ABSTRACT
Chapter Focus Effective service-learning projects depend upon reciprocity, “the act of giving and receiving at the same time such that both parties in the service relationship teach each other and learn from each other.” (Cumbo & Vadeboncoeur, 1999, p. 85) Reciprocity begins in the commitment phase of service-learning when a teacher, students and a community partner learn about each others’ goals, capacities and interests and form a team to collaboratively develop an outline for a servicelearning project. It continues as the team learns how to integrate the various goals they have for students in a plan that specifies what students should be able to do as a result of the project and describes how students’ achievement of these outcomes will be measured. This chapter explains how a service-learning project team carries out this reciprocal outcomes planning process. The discussion is framed in terms of a team that is developing its first service-learning project within a school system that has a service-learning support network at the awareness level. It lays out steps the team takes to add key players, mutually agree upon academic, service and personal growth goals for students, and decide how to determine the degree to which students meet these goals. These steps, however, are not limited to use in limited support network situations. They are applicable across situations and can be used by teachers, students and community partners who have access to support networks that are at the planning level or at the full resources level. Examples that conclude the chapter demonstrate this generalizability.
