Bringing Service-Learning to Scale in an Undergraduate Reading Foundations Course: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Authors

  • Ian A. G. Wilkinson The Ohio State University Author
  • Gina M. Doepker Valdosta State University Author
  • Deborah Morbitt The Ohio State University Author

Abstract

This study documents the effects of service-learning as it was introduced and brought to scale in an introductory undergraduate course in Reading Foundations for students seeking to become early and middle childhood education teachers. Participants included multiple cohorts of students in multiple instantiations of the course taught with and without service-learning over five years. Results from within- and between-instructor comparisons showed that the service-learning experiences had beneficial effects on students' ability to make connections between theory and practice and on their overall experience of the course. These effects were observed both in the initial pilot of service-learning and when service-learning was brought to scale in subsequent quarters. Results showed, however, that the service-learning had no effect on students' content knowledge related to reading processes and pedagogy.

Published

2024-03-23