Title: Service-Learning Effects on the Academic Learning of Rehabilitation Services Students
Abstract: The effects of service-learning on the academic attainment of rehabilitation services students were examined using a quasi-experimental design. One hundred and thirty senior rehabilitation services students enrolled in the medical aspects of disabilities course, 65 with service-learning and 65 with classroom-only instruction. The same instructor taught both sets of students. Student academic achievement was measured over the semester using three multiple-choice examinations and three case studies. The case studies were scored by a teaching assistant blind to the students' learning option. Group comparisons controlled for early semester scores. Students involved with service-learning achieved significantly higher scores on the case studies and comparable scores on the multiple choice tests. Service-learning appeared to enhance academic learning more so than classroom-only instruction. ********** There is evidence to suggest that students learn best when engaged in co-constructing knowledge, testing received knowledge against real life experiences, challenging their own assumptions, and learning from and with civic involvement (Kolb, 1984; Mayer, 2003; Mpofu, 2004; Raman & Pashupati, 2002). Service-learning is a pedagogy that aims to strengthen student academic learning by integrating community-based and classroom learning (Eyler & Giles, 1999), enrich student civic learning, and apply student learning to benefit the broader community (Clark, 1999; Morgan, 2001; Raman & Pashupati). This article reviews the results of a comparative study of student academic achievement in service-learning versus traditional classroom-based learning designed to determine if there was value added when community service is integrated with classroom learning. Service-learning accords students opportunities to make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the real world; it enables students to learn about phenomena in their subtlety and complexity. Students engaged in service-learning make use of reflective journals to analyze community experiences in relation to course objectives, received knowledge, personal values, and solution-focused action (Furco, 1996). As a result, students taking a course with service-learning are more likely to gain a broader understanding of the course content than students experiencing classroom instruction alone. Service-learning is based on several instructional theories and frameworks: experiential learning (Knowles, 1975; Kolb, 1984; Schon, 1987), constructivism (Brooks & Brooks, 1993; Phillips, 1998; von Glaserfield, 1995) and learning communities (Wenger, 1998). These theories emphasize learning as a cycle of action, reflection, and subsequent informed action. Service-learning is consistent with other current trends in higher education, including an emphasis on student learning rather than teaching; interdisciplinary work; identity of colleges/universities as communities of learners in partnership with civic society (Walshok, 1999); and the scholarship of application, integration, and service (Votruba, 1996; Ward, 1998). Service-learning shares responsibility for student learning with teachers, students themselves, and communities, and has the potential to transform colleges/universities from disengaged ivory towers to institutional citizens. There are many variations of service-learning (Bringle & Duffy, 1998; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Mpofu, 2004; Zlotkowski, 1998). The service-learning effort for this study involved a single course within a rehabilitation services program. Regardless of the variation in service-learning program options, well-designed service-learning programs comprise a written plan of learning objectives and activities for the student (Mabry, 1998; Mpofu, 2005; Zlotkowski, 1998). The plan is developed by the student in collaboration with a community partner working with or serving community members (e. …
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 32
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