My Hands to Larger Service:

Practicing Community Service Learning and Citizenship

Spring 2011 Volunteer Training Lesson Plan

Note to presenters: While the desired training session is a 90minute workshop, if you encourage discussion and reflection the workshop may be longer.

We are encouraging youth be a part of this training. Our rationale:

What role do youth play in this training and the service learning process?

  • Youth are part of decision making team within club
  • If youth are trained, they will be more invested in the process in the club

What do we hope youth get out of the experience?

  • The same things adults do: understand service learning is more than just service
  • It is important to make time in the process for both investigation and planning at the beginning and reflection, learning, demonstration, and celebration at the end. It is more than just “do”.

Pre-Meeting Preparation:

  • Gather supplies and handouts listed in 4-H 4009A
  • Gather county specific handouts and information for meeting
  • Prepare refreshments
  • Hang poster on wall - 4 Needs/Circle of Courage + 8 Essential Elements = 4-H Outcomes
  • Put out Volunteer Training Attendance sheet and pen, name tags and markers
  • Set up ISU logo door prize, sign up slips, container (optional)
  • Have camera available for group photo (or small group photos)

1.Arrival and warm up

Have youth and leaders sign in on the attendance form, put on a name tag, sign up for door prizes

(optional)

2.Welcome & Rationale (10-15 minutes)

(Connect 4-H with ISU and ISU Extension)

Call the meeting to order and introduce the presenters.

Welcome and thank you for coming to the spring volunteer training on community service learning and citizenship! As a leader in your 4-H club, you are a volunteer for Iowa State University and the Iowa 4-H Youth Development Program. Both youth and adults are an important part of______County Extension and Iowa State University Extension (point out ISU banner, Extension logo, or 4-H t-shirt, as a visual). This partnership helps insure members have a positive, safe, educational, and fun experience. Trained adult and youth leaders help insure that we provide positive youth development experiences for our 4-H members.

(Show or refer to the 4-H equation and pass out citizenship hot sheet)

As we look at our formula, we see that Citizenship is one of our 5 desired outcomes. Citizenship is the opportunity, right, and responsibility to contribute to shaping the world around you and provide service to others. As you can see on the Citizenship Hot Sheet, this includes everything from sharing your ideas with a legislator to being a good neighbor. One important aspect of citizenship that we’ll focus on during this session will be the service projects that your clubs do.

Your clubs are involved in many community service projects throughout the year and have been for almost a century. They benefit your community and they are an important part of the 4-H experience as they meet the need of young people to experience generosity [point to generosity on formula] and see their lives have meaning and purpose. One of the Eight Essential Elements of the 4-H program is to provide the opportunity to value and practice service [point to service on formula] for others so members gain exposure and contribute to the larger community and the world itself.Today, we’re going to explore some ways we can strengthen our service projects through community service learning.

Introductions and identify club service projects:

Let’s go around the room, introduce your club, and identify at least one community service project your club does.

During today’s training we are going to discover how integrating learning and reflection into service projects enriches the experience for youth and the outcomes for the community. Through community service learning, youth have the opportunity to explore their relationship with the community and learn how active, responsible citizens contribute to shaping the world around them.

Our goals for today’s training:

  • Clarify the definition of community service learning
  • Provide information and training to strengthen community service learning in clubs
  • Identifysteps for CommunityService Learning Projects
  • Provide tools and resources through Reach Out Iowa and Public Adventures to guide clubs in community service learning projects
  • Encourage discussion between leaders and youth to incorporate “learning” and “reflection” into future community service projects.

(Trainers)

  • Model fun-friends-voice-choice

Transition to next topic:

We are excited to have both youth and adults participating as this information is important for everyone in the club to be engaged in the planning process for community service projects. Through community service learning, youth have the opportunity to explore their relationship with the community and learn how active, responsible citizens contribute to shaping the world around them. Integrating learning and reflection into service projects enriches the experience for youth and the outcomes for the community. During this nextactivity we will definethe components of Community Service Learning.

Activity1: Definition of Community Service Learning(20 minutes)

Post newsprint with each bulleted word below on a separate sheet. Divide the group evenly so there are no more than 4-5 people per group (depending on number of attendees, you may need multiple sets of newsprint for each word).

Start a group at each posted sheet and have them write down what comes to mind when they think of thatword. Give each group no more than 2 minutes with each word and have each group rotate through the 3 words so each group gets to contribute to the meanings of:

  • Community
  • Service
  • Learning

Group newsprint with the same bulleted words.

Discussion/Reflection:

Ask participants:

  • For each word (community, service, and learning), what words stand out or do the best job of describing that particular word?
  • Now, how do the three separate words relate to each other? How are they linked together? Are there any commonalities? What are your observations?
  • Based on what you see on these 3 lists, what would your definition of community service learning be? (write up ideas on flipchart)

Let’s look at how the Corporation for Community and National Service (CNCS) definescommunity service learning.

Pass out handout#4-H 4009C: Defining Community Service Learning and IPARDC—reference the Defining Community Service Learning page when sharing below:

ASK:How do our definitions that you wrote [activity 1] line up with the definition on the handout?

  • Meets a need of the community
  • Involves community partners
  • Increases involvement in the community by participants
  • Has learning/education goals included in the project for the participants, and
  • Includes time for participants to reflect on the service learning experience

Transition to next topic: (10 minutes)

Now, we are going to explore thesteps your club would take in developing a community service learning project. Turn your handout over (4-H 4009C) and look at the Stages of Service Learning that we call the IPARDC[eye-par-dec] process. The IPARDC process is a national service learning model that can be used when planning service learning projects.

Activity 2 (15 minutes): Have the 6 steps written on newsprint and compare to planning and planting a vegetable garden. Ask the group what each of these steps means or would look like when doing this process. Additional examples are included for you below in italics to share if not done so by the group.

If you’ve ever planted a family vegetable garden, you’ve probably followed this process!

Let’s compare the steps you go through in planning and planting a vegetable garden with planning a community service learning project.

After they’ve articulated each garden step, ask about community projects.

  • Investigate?

What information do you need to know before you plant a garden?

Examples:does your family need fresh veggies or will they eat them? what kind of veggies family members eat, new varieties, new pests to look out for according to ISU Extension

How would you investigate or gather community information for a community service learning project? Examples: community mapping, surveys, interviews, expert panel at a meeting, read the newspaper, take a group tour of your community

  • Plan?

What do you need to do to plan that garden? Examples: plot the garden on paper, arrange to have the ground tilled, get the tools out of the shed and clean them up, arrange for compost to be delivered

What factors do you have to consider when planning a service project? Examples: develop a budget, timeline, learning objectives, ask what resources we have and what we need, goals, assign tasks, determine who’s accountable for what, determine who/how project will be documented, consider who might be potential partners, consider risk management – what steps do we need to include to make sure this project is safe for members and participants?

  • Act?

What do you have to do to get that garden planted and veggies on the table? Examples: purchase plants and seeds, plant the garden, water, cultivate, harvest

What might be some actions steps for a service project? Examples: “Just

Do It”—follow your plan, adjust as necessary: speak in public, create a petition, fundraise, write letters, get media coverage, navigate government, hold an event, determine if it’s a one-time action or must be sustained over time--it may be a short-term or long-term experience depending on what your goals are

  • Reflect?

Throughout the gardening season what did you learn?Examples: observe how new varieties grew – get more stakes for those tomatoes, do you need to move the tomatoes next year because of blight, stalk borers took out the zucchini again]

This is the important piece that makes it a community service learning project.

What are some ways your club can reflect and learn? Examples:

Journaling, evaluate action steps, group discussion, evaluate learning goals,

evaluate projects, ask yourself: what did we learn?, what would we do

differently?, what are we proud of?, did we make a positive difference in our

community? Was the project appropriate for our skill level and experience?

  • Demonstrate?

What are some ways you can demonstrate your garden’s success?Examples: sell extra at farmer’s market, deliver excess to food bank

What are some ways to demonstrate your community service learning projects outcomes or successes or what your club learned?

Examples: Create a display, develop a Power Point, write a newspaper article, create a video, post on youtube, create a facebook fan page, take photos, create a scrapbook, give a report to the city council, educate others, give a report to community partner groups

  • Celebrate?

How might you celebrate a successful garden?Examples: eat salsa at Christmas!]

What are some ways your club could celebrate a successful project? Could the demonstration and celebration be tied together?

Examples: Have a party, invite your partners, invite benefactors to celebrate together, recognize volunteers and partners, host a community event, honor leaders within the project, thank parents or others who helped, write thank you notes

ASK: What happens if any of these steps are left out?

  • Investigate
  • Plan
  • Act
  • Reflect
  • Demonstrate
  • Celebrate
  • Refer to IPARDC hand-outs to show the steps for them to use in the future
  • 4H-4009C and 4H-4009G

Activity 3:20 minutes (for template, report back, and discussion)

Pass out handout #4-H4009D Stages of Service Learning Template

Now we are going to take what we’ve learned so far and use the brainstorming you’ve done to practice using the IPARDC process. This handout has some sample issues that might be found in a community. Please select one at your table and work on the provided template, determining what actions a group would take at each step for your chosen project. If you have a service project your club is already working on, you may use the template to analyze the project according to the IPARDC process.

We probably won’t have time to complete all of the steps, but get as far as you can in the process

Scenarios:

  1. Senior 4-H members in the club are concerned about the lack of positive recreational opportunities for young people in their community.
  2. A club member belongs to a group of middle school friends who are concerned about harassment in their school.
  3. Ash Borers have been reported in a grove of trees two counties away from your county. Your club has some members very concerned about how this might affect your community.
  4. School budget cuts are forcing the elimination of in-town bussing for students who live within one mile of the school. Your club has a number of families who will be affected.
  5. Kids are gathering at the library after school and there have been letters to the editor about the noise and perceived disruption.
  6. Free choice! Take a service project your club already does or is planning to do and analyze it using the IPARDC process.
  • Refer to Handout 4H-4009G for reminders of questions to ask for each stage.

Stages of Service Learning / Actions taken by club/members/volunteers
Investigation
(How would the club identify a need or problem; what do they want to learn; how do you decide if it’s important? What information do you need to move forward? Do we have the skills and resources to do it?)
Preparation & Planning
(What, how, who will do what? When? Are there potential partners? What training or safety precautions do we need to implement?)
Action
(What did the club do as a result of the investigation, preparation, and planning?)
Reflection
(How will you process the experience and allow members to answer the following: How did it go, what would the group do the same or differently, how will these actions affect the public, what does the public need to know about this issue? Was this an appropriate project for our skill level and resources?)
Demonstration
(How will the group share accomplishments, learning involved, benefit to public with others?)
Celebration
(How will you celebrate the service and learning that was done to support the community?)

Discussion/Reflection as a large group:

  • What does this process have in common with other times your club planned a service project in your community?
  • What part do you think is going to be the most challenging for your club?
  • How will this process strengthen your club’s 4-H service projects?
  • How will this process change the experience for youth?
  • What additional information do you need to help your club with a service learning project?

Closure(10 minutes):

Whew! You’ve had a pretty intensive training on Community Service Learning crammed into this one meeting!

Your clubs may be doing some service projects that are traditional for your clubs and just don’t fit within this process. That doesn’t mean you need to stop doing some of thesecommunity projects. But what we are asking you to do is take time with your club members to analyze and evaluate your current service projects and be more intentional about the learning and reflection piecesof community service learning. It’s happening, but will be more impactful for our youth and our communities if we’re purposeful about including it in the process. This is a good discussion for leaders and senior members or officers to have as you plan future projects for the year. So think about:

  • Could current projects be strengthened by adding a missing component?
  • Are the members learning how citizenship is connected to service and how to practice being a good citizen?
  • Are the service projects meeting the needs of the community?
  • Are the service projects meeting the needs of the young people in your club?
  • Are youth taking a role in identifying the community need and the steps to meet it?
  • Is the process currently being used helping club members reach the desired outcomes of citizenship, leadership, and communication?

Here is your Challenge!When your club plans your next community service project, try using this model with more intention on investigation, reflection, demonstration, and celebration. Use the template and walk your club through the IPARDC process. Another option is to work through the Public Adventures Curriculum throughout the next year, addressing different steps in the process at each meeting

And guess what? Your club may be able to tap into money to help with a community service learning project!

Reach Out Iowa is a grant program that helps 4-H and other youth development organizations throughout the state to involve young people in community based service-learning activities. Reach Out Iowa is a federally funded grant that was awarded to the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, and is being implemented in partnership with 4-H and Iowa State University Extension. One of our goals through the program is to help 4-H clubs begin to incorporate service learning into the community work they are already doing. In addition, we hope that some of the projects completed will help local communities as they recover from the current economic recession and to become more environmentally sustainable. (ROI grant Handout 4H-4009H)