Supporting Student Learning Outcomes Through Service Learning
Michelle Bettencourt (PhD, University of North Carolina at Greensboro) is Associate Professor of Spanish, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of North Carolina at Asheville.
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.
Number of times cited: 7
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