Service Learning Commons^™

A Glipse Of A New Experiential Learning Theory Paradigm, John S. Duley

Service Learning, General

A pseudo NSIEE Occasional Paper printed as memorabilia for the Wingspread Service Learning History Project Conference, December 2-4, 1995. This was first presented as the closing Keynote address at the 1980 NSIEE conference in San Francisco. It was reworked on the basis of correspondence with Bob Sigmon and conversations with other illuminaries. I reworked it in its present form in June 1988 and submitted it to the then editor of Occasional Papers. For probably several good reasons of which I am not aware, it was not published. So on this occasion I have taken the liberty as a former editor …

A Study Of Community Interaction, Ernst W. Stromsdorfer, Grant Forsyth, Richard Oxley

Partnerships/Community

This study analyses selected aspects of the community impact of the Kitsap Community Action Program projects entitled ''The Public Awareness of Kitsap" (PACK). PACK was initiated as a response to a downsizing of Department of Defense activities in Kitsap County. With PACK, the Kitsap Community Action Program (KCAP) joined hands with the Washington Service Corps in an effort funded by the Defense Conversion Assistance program to revitalize the local Bremerton and Kitsap County economies.

"Promoting Peace And Preventing Violence" Lions-Quest Skills For Action, Rich Cairn

Special Topics, General

Students at Bishop Ford Catholic Central High School in Brooklyn, New York have completed several violence-prevention service projects as part of their participation in the Skills for Action program. Seniors facilitated eight-week sessions to orient freshmen, including conflict resolution and role playing.

Spinning Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Webs: A Secondary Education Approach, Susan M. Falcone, Barbara D. Law, Ellen R. Hayes, Ava L. Mendelson, David A. Patterson

Guides

Springboards: The ideas presented are not meant to be comprehensive. Placing this much information on one page restrains the number of ideas that can be given. They are meant to spark creative minds. Each teacher knows his/her students, community. and curriculum best.

Making connections: Each and every curricular area does not need to participate for successful interdisciplinary learning to occur.

Choosing your action: We have presented an example of each type of action: (direct, indirect, and advocacy). Only one type of action is required to make this a service-learning project along with preparation and reflection

All School activities: When reading …

Journal Writing In Service-Learning: Lessons From A Mentoring Projects, Martha De Acosta

Evaluation/Reflection

Journals contribute to learning by focusing students' attention on elements of their community service and by providing a quiet space for reflection on their actions. Writing helps students to engage in observation, questioning, speculation, and self-awareness, and to gain an overview of their community service. Lessons about enhancing the quality of students' journal writing in service-leaming are discussed.

Project Success: A Model For University-School-Community Partnerships, James X. Bembry

Partnerships/Community

In the 1980s a flurry of educational reform activity took place, resulting in collaborative relationships between public schools and universities as a popular and promising vehicle to revitalize education in urban areas (Osajima, 1989). The hope for these collaborations has been that the "bumping together of university and school cultures would have a positive effect on both institutions" (Goodlad, 1993, p. 25). Most of these partnerships have been between a school or department of education within a university and local elementary and secondary schools (Goodlad, 1990). Although the social work literature has addressed the subject of partnership programs (Danis, Franklin, …

A Paradigm Change In Higher Education?, Goodwin Liu

Higher Education

In the past decade we have witnessed steady progress in the development of service-learning programs on college campuses across the nation. As the director of a federal program that supports these initiatives, I was often" asked to describe the national context in which these initiatives take place. The national context can be sketched in many ways. Sometimes I used a historical perspective to explain how the service-leaming movement came to be. With other audiences, I used a policy perspective to explain how the Corporation for National Service and other national organizations are working to expand and sustain the movement.

Writing The Ties That Bind: Service-Learning In The Writing Classroom, David D. Cooper, Laura Julier

Higher Education

Recognizing, as John Dewey observed, that democracy begins in conversation, the Service-Learning Writing Project views the writing classroom as a place where rhetorical processes and democratic practices naturally converge. Informed by complementary disciplinary conversations in public culture studies and composition research, the project's interdisciplinary curriculum and pedagogical methods seek to shape habits of heart and mind that advance the development of critical discourse skills, the refinement of civic sensibility, and the promotion of students' ethical responsibility for the public good.

Applied Learning: Giving African-American Students An Edge In The Job Market, Jennifer Jones

Diversity

Applied learning experiences such as internships, cooperative education or public service programs offer significant benefits to African American college students. Students gain exposure and develop contacts in various industries prior to graduation. Applied learning also helps students evaluate their career interests and objectives as well as improve both their pre-employment and job survival skills.

Language, Culture, And Violence In The Education Crisis Of U.S. Latino/ As: Two Courses For Intervention, Frances R. Aparicio, Christina Jose-Kampfner

Diversity

This article discusses the educational crisis of U.S. Latina/as and argues for the recognition and understanding of the extent to which institutional racism and violence are exercised by schools against this cultural sector. It then describes, as forms of intervention, a course which trainsfuture Spanish teachers in developing Latino cultural competence, and a community service learning course which offers tutoring and emotional support to at-risk middle school students.

Bridging Two Worlds: Professional Service And Service Learning, Deborah Hirsch, Ernest Lynton

New England Resource Center for Higher Education Publications

Authors of this essay, also published in the NSEE Quarterly, argue that proponents of service-learning and faculty professional service should join forces to pursue a common agenda of community outreach. At a time when colleges and universities are being urged to help solve society's problems, the faculty represents a virtually untapped resource. Certainly, there are presently - and always have been - individual faculty working in the community as consultants or as supervisors and guides for students. If the campus is to make a significant impact, however, the institution must be able to deploy departments, divisions, interdisciplinary centers and …

The Prudential Spirit Of Community Youth Survey: A Survey Of High School Students On Community Involvement, Wirthlin Group

School K-12

Most of today's high-school teens (62%) feel their communities are good or very good places to live. But more say that conditions in their communities are getting worse (30%) than getting better (25%).

Crime and violence are the most pressing problems facing communities today, according to 36% of students. Other areas of concern are drug and alcohol abuse (cited by 18%), education (7%), economic problems (7%) and lack of youth programs (6%).

More than six teens in ten (62%) say the solutions to such problems lie in individual action rather than government programs. Only one in three (33%) favor government …

Yac Tracks: A Step-By-Step Guide For Organizing Community Youth Action Coalitions, Kansas Office For Community Service, Points Of Light Foundation

Special Topics, General

YAC Tracks, a step-by-step Guide for organizing Community Youth Action Coalitions, is the result of a ten month study on developing local youth service organizations. The first step for this manual was the discovery of: How to Start Your Own Youth Council", a publication of the New York State Youth Council. This information provided the base to create an outline for YAC Tracks in December 1995. Since that time, YAC Tracks has evolved and changed considerably! This manual consists of a process for mobilizing Community YACs at home and includes examples, activity ideas and practical suggestions. Contributors to t:his effort …

Tip Sheets: Risk Management In School-Based Service-Learning, Lisa Gray

Curriculum

Included in packet:

• Risk Management and Liability Tip Sheet
• Service Leaming Program Coordinator Job Description
• ASLER Standards for School-Based Service-Learning
• Students In Action (SIA) volunteer application
• Service Leaming Volunteer Contract
• Student Progress Report
• Parental Approval form
• Medical Release form
• Service Leaming Agreement and Release form
• Volunteer Driver Checklist

Native American Science Outreach Network Resource Guide, Native American Science Outreach Network

Tribal Nations Documents

By the spring of 1994. the Outreach Programs of the UW Department of Chemistry resembled the proverbial elephant as described by three blind people. The National Science Foundation funded a program to train middle school scienceteachers of Native American students. The Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education funded a linked program to train high school teachers and preservice teachers. Other funders ensured that there would be equipment and supplies for the program and for teachers to take to their home schools; university students would assist with water monitoring; community liaisons and university students would work with tribal communities; …

Learning By Doing: Out Of The Classroom And Into The Community, Steve Feldman

Service Learning, General

Peter Etsteen's white-whiskered face lit up when he saw his friends Barry Cohen and Adam Levinstein come into the Neuman Senior Center gymnasium on a recent Sunday morning.

Simultaneously, smiles broke across Barry's and Adam's inquisitive faces.

All three knew they were in for some good conversation.

Teaching Ethics Through Community Service, Judith A. Boss

Special Topics, General

Community service learning, when combined with a program of ethics education, is an effective means of enhancing students' personal, social and moral development as well as their academic performance.

Developing Active Citizens: Community Service Learning In Social Studies Teacher Education, Rahima C. Wade

Service Learning, General

How are social studies teacher educators to prepare teachers for working in a society fraught with social, environmental, and economic problems? If the true mission of our profession is active citizenship, we must help our students learn the value of engaging in long-term efforts to revitalize our democratic society and the skills to respond compassionately to those whose daily needs cannot wait for societal transformation. This article is based on the premise that social studies teacher educators are in a unique position to develop future teachers' commitment to giving their students opportunities for active involvement in the community and the …

Service-Learning Guide Book: Designed For Curriculum-Based Service-Learning, Steven W. Dieleman

Curriculum

This guidebook includes: Part One -Essential Components of Service Learning; Part Two-A Process for Designing Service-Learning Opportunities with Students; Part Three-Administrative Forms for Service Learning; Part Four-Student Assessment and Reflection in Service -Learning; Part Five-Changing and Improving Schools and Communities through Service-Learning; Part Six-School-Business Partnership Promoting Student Achievement and Service-Learning; Part Seven-Examples of Service-Learning

Becoming People Who Find Solutions, Eli J. Segal

Special Topics, General

I asked a young boy in Maine why he thought spending six hours a month in a homeless shelter was an important part of his 5th-grade lessons. "Because I used to think that homeless people were really different and frightening," he said. "Now I know that a lot of homeless people are like me inside, but things didn't work out for them somehow. I'm learning about what they need."

Curriculum Integration And The Disciplines Of Knowledge, James A. Beane

Service Learning, General

At a conference on curriculum integration, a speaker who admitted that he had only recently been introduced to the concept said, "From a quick look at various readings, it seems that the disciplines of knowledge are the enemy of curriculum integration." Unwittingly or not, he had gone straight to the heart of perhaps the most contentious issue in current conversations about curriculum integration. Simply put, the issue is this: If we move away from the subject-centered approach to curriculum organization, will the disciplines of knowledge be abandoned or lost in the shuffle?

Assessment Of A Service-Learning Programmme, Chris Walsh

Evaluation/Reflection

In the summer, 1994, NSEE Quarterly, I described the design and setting up of a new service-learning course at Roehampton Institute, London, England. The innovatory nature of this course was determined by its academic availability in the undergraduate curriculum. In this article, I want to examine the assessment methods and criteria. Why was it decided to provide a rigorous system of assessment and to assess the reflective work produced rather than directly assess the agency experience?

Experiential-Learning Activities In Undergraduate Developmental Psychology, Andrea D. Clements

Higher Education

In two studies, I examined student responses to an increased emphasis on experiential activities in a required undergraduate developmental psychology course. For four experiential sections (n=134), each class topic was related to a specific, real-world application. Four other sections (n=187) were taught primarily by lecture, with one out-of-class observation assignment. The experiential sections rated the value of and interest in the subject matter higher and the courtesy and consideration of the instructor significantly more positively than did the lecture sections. Students in the two types of sections did not differ significantly in achievement. A follow-up study identified the origin of …

English Language Arts And Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue Benson, Robert D. Shumer

Bibliographies

Community service and service-learning projects represent a powerful forum for developing language and communication skills. Connections with the community reinvigorate language education while enhancing the civic awareness of students. The sources selected for this topic bibliography are intended to aid practitioners in thinking about and developing service activities in their classrooms, schools and communities. The first section contains references providing background information and conceptual frameworks useful in thinking broadly about the role of service in the English language arts. This is followed by items which feature description of service programs or information pertinent to program development. Records in each section …

English Language Arts And Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue-Benson, Robert D. Shumer

Bibliographies

Community service and service-learning projects represent a powerful forum for developing language and communication skills. Connections with the community reinvigorate language education while enhancing the civic awareness of students. The sources selected for this topic bibliography are intended to aid practitioners in thinking about and developing service activities in their classrooms, schools and communities. The first section contains references providing background information and conceptual frameworks useful in thinking broadly about the role of service in the English language arts. This is followed by items which feature description of service programs or information pertinent to program development. Records in each section …

Civics, Social Studies And Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue Benson, Robert D. Shumer

Bibliographies

Participation in service activities can be a vital component to civics and social studies education. The sources selected for this topic bibliography are intended to aid practitioners in thinking about and developing service activities in their classrooms, schools and communities. The first section contains references providing background information and conceptual frameworks useful in thinking broadly about the role of service in education and youth development. This is followed by items which feature description of service programs or information pertinent to program development. Finally, Section Three has references discussing the civic and citizenship education context surrounding any service activity. Records in …

Intergenerational Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue Benson, Robert D. Shumer

Bibliographies

This topic bibliography is produced in response to numerous requests from service and education practitioners for information on intergenerational issues and programs. Additional records have been added in this most recent revision. The primary source for the below citations and annotations is the Eduational Resources Information Center's (ERIC) database of Resources In Education and Current Index to Journals in Education. This material is supplemented by references from a draft bibliography by Generations United as well as some resources abstracted by the National Information Center for Service-Learning. Records from each source are indicated by ERIC, GU, and NICSL, respectively, following the …

Impacts And Effects Of Service Topic Bibliography, Robin Vue Benson, Robert D. Shumer, Madeleine S. Hengel

Bibliographies

Many claims have been made about the impact of service-learning on participants, programs and communities. From positive influences on psychological, social and intellectual development to effects on alienation, attitudes and social behavior, service-learning has been mentioned as a method of achieving these outcomes. Additional reviews of the literature in areas related to civic participation and general engagement in the public, political process indicate that service-learning can have an affect on the civic development of youth.

On the other hand, some studies have indicated service-learning does not always have the desired outcomes. As Dan Conrad points out in his review of …

Lessons Learned: Institutionalizing Service On The Campus, Corporation For National Service, Cooperative Education Assocation

Conference Proceedings

Learn and Serve America: Higher Education Corporation for National Service. January 26, 1995 Telebriefing: "Institutionalizing Service on Your Campus" Resource Packet.

Community Partnerships: Collaboration For Youth Service Learning, Terry Pickeral, Beau Bassett, Rachel Vaughn

Conference Proceedings

On behalf of the Alaska State Community Service Commission, I would like to welcome you to a series of training, forums, and workshops on Learn & Serve America programs. These programs have great potential to impact the youth and adults of our community.

We are pleased to have Terry Pickeral and Rachael Vaughn with us for the week and hope to learn from them additional ways that the people of Alaska can help to create collaborative relationships for youth service, volunteerism, educational reform, and community involvement.

The Alaska State Community Service Commission has been developing a State Pan that proposes …