Assessing student achievement of learning outcomes through academic service-learning: A constructive alignment study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if academic service-learning (AS-L) assessment activities are properly aligned with intended student learning outcomes (SLOs) and curriculum standards through the analysis of student post-reflections within one required online graduate course. Four coders analyzed post-reflections from 77 students over a five-year period. The first goal was to determine the degree of alignment among assessment activities, SLOs, and curriculum standards. The second goal was to determine if students demonstrated differences in achievement when participating in online versus onsite AS-L projects. Results were mixed when determining the degree of alignment among assessments, SLOs, and curriculum standards. Students demonstrated comparable levels of achievement in learning outcomes when participating in both forms of AS-L. Implications of this study indicate that continuous self-assessment in aligning academic service-learning assessment activities to student learning outcomes and curriculum standards is necessary for successful demonstration of student achievement within today’s standards-based curriculum of higher education.