CIDER Proposal
Including Community Partners in the Grading Experience for a ServiceLearning Course
Sarah Misyak, Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech
Jennifer Culhane, Office of First Year Experiences, Virginia Tech
Perry Martin, VT Engage, Virginia Tech
Meredith Ledlie Johnson, Family Nutrition Program, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Abstract: Student engagement in experiences that are relevant and intentionally designed and
are tied to community needs create space for meaningful learning. When incorporating servicelearning in course design a common challenge for educators is the role of and relationship with
the community-partner. The process of incorporating community partners, who oversee the
learning process and experience for students in the field, in an authentic grading and feedback
process may be particularly challenging. This practice session will demonstrate ways to
incorporate community partners into the grading process, utilizing a service-learning course at
Virginia Tech as a case study. The course instructor, an external course collaborator, the service
learning coordinator for Virginia Tech, and a community partner will share their experiences
with the course and their assessment tools and assignment guidelines.
Literature Review
Service-learning has been identified as a high-impact practice (HIP), in higher education
that has been shown to facilitate deep learning and students’ general, personal and practical
gains, a practice students may enjoy more than a traditional lecture (Kuh and O’Donnell, 2013;
Stavrianeas, 2008). The addition of service-learning in curricula creates a learning environment
that expands past the boundaries of institutional walls, which has the potential to enhance
students’ learning experiences. A praxis of connecting academia with community engagement
“within a framework of respect, reciprocity, relevance, and reflection”, service-learning is a
movement toward engagement in higher education (Butin, 2010, xiv). There is ambiguity
defining service-learning in the literature, lending opportunity to defining what a model of
service-learning would look like when designed and implemented with the individual culture of
university and community where the engagement is occurring. Viewing the spectrum of servicelearning and varying definitions of engagement, three standards that remain constant are that the
activity is legitimate, ethical, and useful (Butin, 2010). Engagement of community-partners is
essential to enhancing and expanding community-university partnerships that are mutually
beneficial.
Goals and objectives
CIDER Proposal
Following this session, participants should be able to:
1. Understand the rationale for including community partners in the grading process
2. Identify strategies for designing authentic assessment tools for community partner use
3. Identify opportunities for including community partners in the grading process in their
own courses
4. Gain insight into community partner needs and experiences with a service learning course
5. Identify opportunities for institutional support or develop strategies for gaining
institutional support for including community partners in meaningful ways in service
learning opportunities
Description of Practice
The practice that will be exemplified in this session is the inclusion of community partners in an
authentic grading and feedback process for a service-learning course. The incorporation of
community partners in the grading process in a service-learning course at Virginia Tech will be
used as a case study. The course instructor, an assessment and curriculum design expert, the
service learning coordinator for Virginia Tech, and a community partner will share their
experiences with the course. Suggestions for meeting the needs of the instructor, students,
institution, and community partners will be offered. Participants will also be given the
opportunity to ask questions and engage in dialogue with the presenters about their own
experiences with service learning, working with community partners, and meeting institutional
goals and objectives. Practical assessment tools and assignment guidelines will be presented.
Tips for communicating with community partners and students will also be provided.
Discussion
Service learning can be a rewarding experience for educators, students, and community partners
while meeting learning objectives and institutional goals. In order for this to be the case,
community partners can and should be viewed as educators in their own right, included in an
authentic grading and feedback process. Faculty can design tools to facilitate this process.
Institutional divisions, departments or centers that focus on service learning and community
partnerships are valuable resources when building relationships with community members and
designing service learning courses.
References
Butin, D.W. (2010). Service-learning in theory and practice. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kuh, G.D. & O’Donnell, K. (2013). Ensuring quality and taking high-impact practices to scale.
Washington, DC: AACandU.
Stavrianeas, S. (2008_. Students prefer service learning over traditional lecture in a nutrition
course. The FASEB Journal, 22: 683.1.