- ALIGNED!

Did you know? In 2008, the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) distributed their K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. Maryland already had their Seven Best Practices for Service-Learning, which had been widely distributed across Maryland since 1995.

7 Best Practice History  Initial data generated through interviews in 1994 with 70 teachers in Maryland who were doing high quality service- learning.  Data reviewed and refined by a work group comprised of local school system service-learning contacts, teachers, and MSDE/Maryland Student Service Alliance staff. Draft 7 Best Practices created.  Final review and refinement of Best Practices by a national work group of service-learning experts.  Current 7 Best Practices published and distributed in  The 7 Best Practices are deeply embedded within all aspects of service-learning in Maryland.

National Standards History  Work stimulated by the necessity of using credible research to support education strategies.  Process began with a review of the Essential Elements of Service-Learning (national project) which were developed in the last decade. The validity of each Element was tested using a survey of high quality service-learning research studies.  Next, experts in the field were convened to draft the initial set of standards.  Standards were then presented for public comment.  Fine-tuned national service-learning standards were released and distributed in _facts/standards

The question became

Maryland’s 7 Best Practices of Service-Learning Meet a recognized need in the community Achieve curricular objectives through service- learning Reflect throughout the service-learning experience Develop student responsibility Establish community partnerships Plan ahead for service-learning Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service National Standards and Indicators for Effective Service-Learning Practice Meaningful Service Link to Curriculum Reflection Diversity Youth Voice Partnerships Progress Monitoring Duration and Intensity Service-Learning Standards – Side by Side Comparison

Standard #1 Best Practice #1 Meet a recognized need in the community Students work to identify pressing community needs and devise and participate in projects that address those needs. National Standard #1 Meaningful Service Standard: Service- learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.

New Best Practice/Standard #1 A community need is identified and participants engage in meaningful and personally relevant activities to address those needs. Project goals and community needs will dictate the project’s duration and intensity. Address a recognized need in the community

Supporting Research Furco (2002) found that the young people in his California study who had the strongest outcomes were those engaged in meaningful service activities that challenged them, interested them, or gave them the highest levels of responsibility.

Standard #2 Best Practice #2 Achieve curricular objectives through service-learning Service-learning provides an opportunity for classroom knowledge to be applied and tested in real-life settings. National Standard #2 Link to Curriculum Standard: Service- learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.

Service-learning is an intentional instructional strategy used to meet existing course outcomes by providing opportunities for classroom knowledge to be applied and tested in real-life settings. New Best Practice/Standard #2 Achieve curricular objectives

Supporting Research Kirkham (2001) reported that nearly all of the teachers who connected service-learning to their curriculum reported that students who participated in service- learning mastered more knowledge and skills than they would have learned through regular instruction and that their grades improved and absenteeism decreased.

Standard #3 Best Practice #3 Reflect throughout the service-learning experience Through reflection activities in the form of discussions, journaling, performing, writing, etc., students come to more fully understand the connection of their schoolwork to the service work performed. National Standard #3 Reflection Standard: 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.

Through a variety of challenging and on-going reflection activities, students engage in deep thinking and analysis about oneself, one’s relationship to society, and how academic knowledge and skills can be applied to help the community. New Best Practice/Standard #3 Reflect throughout the service- learning experience

Supporting Research In a study of high school students, Billig, Root, and Jesse (2005) reported that the more cognitive challenge within the reflection activities, the more likely students were to engage in and value school, feel more efficacious, and acquire more civic knowledge and more positive civic dispositions. Those youth who engaged in the greatest amount of reflection were the most engaged in school. Waterman (1993) reported that students who engaged in more reflection had stronger self-confidence and social responsibility than those who did not.

Standard #4 Best Practice #4 Develop student responsibility High quality service- learning allows students to take leadership and ownership over the projects performed. National Standard #5 Youth Voice Standard: Service- learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service- learning experiences with guidance from adults.

Students take leadership and ownership in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences with age-appropriate guidance. New Best Practice/Standard #4 Develop Student Responsibility

Supporting Research Research demonstrates (i.e. Bradley, et al., 2007) that students who had more ownership over the development and presentation of their service- learning projects had higher increases in self- confidence, personal efficacy, interpersonal communication, and critical thinking skills.

Standard #5 Best Practice #5 Establish community partnerships Service-learning experiences provide opportunities for students to learn about their communities, explore career possibilities, and work with diverse groups of individuals. National Standard #6 Partnerships Standard: Service- learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs.

Service-learning experiences provide opportunities for students to learn about their local or global communities, explore career possibilities, and work with diverse groups of individuals in a collaborative and mutually beneficial way. New Best Practice/Standard #5 Establish community partnerships

Supporting Research Reciprocal partnerships were identified as critical success factors in institutionalizing service-learning practice by Ammon, Furco, Chi, and Middaugh (2002), Billig (2002b), and Bailis (2000). Bailis concluded that the most benefit would be derived in a partnership that was long-term, well-designed, and mutually beneficial, characterized by collaborative communication and interaction between the stakeholders and using efficient leveraging of community assets.

Standard #6 Best Practice #6 Plan ahead for service- learning As with all effective instruction, an action plan must be created which features specific objectives to be achieved through the activity. National Standard #7 Progress Monitoring Standard: 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.

With community, student, and teacher input, create an action plan and continuously assess the progress toward specific objectives using results for improvement and sustainability of the project. New Best Practice/Standard #6 Plan ahead for service-learning

Supporting Research Shumer (1997) concluded that reflection and feedback were necessary for monitoring the flow and direction of practice to ensure that goals were met.

Standard #7 Best Practice #7 Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for service To effectively engage in a project, students must understand the issue they will be addressing. As part of preparing to engage in service-learning, students are often required to conduct research, read articles, and listen to guest speakers. Students also need to learn project specific skills, as well as explore issues related to citizenship and civic engagement. National Standard # 4 Diversity Standard: Service- learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.

Mutual respect among all participants is established when students fully understand the complexities of the issue, acquire the project specific skills, and explore the importance of civic responsibility. New Best Practice/Standard #7 Equip students with knowledge and skills needed for civic engagement

Supporting Research Some service-learning practices led to reinforcing stereotypes and promoting the imbalance of power in the relationship between social groups. Simmons and Toole (2003) noted that a missionary ideology is less likely when service planning is based on an assets model, when participants directly address the issue of culture, and when reflection activities ask participants to think about the larger context of societal needs and cultural traditions of those being served and those providing the service.

Standard #8 Maryland has Seven Best Practices! Much thought was given to creating an eighth standard to match the National Standards. Maryland realized this criteria is met through our existing service-learning graduation requirement of 75 hours of student engagement. National Standard #8 Duration and Intensity Standard: Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

COMAR Reg 13A General Instructional Programs 13A D. Student Service. Students shall complete one of the following:.... (1) seventy-five hours of student service that includes preparation, action, and reflection components and that, at the discretion of the local school system, may begin during the middle grades; or (2) a locally-designed program in student service that has been approved by the State Superintendent of Schools. Our COMAR Reg is our duration and intensity statement!

Added Benefits of Aligning Data, data, data! The new national standards and corresponding data support Maryland’s existing 7 Best Practices. The fine tuning of Maryland’s 7 Best Practices allows us to more closely align with the new national standards and draw on their body of research, which validates what we’ve believed all along - Service-Learning is an effective instructional strategy!

Links to the National Standards Standards and Indicators for Effective Service-Learning Practice Standards and Indicators for Effective Service-Learning Practice K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice The New K-12 Standards for Service-Learning: Supporting Research and Implications for Practice (pdf) The New K-12 Standards for Service-Learning: Supporting Research and Implications for Practice Toward Research-Based Standards for K-12 Service- Learning (pdf) Toward Research-Based Standards for K-12 Service- Learning Unpacking What Works in Service-Learning: Promising Research-Based Practices to Improve Student Outcomes (pdf) Unpacking What Works in Service-Learning: Promising Research-Based Practices to Improve Student Outcomes Growing to Greatness 2008 (pdf) Growing to Greatness 2008

Links to the Research NYLC: Service-Learning Resource Library (to all of the articles) NYLC: Service-Learning Resource Library Can Service-Learning Help Reduce the Achievement Gap? (pdf) Can Service-Learning Help Reduce the Achievement Gap? The Generator, August 2007 (pdf) The Generator, August 2007 Lessons from Research on Teaching and Learning (pdf) Lessons from Research on Teaching and Learning Symbiosis: When Service-Learning Meets the Work of Howard Gardner (pdf) Symbiosis: When Service-Learning Meets the Work of Howard Gardner

Where do we go from here? Future publications will reflect these changes and will reference the new standards. Pages 6-13 in the Maryland Student Service-Learning Guidelines book will be replaced with revised materials to reflect the new standards. Some of the pages even feature new projects! For a Sneak Peek at the new pages, click here!click here

Thank you to all of those who assisted in this project. Julie Ayers Wendy Blackwell Jodi Buckson Sharon Chirgott Bobbi Coffman Cheree Davis Nancy Fox Natasha Harbison Paula McCoach Kara Miley-Libby Michele Milligan Marissa Spears Margaret Strohecker Mary Wade Marjorie Watson Madeline Yates

This material is based upon work supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service under the Learn and Serve America Grant No. 09KSAMD100. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Corporation or the Learn and Serve America Program. The K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice are reprinted with permission of the National Youth Leadership Council. Copyright © 2008 National Youth Leadership Council, St. Paul, Minn. All rights reserved.