Building an Action Project, Six Steps, Service Learning Network 13:1

Here are six basic steps you can use for any action project.

Step 1: Choose the Problem. Discuss what problems of school violence concern you. Ask others: Interview teachers, school administrators, school resource officers, counselors, and--most important--other students.

Note: You can conduct a survey asking these people which school violence problems they think are most important.

To find answers to these questions, try the following:

Use the library. Look up newspaper and magazine articles. Ask the librarian for help.
Interview experts: teachers, school administrators, school resource officers, counselors and--most important--other students.
Survey students about what school violence problems they think are most important.

Make a list of the top 3-5 problems. To help you decide which problem to work on, ask how each problem:

Affects your school the most.

Could be worked on to get the most successful results.

Learn the most from?

Step 2: Research the Problem. The more you know about a problem, the more you'll understand how to approach it. Try to find out as much as you can about these questions:

What causes the problem?
What are its effects on your school?
What is being done about the problem?
Who is working on the problem or is interested in it?
Are they doing a good job?

Step 3: Decide on an Action Project. Think of project ideas that would address the problem your team has chosen. Make a list. As a team, decide on the top three project ideas. Think about the pros and cons of each project idea. Evaluate each in terms of your available time, materials, and resources. Select the most suitable one.

Step 4: Plan the Project. To prevent false starts or chaotic results, you need a plan. See Project Plans for details.

Step 5: Do the Project.

Step 6: Evaluate the Project. While implementing the project, it's important to evaluate--to think about how you are doing and figuring out how you can do things better. At the end of the project, you'll want to evaluate how you did. To make evaluating easy, you'll need to plan for it. See Project Plan for details. In addition to evaluating the project's results, be sure to examine how well your group worked together and what you learned as an individual.

Fall 2007