Course assignment- Reflection 6

Summary of the reading

 

The reading this week, The Complete Guide to Service Learning:  Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum & Social Action, chapter one provides an overview of the instructional method that is impacting educators approaches to best facilitate student learning by allowing students to actively participate and contribute to making a positive impact on their communities on a local level as well as impacting other communities that may be more distant.  The impacts that students can potentially have in service learning can take place in a variety of ways.  The reading from chapter one provides and overall summary and description of what service learning is and all that it entails. “Service learning connects school based curriculum with the inherent caring and concern young people have for their world” (Kaye, 2010). The reading provides a few examples of service learning based lessons to show what service learning could look like when applied to different classroom settings.  Service learning can be incorporated at all levels of education in grades K-12 as well as post-secondary educational pathways. The reading provides an FAQ section with the intention of addressing points of interest that are commonly questioned about service learning.  The FAQ section is provided to offer clarity and expectantly increase the comfort level of educators in order for them to implement this approach into their classrooms with more ease.  A section in the reading provides the criteria that will ensure the success of both students and educators in service learning activities.  In order to ensure the success of service learning, the K-12 Service Learning Standards for Quality Practice provides a wealth of knowledge on this approach to enlightening the minds of students through social action. There are eight elements of the K-12 Service Learning Standards for Quality Practices.  These elements include meaningful service, a link to curriculum, reflection, diversity, youth voice, partnerships, progress monitoring, and duration and intensity. Service learning has 5 stages that will always being with an investigation stage, leading into the second stage that is preparation and planning.  Next students are expected to engage in their action and following their action, there should enter into the reflection stage.  Finally students enter the fifth stage of service learning in the demonstration stage, also known as “The Big Wow!” in which students explain what they have learned through their service learning as well as how their accomplishments have impacted their targeted community.     

 

Ideas for possible proposals

 

A possible proposal that could use the methods surround around service learning could be in the category of Earth science and environmental issues which are currently significant topics of around the world. The students would develop solutions and approaches associated with organisms and environments in reporting category 4 in the state standards.  This proposal would be aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge Standards (TEKS) for 5^th grade science.  Specifically, TEKS 5.9(A) observe the way organisms live and survive in their ecosystem by interacting with the living and non-living elements, and TEKS 5.9(C) predict the effects of changes in ecosystems caused by living organisms, including humans, such as the overpopulation of grazers or the building of highways.  Students would research the effects of changes in ecosystems and develop their own ideas on approaches to being more proactive in contributing to the preservation of the earth. Students would begin to carry out their ideological approaches in order to increase the sustainability of various ecosystems for different niches within the communities that students live in. Some possible approaches that students might carry out could be a community clean up, increasing awareness of the benefits of recycling, or building a community garden.

 

Concerns and questions for the readings or proposals

 

Brookhart & Nitko (2007), promote the importance of assessing students in order to ensure that they are understanding content objectives through the use of both formative and summative assessments.  How would a teacher go about properly assessing student’s progress and understanding while taking part in any service learning acidity?

 

References

 

Brookhart, S. M.  & Nitko, A. J. (2007).  Educational Assessment of Students (6th ed.)  Upper Saddle      River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Merrill Education. 

 

Kaye, C. B. (2004). The complete guide to service learning: Proven, practical ways to engage students in civic responsibility, academic curriculum, & social action. Free Spirit Publishing.