Purpose: To organize a service-learning project around positive intended outcomes. Those include course competencies/learning results and service-learning goals. For educators starting from one or more learning results, we include a table in our customized Google Drive resources showing overlap with S-L project goals. For a partial snapshot, See here.
Page Contents
(Click to jump to a section)
- How goals and objectives fit into project design (table)
- Educator considerations for setting goals and objectives
- Goal categories, purposes, and examples
- Objective categories and descriptions (table)
- Organizing based on S-L goals
- Organizing based on learning results
How goals and objectives fit into project design
These are building blocks for effective S-L projects. Order of use in planning may vary.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Goals/competencies | General, provide directions for learners and educators |
| Objectives | Achievable, measurable (key for assessment), flow from goals |
| Learning strategies | Classroom activities, on-site work, reflection, self-evaluation, presentations, etc. to achieve one or more learning objectives |
| Assessment | A means to see if objectives were met |
Educator considerations for setting goals and objectives
1. Desired educational outcomes/learning results for the year, class, or project
2. How service-learning could increase attainment of one or more of those outcomes or produce other good ones
3. Learner behaviors that will indicate attainment of those outcomes
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S-L goal categories, purposes, and examples
| Category | Purpose | Goal Example |
|---|---|---|
| Academic/learning course content | To apply academic concepts and skills beyond classrooms | Apply course concepts/material to understand or address a community need or issue. |
| Expanding learning capacity | To keep learning as an adult and adapt to new information and life changes | Demonstrate curiosity and resourcefulness as an active/independent lifelong learner. |
| Career develop- ment/readiness | To be effective in various job settings | Effectively make and receive critiques, including of one's own performance in order to improve it. |
| Civic learning/ development | To participate in a democratic system | Demonstrate ethical behavior in personal, academic, professional, and civic activities. |
| Community learning | To connect to and learn from groups | Work with diverse groups (e.g., with ethnic, socioeconomic, age, or other differences). |
| Personal development | To be responsible for and effective in creating a fulfilling life | Identify skills, attitudes, and ideas (e.g., empathy, sense of purpose, and self-confidence) that allow for creating mutually empowering relationships. |
| Non-learner-centric results | To have specific positive impacts beyond the learner | Build relationships/reciprocity between schools and surrounding communities. |
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Objective categories, descriptions, and examples
Purpose: To simplify creating project objectives based on a given goal or learning result.
Objectives typically relate to learners demonstrating knowledge, skills, or values. Here are what those categories often involve. The objective examples below are based on the goal to Apply course concepts/material to understand or address a community need or issue.
| Category | Description | Example Objectives |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Includes awareness, understanding, making distinctions, seeing interconnections, and placing things in context | Students can identify characteristics of an effective persuasive letter or speech in a community context. |
| Skills | Span a range from basic abilities to proficiency to mastery | Students can compose or deliver a persuasive letter or speech on a community need-related subject. |
| Values | Include caring, feeling responsible, respecting, prioritizing, and believing in something | Students show commitment to communicating persuasively in advocating for a community program or effort. |
Organizing based on S-L goals
Recommended approach:
- Choose one or more project goals
- Write objectives based on the goals
- Select learning strategies to include
For more support on this, see the complete list of possible goals. The Drive Educator Guide also has a table listing learning outcomes and overlapping goals for each.
Organizing based on learning results
Recommended approach:
- Choose learning results on which to focus
- Write objectives based on them or overlapping goals (see the Drive Educator Guide for a table of these)
- Select learning strategies to include
For more support on this process, see the complete list of possible goals.