Alternative Break Program >> 07-08 Assessment report

Learning Outcomes

Upon returning from an alternative break trip, students will:

• Develop confidence in their leadership skills
• Improve in interpersonal skills
• Improve in problem-solving skills
• Develop an appreciation for diverse perspectives
• Develop a commitment to future service
• Increase in their awareness of social justice issues

Learning Outcomes assessed this year:
The Alternative Break Program assessed all trip leaders and participants of the alternative break trips for 2007-2008. All of the outcomes were assessed.

Assessment Methods and Procedures:
In order to assess the Alternative Break leaders and participants, we used The Alternative Spring Break Questionnaire (ASBQ). To create the ASBQ, we adopted The Beliefs, Events, and Values Inventory (2007), Eyler and Giles Reflective Interview Guide (1996), Oats and Leavitt Student Evaluation of Service Learning (2003), The Community Service Self-Efficacy Scale (1998), The Student Service-Learning Course Survey (2005), The Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (2002), and The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (1990).

James Madison's Alternative Break Program began doing assessment of the program in the spring of 1999. The 2007-2008 school year is a continuation of the assessment which began in 2005-2006 with the ASBQ.
The ASBQ was given in a paper and pencil and computer version. The ASBQ measures on five different scales: Civic action, Interpersonal and problem-solving skills (adapted from the civic attitudes and skills questionnaire developed by Moely, Mercer, Ilustre, Miron, McFarland, 2002), Interpersonal relationships, Personal Competency, and Social Justice. The last three scales were developed from the Student Service-Learning Course Survey by Wang, Ye, Jackson, Rogers, Jones, 2005. The questionnaire consisted of 40 items that were short answer and multiple choice. No desired score was established.
Trip leaders took the pretest prior to training in paper and pencil form, prior to the trip in web-based form, and the post-test was given after the trip, also in web-based form. Participants took the pre-test prior to the trip in paper and pencil form and then took the post-test following the trip in web-based form. It is important to note that there were some inconsistencies between the web and paper version. The web version did not include item two from the interpersonal relationships scale as well as it did not include item 25 from the interpersonal problem solving subscale. Response scales were different for the civic action and interpersonal problem-solving subscales (1-5 on paper version versus 1-7 on web version).

Inferences from Assessments
The assessment confirmed that trip leaders increased in personal competence, social justice, civic action, and interpersonal and problem-solving skills after going on their trip. There was not a significant increase in interpersonal relationships.
In comparison to the trip leaders, trip participants did not change at different rates in personal competency, interpersonal relationships, social justice, civic awareness, or interpersonal problem-solving skills. However, the trip leaders did have significantly higher scores than the trip participants in personal competency.
In comparing the overall findings of this assessment to the previous years, the results are very similar. Each year there has been a significant change in all of the scales except for the interpersonal relationships scale. When only trip leaders were assessed, we found that the most significant changes occurred between either of the pre-tests and the post-trip.

Actions Taken/Program Improvements
According to the results of the assessment, the goals of the program are being met. We will continue to use this instrument to assess and improve upon our training of trip leaders and the overall program. In the future, assessment of trip participants will include pre-test, pre-trip, and post trip data in addition to the leaders so that we can make better comparisons across the groups.