Five Major Components of a Hope-Focused Service-Learning Program

There are many wonderful outcomes that we are seeing in our pilot Hope-Focused Service-Learning programs! I think you will agree that comments like the ones from students in the last post tell us that we need to continue this work.

Perhaps if I tell you about what it is that contributes to the success of the program you will better understand why I am so very excited about what I see and hear when I interact with teachers, students, community members and funders.

Simply put there are five main components that must be addressed in a Hope-Focused Service-Learning program.

1. It must have a hope focus. The Nurturing Hopeful Souls: Hopeful Practices and Strategies for Children and Youth provides a solid foundation for exploring and maintaining a hopeful perspective. Up until this point this resource has been used in its draft form. However, it will be ready for purchase on the Hope Foundation's website or by calling or visiting the Hope Foundation in June 2008.

2. Secondly, service tasks must be connected to and help to ensure curriculum outcomes are addressed.

3. Hope-Focused Service-Learning seeks to maximize student voice through inquiry-based, experiential learning.

4. Students must be engaged in service tasks that meet genuine "hope" needs of the school or local community and have significant consequences for themselves and others.

5. Assessment and especially self-assessment is used as a way to enhance student learning. Self-assessment requires ongoing reflection before, during and after service.

There are other components of course, many of which are incorporated into these five main ones. For example, students and teachers develop an essential question that guides their inquiry around a hope-focused service-learning project. Because reflection is a hope practice it is embedded into the self-assessment component.

As we conclude our third year of pilots, the Hope-Focused Service-Learning manual and training modules are being pulled together so that whole schools can use a Hope-Focused Service-Learning focus. I will keep you posted as we move into this arena next year!