Resources
Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning
This is a key resource that is widely used. The workbook is particularly useful for establishing learning outcomes. Check out the matrix of civic learning objectives on page 44.
This is a quick overview of Bloom’s Taxonomy across the three domains. It includes visual charts to facilitate a quick review of this content.
Bloom’s Taxonomy – Action Verbs
This is one of many charts that exists with recommended verbs for each of the levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy. It is a great resource to use as you determine learning outcomes and assess the level of mastery you expect students to achieve.
This 2 page primer distinguishes between objectives and outcomes and provides a set of sample learning outcomes across several disciplines.
Student Civic Learning Outcomes
From Tufts University, this is another sample breakdown of civic learning outcomes across the domains of knowledge, skills, and values. It also provides examples.
A great way to ensure that your learning strategies support diverse learners is to provide students with a choice of the types of products they submit for summative assessment. This is an example from a faculty member’s syllabus cited in a wonderful book, Developing Outcomes-based Assessment for Learner-Centered Education.
Using Group Projects Effectively
This is an excellent one-stop shop filled with resources, templates, and creative recommendations for designing, implementing, and assessing group projects, from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.
Division of Labor Expectations
UMass Boston professor, Alan Christian, shared this resource that he uses to communicate expectations to students for group work. It also provides a formal process that students can use to mediate an issue or even fire a student.
Another resource shared by UMass Boston professor, Alan Christian, this template offers a structured mechanism for building peer evaluation into group assignments.
This is one of several resources that outlines various roles that can be assigned, delegated, or rotated to students in order to provide structure and facilitate a high level of collaboration for group projects.
Collaborative Planning Guide for Engaged Scholarship: Part V
This is a practical resource that poses questions for assessing student learning, partnerships, and engaged scholarship, from the University of California’s Faculty Toolkit.
This set of 16 rubrics includes a specific rubric for civic engagement as well as others that cut across relevant competency areas such as critical thinking and intercultural knowledge and competence. As part of AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative, the VALUE rubrics contribute to the national dialogue on assessment of college student learning. For more information, visit: https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics
This is a handbook of assessment worksheets and rubrics. For their program, they established six learning outcomes by adapting the VALUE rubrics that were most relevant. This is a great resource that illustrates how you might use a similar model to adapt the VALUE rubrics for your course or program accordingly.
Readings
Core Competencies in Civic Engagement
This is an excellent synthesis of the key civic learning outcomes present in three areas, including a review of the literature, national reports, and academic programs.