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Susan A. Abravanel, YSA Pete Ready, ODE

Learning Through Service: Teaching and Engaging for Student Success. Susan A. Abravanel, YSA Pete Ready, ODE. 2009 Superintendent’s Summer Institute. Improving communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles.

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Susan A. Abravanel, YSA Pete Ready, ODE

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  1. Learning Through Service:Teaching and Engaging for Student Success Susan A. Abravanel, YSAPete Ready, ODE 2009 Superintendent’s Summer Institute

  2. Improving communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles.

  3. Engaging young people in substantive roles solving authentic problems leads to: Student Achievement Workforce Readiness Stronger Communities

  4. Engaging

  5. The Dropout Problem Percentage reporting that their school’s graduation rates were 90% or higher . . . Teachers 48% Principals 55%

  6. The Dropout Problem Average on-time national graduation rate was between 68 and 75 % at the time of the survey

  7. Activity • As a pair, develop a written, verbal, artistic, or other picture of a disengaged student. • How you can tell that the young person is disengaged, using at least some of the senses? (what does the person look like? what does the person sound like? how does the person feel?) • What are the key cues to notice?

  8. Student Engagement • Over 1/3rd of students do not take school seriously and get through the day by fooling around with classmates; • 1/2 said their classes were boring; • 2/3rds say they cheated on a school test; • 90% copied homework from someone else; • 80% say it is not important to get good grades in school; • 20% say they do not try hard in school because they are worried what their friends may think; • 20% say disengagement is a result of confusion or difficulty of subject matter, particularly in math and science.

  9. Engagement Research • Researchers (Brewster & Fager, 2000:7) recommend: • Ensure course materials relate to students’ lives and highlight ways learning can be applied in real-life situations(Lumsden, 1994; Skinner and Belmont, 1991); • Help students feel that schoolwork is significant, valuable, and worthy of their efforts(Policy Studies Associates, 1995); • Allow students to have some degree of control over learning(Brooks, et. al., 1998);

  10. Engagement Research • Assign challenging but achievable tasks for all students. Tasks that seem impossible and those that are rote and repetitive discourage learners (Dev, 1997; Policy Studies Associates, 1995); • Stimulate students’ curiosity about the topic being studied (Strong, Silver, and Robinson, 1995);

  11. Engagement Research • Design projects that allow students to share new knowledge with others. Projects are more engaging when students share what they are learning in reciprocal relationships, as in collaborative projects where each student’s knowledge is needed by others in the group to complete an assignment (Strong, Silver, and Robinson, 1995); • Develop caring and trust between teachers and students(Nodding, 2000: 36).

  12. The Dropout Problem Teachers and principals know students who were capable of graduating but failed to complete high school. 77 percent of teachers and 71 percent of principals strongly favored alternative learning environments to reduce the dropout rate.

  13. Service-Learning . . . a teaching and learning strategy integrating meaningful community service with academic study and reflective practice to enrich learning,build civic engagement, and strengthen communities.

  14. Service-learning is not: An episodic volunteer program An add-on to an existing curriculum Completing minimum service hours tosatisfy a class or graduation requirement Service assigned as a form of punishment One-sided: benefiting onlystudents or only the community

  15. Service-Learning is . . . Real service Real learning

  16. K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice

  17. Meaningful Service Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.

  18. “School is kind of boring… warm-up, lectures, PowerPoint's and videos. It is not very often that we get a class like this where we learn and do real science…we can help the community if our teachers show us how.”

  19. Link to Curriculum Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.

  20. “Service-learning is doing something for your community but at the same time learning about something school-related like horticulture, science or math. You learn a lot more because you connect with your teacher and meet people who care about you…you never would have met them if it wasn’t for service-learning.”

  21. Reflection Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.

  22. Diversity Service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.

  23. Youth Voice Service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences with guidance from adults.

  24. Partnership Service-learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs.

  25. “Service-learning is used to help the community through partnerships with other people…when you have a happier community your friends and family are happier…it will be a better placeto live.”

  26. Progress Monitoring Service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.

  27. Duration and Intensity Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

  28. S-L at Lincoln K-8Title1, 6-8 Blend, 28% ELs, 45% at Risk Essential Question: How can we maximize survivability of Kincaid’s Lupine and Nelson’s Checkermallow in the school greenhouse? Double Jeopardy! Fender’s Blue Butterfly Kincaid’s Lupine

  29. Week 1:Institute for Applied Ecology visits schools and explains problem with growing plants. Asks students for help. • Week 2:Discuss research question for work sample: plant lupine and checkermallow seeds • Week 3:Plant lupine/checkermallow seeds in greenhouse, discuss final product of S-L project such as presentations, Youth Summit, and peer involvement • Week 4:Plan and implement question • Week 5-7: Implement project • Week 8:Field trip for “site-prep” and examination of future planting site. • Week 9:4-H Wildlife Stewards Conference, ODFW, and school wide assembly to recruit students to help plant the seedlings at the field site. • Week 10: Planting at field site • Years to come : Monitor, survival rates, refine previous years hypotheses and keep growing plants!

  30. Link to the Curriculum • 90% of students received a score of 4 or higher for 3 of the 4 “Scientific Inquiry” assessment areas. • Success was driven by long-term goals, time to complete project, authentic learning objectives, student engagement, and student accountability to their community.

  31. Connections: To the Oregon Diploma • Learn & Serve Grant (’09-12) • Implementation Districts • Sustainability Districts • Professional Development Tracks • Priority Categories Include: • The Oregon Diploma Inquiry-Based Science • Essential Skills Strategic Partnerships • Credit for Proficiency Civic Engagement • Career & Technical Education

  32. Service-Learning S-L Connections: To Other Initiatives Content Standards Oregon Diploma & Essential Skills Career & Technical Education Character Education Safe/Drug-Free Schools Community Education – Title IV-B Afterschool Education Plan & Profile Comprehensive Guidance & Counseling -- Youth Development School to Work, Youth Pre-Apprenticeship YSA, AmeriCorps Title Programs

  33. Service-LearningProject Examples ODE 2006-9 Service-Learning Grants: K-12 schools – Astoria, Canby, Cascade, Corvallis, David Douglas, Lane ESD, Oregon City, Pendleton, Rainier, St. Helens, SOLV, Tillamook, WESD [Robert Farrell].

  34. S-L: Oregon Examples Relief Nursery(35 HS Lit) – Child Abuse & Welfare), Pediatric Cancer(35 HS Lit), Food for Lane County(15 HS Lit.) Students studied Lane Co. hunger & poverty, engaged in an extended learning project, toured Lane Co. Food Bank, worked at local Food for Lane County farm 2 hrs/wk for 7 weeks. Art in Motion(15 HS Adv Video Students work with Teachers: make many Lrng Art project Packets for teacher use & Older students teach younger students), Diversity Circles(30 HS after 3 days of training Lead Groups @ HS MS & ES) Field/stream testing & Wet Well(Science classes, District-Wide EWEB grant) Down by the Riverside– 350 students ES (45) MS (175) HS (95+) - 4 env. projects across multiple days: trail construction, invasive species, pond rehabilitation projects.

  35. S-L: Oregon Examples Classes using S-L: Spanish ELL Buddy Program(35 AP Spanish 3) Students help high-need ES & MS as mentors & buddies) Give & Take Theater Project(25 HS writing Theater project for ES & perform for ES) Veterans’ Projects (160 HS 11-12th Global Realities Class – interviewed vets, wrote reflection papers, exhibits w/ photos & transcripts) U.S. Military Hero (45 Sr. Engl. – Interviewed military or family, built & sent care boxes overseas. Unit: formal letter-writing. Elder Memory Books (15 Sp Ed HS interviewed seniors about their lives, researched their period of time found graphics for seniors. Super responses. Community 101 - Awarded $5,000 to non-profits to respond to child abuse in the community.

  36. S-L: Oregon Examples SPS High School:650 students participated in S-L activities, engaging in a total of 5,600 hrs of Preparation and/or Reflection and 6,100 hours of Service. One Literature project implemented a Service-Learning project related to children’s literacy.

  37. S-L: Oregon Examples Students engaged in multiple activities including: researching literacy statisticslearning why literacy is important for brain developmenteducational progress and economic survival. They received reading training from school district Reading Trainers. They also completed literacy training and mentoring for preschool and early ES children.

  38. S-L: Oregon Examples Students used their literacy skills to organize and conduct a book drive, write press releases to publicize the event and its success. They wrote a brochure explaining why reading to children is important and they wrote a children’s book. Students from this class have engaged in presentations at the school, district and the state level.

  39. Learn and Serve-funded Oregon Resource Districts will work with interested Districts in understanding and implementing service-learning as an effective strategy to embed The Oregon Diploma graduation standards in district plans. Connections:To Graduation Standards

  40. More Information / Resources Oregon Department of Education www.ode.state.or.us/go/servicelearning Learn and Serve America www.learnandserve.gov Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse www.servicelearning.org Youth Service America www.ysa.org

  41. Your questions?

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