LEARNING THROUGH SERVING LEARNING THROUGH S E RV I N G A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning Across the Disciplines Christine M. Cress Peter J. Collier Vicki L. Reitenauer and Associates STERLING, VIRGINIA COPYRIGHT © 2005 BY CHRISTINE M. CRESS, PETER COLLIER AND VICKI REITENAUER Published by Stylus Publishing, LLC 22883 Quicksilver Drive Sterling, Virginia 20166-2102 Book design and composition by Susan Mark Coghill Composition Company Richmond, Virginia All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, recording and information storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Cress, Christine M. (Christine Marie), 1962– Learning through serving : a student guidebook for service-learning across the disciplines / Christine M. Cress, Peter J. Collier, Vicki L. Reitenauer, and associates.—1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-57922-118-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)— ISBN 1-57922-119-X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Student service—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Community and college—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Experiential learning—United States—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Collier, Peter J. (Peter John), 1947– II. Reitenauer, Vicki L. (Vicki Lynn), 1964– III. Title. LC220.5.C72 2005 378.1'03'0973—dc22 2004027300 ISBN: 1-57922-118-1 (cloth) ISBN: 1-57922-119-X (paper) Printed in the United States of America All first editions printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard. First Edition, 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 Acknowledgments The authors want to thank the following for permission to use their copyrighted material: “The Service Learning Cycle” diagram in chapter 6 (from Toole & Toole, 1991; revised 1993 and 2001) with permission of James C. Toole, Compass Institute. Pearson Education, Inc., for the use of figure 6.2 (page 8b), from David A. Kolb. Experiential Learning: Expe- rience as the Source of Learning and Development, © 1984. Adapted with the permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., for permission to reprint the poem “The Low Road” from The Moon Is Always Female by Marge Piercy, © 1980 by Marge Piercy. v Contents INTRODUCTION Why a Book about Learning through Serving? 1 Christine M. Cress PART ONE UNDERSTANDING THELEARNING THROUGH SERVING PROPOSITION 1. WHAT IS SERVICE-LEARNING? 7 Christine M. Cress • What Is Service-Learning? • How Is Service-Learning Different from Other Courses? • Why Is Service-Learning Required at Some Colleges? • What Is a Citizen and Why Must I Learn to Be One? • The Role of Education in a Democracy • How Is Civic Capacity Developed in Service-Learning Courses? • What Else Will I Gain from a Service-LearningCourse? • What We All Gain 2. BUILDING AND MAINTAINING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS 17 Vicki L. Reitenauer, Amy Spring, Kevin Kecskes, Seanna M. Kerrigan, Christine M. Cress, and Peter J. Collier • Orienting the Self toward Serving and Learning • Community Partnerships • Community-Based Learning Environments • Am I Ready for This Challenge? Is My Community Partner Ready for Me? • What’s This Place? What’s MyPlace? • Learning about Your Community Partner • What Now?—Navigating Breakdowns • Developing an Action Learning Plan for Serving • Conclusion vii LEARNING THROUGH SERVING viii 3. BECOMING COMMUNITY Moving from ItoWe 33 Vicki L. Reitenauer • Putting “Community” into a Community-Based Learning Course: A Case Study • Identifying Group Action for the Common Good • Moving from ItoWe • Learning through the Service Project • Conflict within the Community • Getting to We • Reflecting on Individual and Group Change PART TWO LEARNING THE LANDSCAPE, LEARNING THE LANGUAGE 4. GROUPS ARE FUN, GROUPS ARE NOT FUN Teamwork for the Common Good 45 Peter J. Collier and Janelle D. Voegele • “Good Groups”/“Bad Groups” • The Development of a Group: Getting Started . . . and Beyond • Who’s Doing What? Group Norms and Group Roles • Group Cohesion • Communication in Groups • Free-Riders and Other Equity Issues • Groups Revisited 5. CREATING CULTURAL CONNECTIONS Navigating Difference, Investigating Power, Unpacking Privilege 67 Vicki L. Reitenauer, Christine M. Cress, and Janet Bennett • What’s Culture Got to Do with It? • Building Intercultural Sensitivity • A Step Further: Investigating Power and Unpacking Privilege • Conclusion PART THREE FACILITATING LEARNING AND MEANING-MAKING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM 6. REFLECTION IN ACTION The Learning–Doing Relationship 83 Peter J. Collier and Dilafruz R. Williams • Why Reflect? • Connecting Reflection to Service-Learning • Models of Reflection • Deep Reflection CONTENTS ix • Modes of Reflection • Why Reflect? Revisited 7. FAILURE WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS When Things Go Wrong 99 Janelle D. Voegele and Devorah Lieberman • Roadblocks and Flat Tires: A Case Study • Choosing Directions: The Meaning of “Failure” in Service-Learning • Checking the Map: Common Roadblocks • Reading the Signs: Redirecting around Roadblocks • The View from Yesterday: Making Meaning at the End(?) of the Road 8. EXPANDING HORIZONS New Views of Course Concepts 113 Christine M. Cress and Judy Patton • Transformational Learning • Ways of Knowing • Critical Inquiry • Academic Disciplines as Critical Inquiry • Community Partners as Sources of Expertise • Conscious Living • Summary PART FOUR ASSESSING THE ENGAGEMENT EFFORT 9. BEYOND A GRADE Are We Making a Difference? The Benefits and Challenges of Evaluating Learning and Serving 125 Sherril B. Gelmon, Susan Agre-Kippenhan, and Christine M. Cress • Did We Make a Difference? • What Do We Mean by “Evaluation”? • Challenges to Evaluation • A Strategy for Evaluating Service-Learning • Understanding Your Own Experiences • Methods for Evaluating Learning Environments • Measuring Benefits to Community • Other Important Issues in Evaluation 10. LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD Where Do You Go from Here? 139 Peter J. Collier and Vicki L. Reitenauer INDEX 149 THE AUTHORS 153