants, or by outside
evaluators. The information is
used most effectively by
teachers to plan further servicelearning
initiatives and to
obtain funding and build
community partnerships.
Student Assessment: Methods of measuring student
performance in service-learning
include portfolios, grades, and
standardized and other tests.
While some schools isolate
service-learning as a separate
measurable outcome, others
include the credit in traditional
30
they’re going, how and when
they intend to get there, and
what funding they need to
make it happen. This clarity is
critical to maintaining
momentum, as it involves
diverse stakeholders in sharing
the responsibilities of building
capacity, support, and
integration of service-learning.
The outcome of such plans is
service-learning
institutionalization.
Educators who assess the
quality of service-learning
projects are likely to improve
their practice of it, leverage
support for their efforts, and
develop confidence in
managing projects. Others can
also analyze service-learning
and compare it to other
pedagogical approaches.
Educators and policymakers
know that learning is occurring,
and they can attribute student
improvement to servicelearning
participation. This
lends credibility to the
approach.
expand slowly, if at all, and
stakeholders may not know
exactly how to best influence
the system. Without a plan,
people may not realize the
importance of the pedagogy.
Financial support may not be
available.
Teachers and others may not
learn how to create quality
service-learning experiences, or
may develop an opinion about
its success that is not taking all
parties’ opinions into account.
Projects of questionable quality
are unlikely to merit continuing
support or inspire others to
engage in the practice.
Students and others may not be
clear about what they’ve
learned through servicelearning,
and projects may not
be of proper design to ensure
that learning can be measured
in an appropriate way.