EDSS 541

RR7: Identify the key elements and process for Service Learning

In the first major section of this book Ms. Kaye approaches the subject of service learning from multiple perspectives.  Each of those perspectives contains key elements of the subject and in many ways each could become a blueprint for a service learning experience, she also presents a formal blueprint which she appears to have developed from the key elements she has presented previously. (I’m looking for a better word than ‘experience’.  While Kaye rightly rejects the term ‘project’ as implying that the service has a defined end-point and may be forgotten once it is over, the term ‘experience’ these days connotes a certain theme park touchy-feeliness and lack of rigor.  Maybe ‘program’ would work.)

Those key elements boil down to:

Four categories of Service Learning: These are Direct Service, Indirect Service, Advocacy and Research.  She points out that Direct Service and Advocacy are more impactful to High School students than the others, which makes sense in light of the moral passion which is so much a part of adolescence.

Service Learning standards for quality practice:  I can only describe these as essential points to consider in the planning and execution of Service Learning programs.  They are very much process-oriented and tend to skew toward a student-centered philosophy.

A five-step process which lays out the essential stages of planning and executing a Service Learning program.  These are Investigation, Preparation and Planning, Action, Reflection and Demonstration.  It is worth noting that here also she shows a very student-centric philosophy, often recommending that the students, rather than the teacher, take the lead in defining the process.  It is also worth noting that she takes the time to explicitly discourage us from using competition as a motivator.

Finally, the Blueprint for Service Learning seems to be a more expanded and detailed exposition of her five-step process in which, along with the various forms summary documents on the CD, she provides the reader with almost a cookbook for an effective Service Learning experience.  The blueprint is a very comprehensive guide which includes strategies for finding connection to different disciplines, engaging parents and community and providing the students with opportunities for reflection and authentic assessment.