Service Learning and Basic Writing

by Kathleen A. Baca

Doña Ana Branch Community College

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Combining service learning with basic writing produces effects as disparate as the institutions, the students, the agencies or organizations, and the communities involved.

Service learning, first, has differing meanings. The core in all definitions is community service connected to course content. This is opposed to volunteer work with no link to a particular curriculum. Most definitions of service learning also emphasize a reflection component, and I would argue that this element is essential for learning to occur. Service learning fosters personal and civic responsibility and is typically conducted on a local level.

Basic writing, too, has been defined in varying ways, (see DeGenaro and White's module for this listserv at http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/pt/degenaro.html), but for the purposes of our discussion will mean entry level college composition courses, including developmental / remedial / college prep, and possibly first-year or freshman composition.

The combination of service to the community connected to basic writing curriculum is, or can be, a useful pairing.

Basic writers, as they practice real writing that has real impact on their community, can see the value of writing and the need for competence in that writing. These students learn to write as they serve. In a study by the American Association of Community Colleges, students at 16 colleges better understood course materials through service learning.

Basic writing faculty have built-in audience and rhetorical needs in every service learning assignment. Classroom assessment takes on a different feel when students are faced with their work being judged by those in the community -- their community. Adler-Kassner, Crooks, and Watters show this in the introduction to the valuable resource Writing the Community: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Composition. We are no longer assigning "just an English paper," but rather something that will meet a community need; the assignment will, at the same time, reinforce aspects of the writing curriculum.

Institutions that offer basic writing can showcase the talents of basic writers while demonstrating the need for and value of basic writing courses.

Community members benefit from the services provided and from the connection to the college or university community. When there is little connection, there is less opportunity for needs to be met. The community agencies can share their needs with this student audience of service learners, who in turn, share with others in their community.

I'd like for us to consider these questions as a starting point for discussion. Other questions that are suggested from them, or that we have or think of, are fair game.

Should service learning be a part of basic writing classes?

Statistics from the Higher Education Research Institute indicate positive outcomes from service learning; their study involved more than 22,000 undergraduates over a four-year period. Students participating in service learning, as opposed to community service or no service at all, showed gains in "academic performance . . . especially writing skills" (Astin et al.). Eyler and Giles' statistics-rich Where's the Learning in Service-Learning? offers anecdotal and statistical evidence as to the benefits of service learning. Not all evidence regarding service learning is, however, positive. In Michigan State's Service-Learning Writing Project publication, there are samples of work that students have done, and both a pro and con service learning student essay. As Glau shows, (http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/module.html), the data used to describe our programs will often decide how we are funded, what our focus will be, and who will use our services. We must analyze existing data on service learning and do research of our own that includes basic writing.

How can basic writing faculty be trained to use service learning?

In Reynold's work for this listserv at http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/module.html, he suggests that training be linked with administrative concerns, be ongoing, and is best when done within a community of learners/teachers. Service learning can become part of this training.

It has been my experience at the community college that basic writing faculty are eager to try some of the many practices of service learning once they see the solid theoretical background and the research demonstrating its effectiveness –— both which support faculty instincts that students doing community service connected to composition will learn as they serve and serve as they learn.

In Deans' Writing Partnerships: Service-Learning in Composition is a good list of references. These can be used to direct administrators to the many benefits for institutions, not the least of which is the positive public perception that accompanies successful service learning programs. One problem may be that service learning is not valued at all institutions, and thus faculty may eschew service learning research for other areas that are held in higher regard for tenure and promotion decisions. This is especially problematic at institutions where basic writing is already under valued or marginalized. In an interview printed in the inaugural issue of Reflections, Thomas Deans laments the lack of institutional support for service learning. Service learning recognition at other institutions, and the positive outcomes on multiple levels, as evidenced in recent literature, may help to convince administrators that service learning should be implemented.

How can we incorporate service learning in basic writing courses?

Each of us comes to the discussion of basic writing from a different institutional and individual perspective. That said, we do each have course concepts, those "specific literacy practices valued in postsecondary education" from Collins module (http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/module.html). They may differ from institution to institution, but once identified, can be used to focus the service learning practices in our particular college or university basic writing course or program.

What is it that you value in your basic writing class(es)? When providing the content and the practice necessary for students to succeed, practical, "real," meaningful assignments will be part of the package. Service learning can be part of this opportunity to learn course content through service. Reflection, an essential component of service learning, can easily be incorporated into a basic writing class, where students are encouraged to write as part of the course content.

Please begin by sharing your experiences and questions about service learning and basic writing.

• What is the status of service learning on your campus?
• What is the status of service learning in your basic writing program?
• What has worked in your basic writing classes that include service learning?
• What do you hope to gain from this discussion of service learning and basic writing?

Resources

Adler-Kassner, Linda, Robert Crooks, and Ann Watters, vol. editors, Edward Zlotkowski, series editor. Writing the Community: Concepts and Modes for Service-Learning in Composition. AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines. American Association for Higher Education, 1997.

Astin, Alexander, Lori Vogelgesang, Elaine Ikeda, Jennifer Yee. "How Service Learning Affects Students."
     Higher Education Research Institute, University of CA, Los Angeles, January 2000.
     www.gseis.ucla.edu/slc/Research.html.

Collins, Terence."Curriculum Development and Course Design."
     http://auth.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/ct/collins.htm  (January 12, 2002).

Cooper, David D and Laura Julier, eds. Writing in the Public Interest: Service-Learning and the Writing Classroom.
     Curriculum in the Academy and the World Monograph Series. Writing Center at Michigan State University, East      Lansing, 1995.

Deans, Thomas. "CCCC Institutionalizes Service-Learning."Reflections vol. 1 no. 1, Spring 2000.

Deans, Thomas. Writing Partnerships: Service-Learning in Composition. National Council of Teachers of English, 2000.

DeGenero, William and Ed White. "Assessment and the Basic Writer."       http://auth.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/ct/degenaro.html (January 12, 2002).

Eyler, Janet and Dwight Giles, Jr. Where's the Learning in Service-Learning? Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco,
      1999.

Glau, Gregory. "Assessment and 'Hard Data': Improving the Public and Administrative Perception of Your Basic Writing      Program." http://auth.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/ct/reynolds.html (January 12, 2002).

Reynolds, Thomas. "Teacher Training and Basic Writing." http://auth.mhhe.com/socscience/english/tbw/ct/reynolds.html      (January 12, 2002).

Robinson, Gail. "Stepping Into Our Destiny: Service Learning in Community Colleges." Community College Journal,
     Dec 1999/Jan 2000, 9-12.