Supporting Student Learning Outcomes Through Service Learning

Abstract

Because of the current emphasis on accountability at the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels across all content areas, accreditation agencies, administrators, program designers, course developers, faculty, and students have increasingly focused on stating and measuring student learning outcomes and documenting the relationship between learning activities and achievement of those outcomes. In the three‐way service‐learning partnership made up of the student, the faculty member, and the community partner, student learning is sometimes vaguely defined, often simply assumed to occur, and usually only indirectly assessed. In addition, the extent to which course‐specific learning outcomes are supported during service learning is also unclear. Using action research and the DEAL model for critical reflection, this study measured university‐level, Intermediate Spanish learners’ attainment of course‐specific and non‐course‐specific learning outcomes. Analysis of oral reflective journals, surveys, focus group responses, and interviews indicated that students’ service learning experiences supported most course‐specific learning outcomes and also offered learning opportunities in other unexpected areas.

Staging transformative learning across collegiate language curricula: Student perceptions of structured reflection for language learning

“…In Johnson's (2015) study, English (the students’ L1) was found to play an especially facilitative role for the learners in their ability to process course content with enthusiasm while making rich connections between the L1 and L2. However, even research on community‐based language courses where students tend to possess more advanced levels of proficiency points to a conflicted situation: though students often report language gains as a result of reflecting in the target language, the majority find it challenging and sometimes frustrating to adequately convey their thoughts in that language (Bettencourt, 2015; Clifford & Reisinger, 2019). With these concerns in mind, the curricular model in Figure 2 adopts the position that advanced L2 learners are best positioned, including appropriately challenged, to do reflective work in the target language.…”

Transforming Ways of Enhancing Foreign Language Acquisition in the Spanish Classroom: Experiential Learning Approaches

“…In conclusion, while a complete review of research on experiential learning pedagogical models is beyond the scope of this article, studies have shown that having clear learning outcome goals; asking students to conduct critical reflection; and fostering a collaborative relationship among students, professors, and communities are vital for meaningful engagement and retention (Abbott & Lear, ; Bettencourt, ; Caldwell, ; Grim, ; Hale, ; Hartfield‐Méndez, ; Pellettieri, ; Thompson, ; Wehling, ; Yeh, ). Studies in the field of SLA and pedagogies of engagement have also shown that the inclusion of different pedagogical models that incorporate experiential learning provides students with an opportunity to increase their social connections within the FL and apply recently acquired knowledge in real‐life exchanges with native speakers.…”

The Planning, Implementation, and Assessment of an International Internship Program: An Exploratory Case Study

“…Interventions that combine elements of goal‐setting, self‐assessment, and self‐reflection have been proven to be beneficial in promoting self‐regulated and autonomous learning (Moeller et al, ; Ziegler & Moeller, ). For instance, the description, examination, and articulation of learning (DEAL) model (Ash & Clayton, , ) employed in Bettencourt () was found to be effective in guiding learners of Spanish to reflect on their CSL experience and to take action for future improvement. The model is used to frame formative and summative assessments of student learning in different disciplines.…”