individually upon their learning through this experience. Each student must demonstrate that
they are able to make specific and meaningful connections with class materials, as well as reflect
on the impact of their participation in the agency as it relates to our mission statement. The
timing of completion of the individual portion of the project is very important for the success of
the second part of the project, the group essay and power point presentation.
Each group submits a group paper and presents their findings to the class with the aid of
power point. The paper includes specific information as it pertains to the agency, interviews with
clients, board members, staff, the incorporation of class materials, and an additional opportunity
for them to demonstrate the learning outcomes of the service learning flag.
semester, during the final examination week, all the groups do a formal presentation of their
findings. The course culminates in a discussion on what we learned about women’s human rights
and their status in the community. The students have the opportunity to compare their
experiences and make some general conclusions on the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges
being confronted by the agencies. The students’ reflective essay and group paper are submitted
electronically and kept in the College server for departmental and college wide assessment
purposes.
Preliminary Adventures in Assessment
At the college level, we are only at early stages of assessment of service learning
effectiveness. The assessment process for the service learning flag combines course embedded
assessment tools and survey question data that measures students’ perceptions. In the case of the
United States Government course, we used essay questions in the final exam; prompts in
Political Experience Log; and assigned questions in the Political Experience Paper. Specifically,
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See Appendix F for a copy of the Service Learning Project-POLS 342.
McKinlay & Lopez 19
Draft – Not for Citation
Convention