Enhancing undergraduate service-learning through community partnerships
Abstract
Arizona State University developed its service-learning program to enhance students' academic skills through classroom-linked community engagement. Since the service-learning program's inception in 1993, the university has created partnerships with school districts and nonprofit sites throughout the community. The program supports discipline-specific service-learning internships and course-embedded service-learning throughout the university, providing extensive training, oversight, research, and outreach opportunities for students and faculty. This effective practice was shared during the 2001 National Conference on Community Volunteering and National Service in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Issue
Service-learning can enhance academic learning and promote a life-long commitment to the civic community in students. In order to provide these opportunities to its students, Arizona State University actively partnered with nonprofits and school districts in the community to provide opportunities for service-learning internships and course embedded service-learning.Action
Definition
In the context of the Service Learning Program at ASU, service-learning is an instructional method that allows students to learn and develop through participation in academically-based service activities that
- Integrate and enhance academic curriculum and community experience
- Meet community-identified needs
- Partner the university with community agencies, schools, and industry
- Require sustained long-term commitment
- Foster civic responsibility
- Support reciprocal learning
- Include structured reflection time
- Strengthen the university’s community mission
- Enhance university efforts to increase civic literacy
- Support community service-learning as an integral element in undergraduate education
The program is based on the concept of reciprocal learning. Service-learning sections of regular courses are linked to credit-bearing, semester-long internships or course-embedded projects where students apply classroom knowledge in the community–and infuse the classroom with their community learning. All students participate twice weekly in computer-mediated, instructor-led discussions that assist them in placing their community experiences in the context of broad community issues.
Intern Mentoring and Supervision
Oversight for all undergraduate activities is delegated to supervising interns (SI), who each support up to ten tutors. SI’s are fully funded by the participating sites.
Training
Training consists of an initial two-week series of workshops followed by seminars throughout the semester. Workshop topics include the following:
- Reading and science literacy development
- Tutoring in multicultural environments
- Planning standards-based lessons and activities
- Dealing with discipline issues
- Motivating children to learn
- Presenting effective workshops
- Using the "joint inquiry" tutoring method
Tutoring Activities
Following are examples of internship activities linked to the courses listed:
Architecture 494: ASU interns lead 6th, 7th, and 8th graders from the Roosevelt School District’s "Gifted and Talented" program in activities that introduce them to the field of architecture. Students participate in field trips to sites of architectural interest and build models in an ASU design studio.
English 101, 102, 217, 312: Service- learning sections of these composition-based courses provide structured academic components for ASU interns who spend three afternoons weekly contributing one-on-one after-school tutoring and mentoring in reading, writing, and math for children and youth at 13 school and community sites. ASU students’ community work forms the basis for all writing and research assignments in the linked composition courses.
English 471: Literature for Adolescents: ASU students apply what they are learning in this course by leading 7th and 8th grade male students in discussions of contemporary literature.
English 480: Methods of Teaching English: Composition: Students apply the 6-Trait Writing Model as they support Fees Middle School 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in academic and creative writing projects.
Linguistics 572: Theories Underlying the Acquisition of English as a Second Language: ASU graduate students support families in their English language and literacy acquisition.
Math 180: Elementary Ed majors provide math enrichment activities to second graders, using manipulatives and other hands-on learning to explain the real-world uses of math.
Geology 101: Interns and 3rd graders explore the reasons for weathering variances, investigate causes and effects of soil erosion, perform rock and mineral field-testing, and study other elements of land variations and changes.
Microbiology 205: Interns conduct hands-on,inquiry-based biotechnology labs with 7th and 8th graders.
Physical Geography 111: ASU students and Salt River 6th graders perform topographic mapping and humidity charting exercises, investigate earth-sun and planetary relationships, and conduct cardinal directions experiments.
Plant Biology 108: Interns lead 5th graders in activities that introduce the scientific method and concepts of plant biology using gardens as learning labs. The 5th graders come to ASU once a week; ASU interns visit the children’s school once a week.
Physical Science 205: Interns integrate topics in astronomy, geology, engineering, life sciences, physics, and math in hands-on projects with 6th graders.
UNI 494: The Service Learning Program partners with the Center For Solid State Science to provide "Science is Fun" presentations for elementary schools with high at-risk populations. The goal is to develop students’ interest in careers in the sciences. Interns are trained and supervised by the Center’s research scientists.
Space Science Club: Supported by the Armstrong Family Foundation, this NASA-designed program is intended to teach the rudiments of space exploration. Science interns facilitate 6th-8th graders’ study of chromatography, X and Y coordinates, climate mapping, and other space-oriented skills. The culmination of each semester’s program is a trip to the Challenger Learning Center for a simulated day in space.
Garden Clubs: Located at three sites, Armstrong Family Foundation-funded club leaders use gardens to introduce elementary children and their parents to the scientific method, teach biology concepts, and gardening for food production.
The Active Learning Project: This project, a collaboration with The Salvation Army, American Express, Intel, MCI WorldCom, and the Arizona Community Foundation, brings twenty Hispanic mothers and their three-year-olds to The Salvation Army Citadel Corps four times weekly. The project has three components:
- ASU interns assist the children in developing early literacy and becoming kindergarten ready.
- Additional ASU interns assist the children's mothers with English literacy development, enhanced parenting skills, and practice with computer and other job skills.
- A third group of interns provides after-school tutoring to the three-year-olds’ school-aged siblings. Project enhancements include Internet access and a garden club.
- Enhanced literacy, math, and language skills
- Improved problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
- Increased school attendance
- Reduced anti-social behavior
- Higher expectations about college attendance
- Increased parental involvement and support
- Enhanced family perception about value and purpose of education
- Stronger, healthier family units
Leadership in a Service Setting Internship: In addition to the leadership skills they develop in the community, students who have completed a service-learning affiliated course are eligible for a "Leadership in a Service Setting" internship, during which they build on their leadership skills and implement service leadership projects. Upon completion of the Leadership internship, students are eligible for a semester-long "Capstone Service" project, during which they lead other students engaged in service-learning.
America Reads/Counts: Federally funded America Reads/Counts tutors link with service-learning interns to provide literacy development for both children and their parents. Teachers, tutors, and interns partner to develop projected learning outcomes for participants.
AmeriCorps*VISTA: As the official AmeriCorps*VISTA program for ASU, the Service-Learning program provides AmeriCorps*VISTA support for faculty who want to build sustainability for their community-based projects.
JumpStart: Federally funded tutors assist Head Start participants in developing kindergarten-readiness and emerging literacy.
Context
In 1993 ASU founded the Supplemental Education Partnership with Roosevelt Elementary School District and The Salvation Army. Since its inception, the Partnership has become a multi-faceted, campus- and community-wide initiative, growing to include Tempe #3, Mesa Unified, Phoenix Elementary, and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community school districts, as well as nonprofit sites throughout the community. Major program funding support is provided by our education, business, and industry partners.
The Service Learning Program is the vehicle through which the partnership’s primary activities are carried out. All internship projects are designed and carried out in collaboration with community partners. Since 1994, when two service-learning sections of English Composition were linked to community internships, the program has expanded to support discipline-specific service-learning internships and course-embedded service-learning throughout the University, providing extensive training, oversight, research, and outreach opportunities for students and faculty. Over 350 undergraduate and graduate students are involved each semester in experience-based research, writing, and field application of their classroom learning, and an ever-increasing number of tenured and non-tenured faculty and graduate teaching assistants are mastering the pedagogies of engagement.
Outcome
Program Goals- Enhance ASU students’ academic skills through classroom-linked community engagement
- Promote students’ life-long commitment to the civic community
- Motivate and assist at-risk children and youth K-12 to develop academic skills and self-esteem that will enable them to persist and succeed in school and become productive citizens
- Assist parents to develop the skills to act as their children’s first teachers and mentors, while becoming self-sufficient, productive citizens
- Greater mastery of coursework
- Increased ability to work and learn
- Enhanced ability to think critically
- Enhanced ability to solve problems independently
- Stronger sense of connection to classmates
- Heightened appreciation for cultural diversity
- Improved relationships with faculty
- Opportunities to explore career options
- Increased desire to stay in college
- ASU students involved: 3,260
- Children / youth/ parents 8,391
- Tutoring / mentoring hours: 440,927
- "Science is Fun" Demos: 458
- Science Demonstration hours: 744
- Total Community Contact hours: 460,671
- Community / University funding: $2 mil+
- In-kind value: $7,089,727
Evidence
Community Impact Assessment
Following are the results of service-learning program effectiveness assessments conducted by partner schools:
SCHOOL ASSESSED: C. O. Greenfield Middle School (Roosevelt School District)
Assessment conducted: May 1999
Grade assessed: 6th
Assessment method: School compared Stanford 9 (SAT) scores for 6th graders participating in ASU service-learning tutoring for one year with their pre-tutoring 5th grade Stanford 9 test scores in math, reading, and writing.
Result: All students’ scores increased significantly over previous year. Average increase in math, reading, and writing scores was 17 points; the majority of students assessed doubled their previous year’s scores. Greenfield School attributes full credit for this dramatic increase to the ASU Service Learning Program, which piloted grade-specific in-class science classes and after-school tutoring during academic year 1998-99.
SCHOOL ASSESSED: Salt River Elementary School (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community)
Assessment conducted: June 1998
Grade assessed: 6th
Assessment method: Community’s Education Department compared Stanford 9 scores for all state’s reservation schools (average test score percentages for math, reading and writing fell in mid-teens).
Result: Salt River scores compared with other reservation schools except for the Salt River 6th grade, where ASU had been tutoring in Physical Geography for one year. Scores for this class were in the mid-30th percentile. The Salt River Education Department attributes full credit to this increase to the ASU Service Learning Program.
SCHOOL ASSESSED: Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (Roosevelt School District). All students assessed were enrolled in the ASU Service Learning Tutoring Program at the Salvation Army Youth and Family Center
Assessment conducted: Date not available. Received results in Fall 1997
Grade assessed: Participating students were from grades 1-4
Assessment method: Not known
Result: Students who had participated in the tutoring program for at least two years achieved 75% mastery level on Roosevelt district-wide tests.
PROGRAM ASSESSED: ASU tutoring for Kenilworth School at The Salvation Army Citadel (Phoenix Elementary).
Assessment conducted: July 1999, August 2000
Grade assessed: 1999: Eighteen 4th grade students at-risk of not being promoted to the 5th grade; 2000: Twenty 4th grade students at-risk of not being promoted to the 5th grade; 2001: Seventeen 4th grade students at-risk of not being promoted to the 5th grade
Program design: Parents were informed that if their students attended ASU one-on-one daily tutoring for the five-week duration of the program and satisfactorily completed all ASU and Kenilworth requirements, they would be assessed for promotion
Assessment method: Ongoing testing and observation by school officials and ASU program supervisors
Result: In all three years, 100 percent of participating students satisfactorily completed program and qualified for promotion.
Posted On
September 13, 2001For More Information