Service for Learning Article

8/2/2019 Service for Learning Article

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28 E d u c a t i o n a l l E a d E r s h i p / M a y 2 0 1 1

Far from being adistraction, servicelearning can help

students build academicskills while they becomemore involved in thecommunity.Rahima Wade

Saige Peterson and Julie Mor-rison, along with their 4thgrade classmates at Heber

Hunt Elementary School inSedalia, Missouri, started

a literacy campaign with a closet fullof used books. Their Trade-a-Bookprogram invited students in the schoolto add a book to the collection and takeone with them to read. Building on this success, the 4thgraders became reading buddies for kindergartners at theirschool and then wrote a request for a small grant to purchaseboard books for newborn babies and their families at theBothwell Regional Health Center. The elementary studentsalso wrote letters to accompany the books, extolling thevirtues of reading.

Saige and Julies literacy campaign is an exemplar of com-munity service learning, a teaching strategy in which studentsuse their academic skills and knowledge to meet school orcommunity needs. Community service learning has beenwidely acknowledged as a promising approach for enhancingstudents academic, social, and civic development andstrengthening a schools connections with the community.

Yet the prevalence of service learning in U.S. schoolsdecreased during the past decade. One recent survey of more

than 2,000 K12 public school principals revealed that only24 percent of their schools include service learning experi-ences in the curriculum, compared with 32 percent in 1999(Spring, Grimm, & Dietz, 2008). Why the decrease? Only12 percent of the principals said that they believed servicelearning could increase academic achievement in coresubjects.

Service Learning and Academic Achievement Academic achievement has always been a centerpiece inpublic schools, but never as much as during the No Child LeftBehind (NCLB) era. NCLB has spawned an array of practicesaimed at improving students test scores, particularly in lit-eracy and math. High-stakes assessments have driven schoolsto adopt a rigorous and focused approach to reading, writing,and math instruction that takes up the majority of the day in

Service for

Fourth graders Julie Morrison and Saige Peterson started a literacy campaign for familiesat Heber Hunt Elementary School in Sedalia, Missouri.

P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f h a l s m i t h / s e d a l i a d e m o c r a t

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many schools. Seeing service learning as a practice that pro-duces mainly affective or civic outcomes, some educators havedecided that there is no time for it.

Two related facts challenge this conclusion. First, high-quality service learning engages students; and second,

engagement is crucial to academic achievement (Collins & Valentine, 2010). High school graduation rates in the UnitedStates peaked in 1969 at 77 percent. Last year, nearly one inthree students didnt graduate (Melville, 2006). Highlightingthe importance of service learning, David Eisner, formerCEO of the federal Corporation for National and CommunityService, noted,

The number of students failing to graduate is rising to epidemicproportions. Yet we see that many schools are missing a keyopportunity to use this proven strategy to help their studentsbecome more motivated and engaged both in and out of theclassroom. (quoted in Scott, 2008)

Debating the pros and cons of variousteaching strategies is irrelevant if wecant prevent students from droppingout of school. Service learning is oneavenue for keeping students interested.

Teachers across the United Stateshave found ways to involve studentsin meaning ful service while enhancingtheir learning. Age is no barrier tothese kinds of projects: kindergartenstudents can count pennies or cannedgoods donated to help the hungry, andhigh school students can use discrete

mathematical modeling to develop themost efficient route to deliver Meals on

Wheels to homebound seniors. Servicelearning projects can incorporate factsand skills in any subject area, butkeeping the focus on literacy and mathmay be most beneficial for schools con-cerned with upcoming state tests.

Literacy and Service LearningLets take a closer look at the literacy campaign that Saige,

Julie, and their classmates initiated. How many 4th gradersdo you know who have written grant proposals? Writing thegrant proposal, along with reading books that others tradedin, supporting kinder garten reading buddies, and writingletters to accompany the board books for local newbornsrequired these 4th graders to grow in their literacy skills. The

LearningService learning not only helpsthe community, but also helps tobuild community in increasinglydiverse U.S. neighborhoods.

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30 E d u c a t i o n a l l E a d E r s h i p / M a y 2 0 1 1

students also developed presentationskills when they presented their project

at the state and national service learningconferences in 2010. Julie and Saiges literacy cam-

paign demonstrates how high-qualityservice learning combines engagementwith academic skill development. Soalthough it may seem like the testingtrain and the service learning trolleyare headed in opposite directions, afocused approach to service learningcan get both vehicles on the same track.See Projects That Support LiteracyLearning for more ideas for projects in

which students can use lit-eracy skills to help others.

Math and Service Learning When Kathy Phillipsshigh school math classesat Inola High School inInola, Indiana, researched,designed, and built kiosksfor the schools outdoorclassroom walking trail,Phillips noticed a differencein her students learning.

Students who could notunderstand precision whentaught in the classroomfrom the book truly under-stood the concept when wewere building the kiosks,she said.

In another class, studentsused their geometry skillsto address the problem of hunger locally by buildingraised vegetable gardens.Partnering with other

classes (a science classgrew the seedlings) and thecommunity (businesses,churches, and local orga-nizations provided gardenspace and made sure thatthe vegetables were dis-tributed to those in need)contributed to students

success. And the academic connectionswere abundant. Students used a host

of geometrical concepts: perimeter,surface area, volume, similarity, ratio,proportion, scale drawings, propertiesof shapes, and angle measures.

Students can also incorporate eco-nomics and math in projects that focuson developing and selling a product.Karin Gratz, a Lead to Succeed programconsultant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,worked with high school students todesign and sell custom rain barrels. Inthe fall, students gathered data on thebenefits of rain barrels. In the spring,

they designed and decorated rainbarrels that they sold to residents, busi-

nesses, and community organizations.Proceeds from such projects can beused to further the student-run businessor be donated to a cause related tothe project. (In the case of the rainbarrel project, proceeds were donatedto the Inter national Water Resources

Association.)From the simplest computation

strategies to advanced uses of statisticaldata and math functions, students of allages can use their math skills to addressschool and community needs. See

Projects That Support MathLearning for additionalservice learning projectideas.

Principles for ProjectDevelopment

Whether teachers choose todevelop a literacy-orientedactivity or a project thatmakes use of students mathskills, the same essentialprinciples apply. Teachers

can ensure that their servicelearning projects attend toboth students learning andrelevant community needsby answering the followingquestions:

n What skills orknowledge do I want mystudents to learn or use?

n Who in our communityneeds these skills andknowledge or could benefitfrom my students use of

these skills and knowledge?n How can students use

their skills or knowledge tohelp others?

Lets say you are a 5thgrade teacher who wantsyour students to develop andpractice the skill of iden-tifying the main idea in a

Projects That Support Literacy Learningn Practice reading a book and then read it to a youngerchild, a senior citizen, or someone learning English.

n Read a book that will teach you how to do somethingto help othersand then do it! (For example, build a bird-house, make toys or animals at the animal shelter, or planta garden.)

n Make an alphabet book to give to a young child or donateto parents with a newborn baby through the local hospital.

n Make vocabulary books or students learning English.

n Be a secretary or someone who has di fculty writing(someone with a disability or illness). Ask whether theperson would like to dictate a letter to a amily member or

riend.

n Coordinate a book drive to collect new and used books inexcellent condition or children who do not have access tomany books (children living in poverty or disaster areas, alocal Head Start program, or a shelter).

n Review the books in the school or local library that areabout one or more ethnic groups. Recommend removingbooks with stereotypical or outdated content and replacingthem with newer, more positive books. Hold a story hour

eaturing the new books or create a display in the library.

n Hold a used book sale at the school or the local library anddonate the unds raised to a worthy cause.

n Organize a weekly or monthly story hour at a nursinghome, day-care center, hospital school, library, or low-income housing area.

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text. Two populations who could benefitfrom this skill are seniors in nursing

homes who have difficulty reading orcomprehending and very young childrenwho are learning to read. A possibleproject with the seniors might be to readnewspaper articles to them and discussthe main idea. With young children, the5th graders could read picture books tothem and develop comprehension ques-tions that focus on the main ideas in thetext.

The National Youth LeadershipCouncils K12 Service-Learning Stan-dards for Quality Practice

(available at www.nylc.org/objects/publications/ StandardsDoc.pdf) pro-vides further guidance inplanning projects.

Service Learning BuildsCommunity

Although educators mustkeep their eyes on howany teaching strategy,including service learning,contributes to academic

achievement, there aremany other benefits of service learning. Enhancedself-esteem and socialresponsibility have alwaysbeen strong outcomes(Wade, 1997). Servicelearning not only helpsthe community, but alsohelps to buildcommunityin increasingly diverseU.S. neighbor hoods. JillPeterson, service learning

coordinator at Heber HuntElementary, noted,

We have worked very hardto gain the trust of theLatino community, andservice learning has beena huge part of that. It hasmade a big difference inthat relation ship. [Latinoparents] are finally feeling

comfortable with the school where beforethey were afraid to ask questions or gethelp. We have made it a goal to get allparents into the building more, and oftenbecause of that, they have taken moreof an interest in their childs education,which will hopefully show on our stateassessments.

High-quality service learning holdspromise for increasing studentengagement, enhancing academicachievement, providing authentic usesfor students literacy and math skills,boosting self-esteem, teaching social

responsibility, and providing fertileground for nourishing a rich and

diverse school community. Educatorsat all levels would be wise to takeadvantage of all that service learninghas to offer. EL

References

Collins, J., & Valentine, J. (2010, October).Testing the impact of student engagementon standardized achievement: An empiricalstudy of the influence of classroomengagement on test scores across school types. Presentation at the University Council forEducational Administration Annual Con-

vention, New Orleans, LA.Melville, K. (2006). The school

drop out crisis.Richmond, VA:University of Richmond PewPartnership for Civic Change.Retrieved from www.pew-partnership .org/pdf/dropout_overview.pdf

Scott, S. (2008, November 12).Student service on the rise, butless connected to learning[Pressrelease]. Washington, DC:Corporation for National andCommunity Service. Retrievedfrom www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/ releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=1157

Spring, K., Grimm, R., Jr., &Dietz, N. (2008). Communityservice and service learning in

Americas schools.Washington,DC: Corporation for Nationaland Community Service.

Wade, R. (1997). Communityservice learning: A guide toservice in the public school cur-riculum. Albany: State Uni-versity of New York Press.

Rahima Wade works for theGreenfield Public Schools inGreenfield, Massachusetts,and for Union Institute andUniversity in Montpelier,Vermont. She is also an edu-cation consultant focused onservice learning and socialchange; www.rahima wade.com; rahima [email protected].

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Projects That Support Math Learningn Collect, weigh, and categorize the schools trash. Developa plan to lessen the amount of waste and increase recycling.

n Build birdhouses, benches, or gardens for the school orcommunity.

n Use money and measurement skills to plan, purchase thematerials for, and build a bulletin board to display studentwork in the schools front lobby.

n Use architectural and geometric skills to plan, design, and

present a blueprint for a proposed local museum or otherpublic site.

n Make a map to scale of a nature trail or a walking tour oflocal historical sites.

n Study the traf c patterns or parking lot issues at school,and design a plan to remedy the traf c ow problems.

n Locate national or local statistics on a social issue. Writeletters to advocate change, or sponsor a fund-raiser anddonate the proceeds to an organization working on theissue.

n Learn about the math involved with ling taxes andcompleting tax forms. In partnership with a local InternalRevenue Service of ce or a professional organization of cer-ti ed public accountants, organize tax clinics for people withlow incomes or disabilities.

n Collaborate with a local social service organization toconduct a survey to collect relevant information about com-munity needs. Tally the data and present the ndings to theorganization and the public.

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