The purpose of this study was to describe and examine a model for assessing student learning through reflection in service-learning courses. This model utilized a course-embedded process to frame, facilitate, support, and assess students’ depth of learning and critical thinking. Student reflection products in two service-learning courses (a freshman course and an upper-level course) at a public university were examined at two times for depth of academic, personal, and civic learning and for level of critical thinking. Depth of learning and levels of critical thinking between freshmen and upperclassmen were compared. Results suggest that the model and associated rubrics were useful in documenting student learning. Students could identify, describe, and apply their learning. They had difficulty, however, evaluating their learning and thinking critically. There was some enhancement in depth of learning and critical thinking over time with upperclassmen achieving greater depth of learning and higher levels of critical thinking in some areas. Findings indicate that the model is a rigorous tool that can be used to document and assess student learning in service-learning courses.

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The effects of adult day care (ADC) operational choices on the satisfaction of informal caregivers were examined for 312 pairs of caregivers and care receivers from 10 case study sites that participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's national demonstration of Dementia Care and Respite Services. Cognitive, behavioral, and affective components of satisfaction were examined. Satisfaction was represented by measures of perceived affordability, length of stay, intensity of use, and caregiver well-being. Multivariate analyses indicated that controlling for other factors, program operational choices about nursing approaches, respite services, and activities programming had direct and interactive effects on satisfaction. The study concluded that dementia status is not a strong predictor of satisfaction with ADC, and the operational choices made by ADC programs can influence consumer outcomes, but no single choice accounts for all aspects of consumer satisfaction.

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This study explores the notion of hopeful care and suggests that adult day care can support hope in people with dementia and their families. It evaluates how program services might contribute to the delivery of hopeful care. Data were analyzedfrom a sample of 175 pairs of people with dementia and theirfamily caregiversfrom 10 adult day centers who participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Dementia Care and Respite Services program. Results of multivariate regressions indicate that variations in the way adult day services are operationalized appear to influence care receiver and caregiver outcomes theoretically linked to hopeful care.