Service Learning Rubric

Service learning is a teaching method that combines academic instruction, meaningful

service, and critical reflective thinking to enhance student learning and civic
responsibility. The rubric below can help you assess the impact of service learning
initiatives based on seven guidelines for quality service learning.

Strong Impact Good Impact Some Impact Minimal Impact

Determined by Determined by past Determined by Community needs
1. Meet actual current research research making a guess at secondary to what
conducted or discovered by what community a project teacher
community discovered by students with needs may be wants to do; project
needs students with teacher assistance considers only
teacher assistance student needs

Active, direct Community Community Community

2. Collaborate with collaboration with members act as members are members are
community by the consultants in the informed of the coincidentally
the community teacher and/or project project directly informed or not
student development knowledgeable at
all
Service learning as Service learning as Service learning Service learning
3. Integrate with instructional a teaching part of curriculum supplemental to
strategy with technique with but with sketchy curriculum; just a
the academic content/service content/service connections, with service project or
curriculum components components emphasis on good deed
integrated concurrent service

Students think, Students think, Students share with Ran out of time for
4. Facilitate active share, produce share, produce no individual true reflection; just
reflective products group reflection reflective projects provided a
student reflection individually and as only summary of events
group members

All students have All students have Some students Skill knowledge
5. Use new direct application of some active more involved than used mostly in the
new skill or applications of new others or limited classroom; no
academic knowledge in skill or knowledge community service active service
knowledge in community service involvement experience
real world
settings

Reflections show Reflections show Reflections show Reflections show

6. Help develop deep personal grower limited student largely
understanding of understanding of understanding of unaffected by the
sense of caring the importance of the importance of the importance of importance of
for and about service and the service and ability service. Student service and his/her
others ability to make a to make a likely to serve ability to make a
difference. Student difference. Student again, if asked difference. Student
likely to initiate likely to serve again unlikely to serve
further service again

Facilitate change or Changes enhance Changes mainly Changes mainly

7. Improve quality insight; help an already good decorative, but new decorative, but
alleviate a community and unique benefits limited community
of life for suffering; solve a situation realized in benefit, or are not
person(s) served problem; meet a community new and unique
need

Source: This rubric is taken from the Coverdell World Wise Schools publication Looking at Ourselves and
Others (Washington, DC: Peace Corps, 1998, p.6). It is also available online at
http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/servicelearning/