Digital Commons Network^™

This book presents the most recent theory, research, and practice on service learning as it relates to early childhood education. It describes several service learning programs, many of which were developed to better prepare pre-service teachers for the challenges they face in today’s early childhood classrooms, including class size, ever-changing technology, diversity, high-stakes testing, parental involvement (or the lack thereof), and shrinking budgets. The book shares stories of positive outcomes from pre-service teachers who, having participated in service-learning programs, report a shift in their attitudes and beliefs including an increased empathy for others, a heightened sensitivity to student differences, more …

In recent years, college instructors have begun to abandon traditional approaches to instruction, which merely transfer knowledge from faculty to students, for cutting-edge strategies, which allow students to construct their own learning. This change in instructional strategy has also brought about a change in the tools which are used for instruction. As students gain more control over their learning, they also want to have more control over the tools that guide their learning. In many ways, the traditional textbook is no longer satisfying the needs of today's students. Consequently, students and faculty members are beginning to look for an alternative. …