Digital Commons Network^™

At A Glance: What We Know About The Effects Of Service-Learning On Students, Faculty, Institutions And Communities, 1993-1999, Janet Eyler, Dwight E. Giles Jr., Charlene J. Gray

Bibliographies

"At A Glance" summarizes the findings of service learning research in higher education over the past few years and includes a bibliography. It is designed to provide a quick overview of where we are in the field today and a map to the literature. Particular issues of interest may be explored in greater depth through the annotated bibliography and complete review of research for this period from 1993-99.

This survey of service-learning research within higher education reflects a dramatic increase over recent years that examine the effects of service-learning on students, faculty, institutions, and communities. The scope of this literature …

Presidents’ Declaration On The Civic Responsibility Of Higher Education And Campus Assessment Of Civic Responsibility, Thomas Ehrlich

Higher Education

The following statement was drafted by Thomas Ehrlich, senior scholar, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and president emeritus, Indiana University, and Elizabeth Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, with the advice and input of a distinguished Presidents' Leadership Colloquium Committee composed of: Derek Bok, president emeritus of Harvard University; Dolores Cross, president of Morris Brown College; John DiBiaggio, president of Tufts University; Claire Gaudiani, president of Connecticut College; Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education; Donald Kennedy, president emeritus of Stanford University; Charles Knapp, recent past president of the Aspen Institute, Edward A. Malloy, president of …

Service-Learning Is A Feminist Issue: Transforming Communication Pedagogy, Eleanor M. Novek

Service Learning, General

How do we "do" emancipatory feminist teaching when we have not observed it or experienced it ourselves? The author argues here that service-learning is a useful strategy for feminist communication educators to begin challenging the power relationships of traditional pedagogy. Pioneered in the 1960s and '70s, this pairing of traditional course work with community service is now used as a learning model in schools around the nation. Because service-learning allows educators to forge relational links between ourselves, our students, our neighbors, and the communities in which we live, it deserves careful consideration from feminist educators.

Guidelines For Local Calserve Evaluation Reports, California Department Of Education

Evaluation/Reflection

The 1999-2000 Guidelines for CalServe Evaluation Reports are based on the local evaluation process that was initiated in the winter of 1998. The general purpose of the guidelines is to assist each partnership in the writing of its evaluation report. The overarching questions and the content of this year's guidelines are much the same as last year's, as are the mechanisms by which each partnerships to submit information about the outcomes of service-learning for students, teachers, school.school districts, and the community.

Service Learning And Assessment: A Field Guide For Teachers, Susan Bonthron, Rick Gordon

Evaluation/Reflection

Recent advances in understanding the human brain, intelligence, and how we learn¹ indicate that successful schools need to provide
• rich, safe learning environments that address multiple realms of intelligence;
• opportunities for experiential learning to promote construction of knowledge and understanding;
• opportunities to develop both intelligence and skills through mediated learning;
• opportunities to transfer learning through reflection; and
• balanced assessment measures that include portfolios and performance assessments as well as more conventional standardized tests.

Characteristics Of Environmental Restoration, Service-Learning Projects In Selected California Watersheds, And The Perceived Gains By Participating At-Risk High School Students And Their Teachers (Volume Ii), Peter Scott Moras

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This chapter presents conclusions drawn from the data analysis, implications for future research, and recommendations for action based on the results of the study.

The primary purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of environmental restoration service-learning projects in selected California watersheds that produced gains for at-risk high school students who were I I enrolled in the programs. A second purpose was to describe the characteristics of service-learning programs that at-risk students and their teachers perceived to be most helpful in making gains in school attendance, sense of connectedness to I I community, sense of social responsibility, sense …

Characteristics Of Environmental Restoration, Service-Learning Projects In Selected California Watersheds, And The Perceived Gains By Participating At-Risk High School Students And Their Teachers (Volume I), Peter Scott Moras

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The number of at-risk youth in California public high schools has steadily increased over the last forty years, challenging school administrators to find I effective educational strategies to help them succeed academically and flourish I as contributing members of society. This need for effective educational options I is compounded by the demands of modern society (California Department of Education 1995) and a 1 percent annual population growth within the state (California Legislative Analyst's Office 1998).

Service-Learning In Social Work Education: Building Democracy Through Informed Citizenship, Ryan Tolleson Knee

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Longitudinal studies spanning the last three decades have indicated that incoming college students have become increasingly concerned with individual gain, competition, and materialism. This, coupled with 1996's lowest voter turnout in 70 years and declining levels of participation in civic groups are indicators that citizens are relatively uninterested in, or lack the capacity to engage in activities that strengthen the democracy. To address this concern, faculty in social work education have been encouraged to reconsider traditional pedagogy and structure curricula so community service is combined with structured reflection; commonly known as service-learning. Undergraduate social work programs typically offer community service …

Service Learning: The Right Thing For The Wrong Reasons?, Gary K. Clabaugh

Special Topics, General

It is a deep and abiding truth that in helping others we help ourselves. Among the many benefits is knowledge. We learn things about others, life, and ourselves that are enriching, even ennobling.

Recruiting Male Volunteers: A Guide Based On Exploratory Research, Stephanie T. Blackman

Special Topics, General

The decision to recruit male volunteers is not one that you should make lightly. Adding men to your pool of volunteers could have a variety of implications for your program, not all of which are positive. Understanding the potential impacts of a greater number of male volunteers may add to your excitement about this cause. The same understanding, however, should also call attention to the possibility that recruitment of male volunteers may not suit your program, may generate additional work for you or your co-workers, or may harbor unforeseen consequences. Legal discrimination or organizational policy issues must also be taken …

Missing Pieces In The Service Learning Puzzle, June R. Chapin

Special Topics, General

The increasing popularity in the schools for sponsoring service learning or community service reflects the grave concern that more has to be done to teach youth to participate in a democratic society. The declining voting turnout and the reported low involvement of adults in community groups are often cited as a need for the schools to counter the current apathy and cynicism about government and political leaders. Whether there really is a decline in civic involvement is open to question but the national debate on promoting civic education and social responsibility is reflected in state and local communities requiring students' …

Summary Report: National Evaluation Of Learn And Serve America, Alan Melchior, Joseph Frees, Lisa Lacava, Chris Kingsley, Jennifer Nahas, Jennifer Power, Gus Baker, John Blomquist, Anne St. George, Scott Hebert, Joann Jastrzab, Chuck Helfer, Lance Potter

Evaluation/Reflection

In 1993, the Nalional and Community Service Trust Act (PL. 103-82) established the Learn and Serve America School and Community-Based Programs to support school and Community-Based efforts to involve school-aged youth in community service. The Learn and Serve program is administered by the Corporation for National Service and funded through grants to states and national organizations, and through them to individual school districts, schools, and community organizations. In 1994-95, the first year of the program, the Corporation awarded approximately $30 million in grants supporting over 2,000 local efforts involving over 750,000 school-aged youth.

Effects Of Service Learning On Student Retention And Success, Trish Axsom, William Piland

Higher Education

Southwestern College (SWC) students who participated in service learning were significantly more likely to complete their English composition course and report greater agreement with statements about learning as it related to career and civic awareness. However, student success rates were not significantly different for service learni11g students.

The Status Of Service-Learning In The United States: Some Facts And Figures, Robert D. Shumer, Charles C. Cook

Service Learning, General

This report focuses on service and service-learning in high schools. The report compares data from 1984 research with information from two studies of service and service-learning completed in 1997. The data suggest that community service and service-learning in 1984 was available in slightly more than one-quarter of all high schools (primarily to white students), and course-related programs (service-learning) occurred in only about 10% of all schools. The 1997 data indicate that the number of high school students involved in service-related programs has increased 686%; and the number of high school students involved in service-learning has increased3,663%. Using data from studies …

Two Studies Of The Impact Of Performance Feedback On Community Service Learning Among College Students, Mahesh Subramony

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

In Study 1, I manipulated students' access to frequent written performance feedback from agency supervisors. Thirty-eight service-learning students enrolled in a Midwest university were randomly assigned to a performance feedback (experimental) condition and a no performance feedback (control) condition. Student learning from community service (SLCS) was measured both before and after the semester-long intervention. Students in the experimental group did not show significant improvements in SLCS over those in the control condition. However, an individual differences variable, feedback disposition predicted SLCS.

In study 2, I looked at the impact of organizational feedback quality, client feedback quality, student feedback seeking, and …

Inside A Swiss Army Knife: An Assessment Of Americorps, James L. Perry, Ann Marie Thomson, Mary Tschirhart, Debra Mesh, Geunjoo Lee

Service Learning, General

This study reviews the goals and achievements of AmeriCorps, the national service program championed by President Clinton and approved by Congress in 1993. We identify five AmeriCorps goals: satisfying unmet social needs, developing corps members, enhancing the civic ethic, reinvigorating lethargic bureaucracies, and bridging race and class. The evidence of AmeriCorps' effectiveness is not definitive. Self-reports from recipient programs, selective cost-benefit analyses, and some survey evidence indicate some positive results. More fine-grained survey and field research raise questions about AmeriCorps' overall effects. Much more research is needed before policy makers and citizens can determine AmeriCorps' productivity.

Reflection In Service Learning: Making Meaning Or Experience, Robert G. Bringle, Julie A. Hatcher

Evaluation/Reflection

Traditional methods of instruction based on lectures and textbook readings can be effective in some instances and for some types of! earning, yet many educators seek methods to enhance traditional student learning and to expand educational objectives beyond knowledge acquisition. Two related issues illustrate the limitations of traditional methods. The first is context-specific learning. Students are taught a particular module of content, they are provided examples of how to solve particular types of problems, and then they practice solving these types of problems. However, when the nature of the problem is varied, or when similar problems are encountered in different …

Problems, Politics, And Possibilities Of A Progressive Approach To Service Learning In A Community College: A Case Study, Kevin L. Burr

Higher Education

Change -- it is easy to determine when change is needed and even what needs to be changed; the problem is effective implementation. Cohen and Brawer (1989) said that community colleges still have not found a way to implement alternative learning methodologies.

It is reasonable to assume that in an institution dedicated since its inception to 'good teaching', new instructional forms will be tried. However, despite the spread of reproducible media, traditional methods of instruction still flourish. Visitors to a campus might be shown mathematics laboratories, the media production facilities, and computer-assisted instructional programs. But on the way to those …

Self Service: Self-Concept Enhancement In High School Students In A Service Learning Program, Sarah Foster

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This study attempted to answer the question of whether participation in a high school service learning program can be linked to increases in measures of self-esteem in students. Proponents of service learning claim that it is a valuable means of engaging students, increasing comprehension, and fostering citizenship, but the positive psychological effects are often overlooked.

The Rosenberg (1965) Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure self-esteem levels. Personal interviews were also conducted and coded categorically into scales for self-values of competence, self-determination, personal unity, and moral worth. This coding was done according to a framework created by Gordon (1982). The results …

Using Evaluation To Improve And Promote America Reads, Support & Training For Assessing Results

Evaluation/Reflection

This report covers: Project Objectives; Collecting Data; Sample Instruments; Analyzing Data; and Using Evaluation Findings.

If All Youth Served: Empowering Youth To Build Community Through Service, Lenore M. Parker

School K-12

This document contains: List of Tables; Acknowledgements; A Vision Statement; Research Findings; Liability Issues and Engaging Young People as Volunteers; Supervising Young People as Volunteers; and Appendix A: Publications About Engaging Young People as Volunteers.

Service-Learning For Preservice Teachers: Ethical Dilemmas For Practice, David M. Donahue

Service Learning, General

Increasingly in the United States, service-learning is being used to educate preservice teachers. Service varies greatly in its ethical foundation, however, and service-learning presents new teachers with a variety of dilemmas revealing the moral and political nature of teaching and service. This article presents one case of four preservice teachers writing curriculum as a service to a community agency hoping to promote service geared toward social justice among high school students. The case highlights ethical dilemmas faced by teachers in the process and illustrates the potential of service-learning to educate teachers for the moral imperative of their profession.

Opinion: The Public Intellectual, Service Learning, And Activist Research, Ellen Cushman

Service Learning, General

While I support the good intentions of those who have recently proposed definitions of the public intellectual, I find these definitions problematic in their narrow delineation of the word "public"- they focus on a "public" consisting of middle and upper class policy makers, administrators, and professionals, and, in doing so, omit an important site for uniting knowledge-making and political action: the local community.

Intergenerational Studies In Higher Education: An Initial Survey (1999), Sally Newman, Anita Johnson

Intergenerational

During the last decade, intergenerational studies has begun to attract an increasing number of academics in a variety of academic fields. Similarly, students in increasing numbers are contacting departments in higher education, including intergenerational units such as Generations Together to inquire about courses and training opportunities. Additionally, human service professionals are demonstrating interest in acquiring the knowledge and competencies necessary to effectively administer intergenerational programs as well as earn academic credit for these new professional skills. Evidence of their interest is the number of online inquiries regarding intergenerational training and educational opportunities.

A Guide To Service Learning, Richard D. Pertzborn

Guides

The purpose of this guide is to facilitate successful and meaningful service learning activities for middle school students at River Bluff Middle School. Middle school students involved in service learning activities are positively impacted and provide a service to the community.

Designing Collaborations Ijetween Community Based Organizations And Schools To Produce Curriculum Models For Service-Learning Programs (University Of Minnesota), University Of Minnesota Extension Service

Guides

Dads Make a Difference is a statewide paternity education project where senior high teens, male and female, are trained to teach a 4-lesson school curriculum about the importance of fathers in children's lives to youth in grades 6-8. Designed to help prevent too-early parenting, the curriculum helps older teens discuss the legal, financial, and emotional responsibilities of parenting with younger youth. The Dads Make a Difference middle school curriculum covers these topics: risks and risky behavior; the legal issues of fatherhood; how involved fathers make a difference in the well-being being of children; and the importance of making responsible decisions.

Faculty Handbook For Service Learning, Commuter Affairs And Community Service

Guides

No abstract provided.

Learn & Serve Higher Education: Semi-Annual Report, Association For Gerontology In Higher Education

Evaluation/Reflection

Content:

-Interview Forms:
Faculty, Student, Agency Directors

-Evaluation Forms:
Faculty, Student, Agency Directors

-Resource Directory (Southeastern Oklahoma State University)

-Intergenerational Service-Learning (University of Findlay)

-News Clippings

Teacher Education Curricula, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

Syllabi

These are course descriptions and/or syllabi from teacher education and education-related classes in various colleges and universities. Courses and schools include: Human Growth and Development at Hampton University; Growth and Development (school not listed), Social Justice and Diversity Education (school not listed), Education in a Democratic Society at Ball State University; Service Leadership at Seattle University; Principles of Education at New England College; Theory and Practice in Service Learning Pedagogy (school not listed); Methods and Materials in Reading Service Learning Strand at Providence College; Elementary Social Studies at University of Iowa; Teaching in Secondary Schools at Hampton University; Social Studies …

Novice Teachers' Experiences Of Community Service-Learning, Rahima C. Wade, Jeffrey B. Anderson, Donald B. Yarbrough, Terry Pickeral, Joseph B. Erickson, Thomas Kromer

Higher Education

This study focuses on beginning teachers' experiences with a currently popular curriculum strategy in the US: community service-learning. To determine the personal and contextual factors influencing novice teachers' experiences, we surveyed over 300 early career teachers and interviewed 30 of the larger sample. The study provides evidence that some beginning teachers are willing to implement strategies they learned in their teacher education programs, and can do so successfully, in spite of being busy and unsupported. Results indicate that specific preparation features and school characteristics may play a large role in whether novice teachers implement service-learning activities in their classrooms.