Service Learning Commons^™

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 …

Student Development Outcomes In Service Learning For Teacher Education, Hilda A. Sramek

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Students in the Liberal Studies Track I program for teacher preparation at California State University, Long Beach, are required to participate in service learning. The SERVE (Service Experiences to ReVitaIize Education) Program provides training for the students. The purpose of this study was to develop a mechanism for infusing Chickering's psychosocial development model into the training. Two questions were asked: (a) given instruction in the model and support, are students able to apply the model to further their personal and professional development? and (b) what is the best way to implement the model in service learning training? Qualitative methodology was …

Grappling, Theodore R. Sizer, Nancy Faust Sizer

Special Topics, General

"Moral" or "character" education is neither a discrete curriculum added as an afterthought nor an unreflective activity, such as "community service, " that has never been probed for its meaning. Truly moral education, the authors maintain, is an intellectual undertaking that must infuse the entire school.

Youth Service-Learning And Community Service Among 6th- Through 12th-Grade Students In The United States: 1996 And 1999, Brian Kleiner, Chris Chapman

Special Topics, General

Involving America's students in community service activities is one of the objectives established under the third National Education Goal for the year 2000, which seeks to prepare students for responsible citizenship. Over the past 10 years, legislative initiatives have responded to and galvanized a growing national emphasis on increasing students' involvement with their local communities and linking this service to academic study through service-learning. Examples of initiatives that have mandated support for service-learning activities in elementary and secondary schools include the National and Community Service Act of 1990, the Serve America program and the National and Community Service Trust Act …

Mandatory Community Service: Citizenship Education Or Involuntary Servitude?, Susan M. Anderson

Service Learning, General

A popular topic of conversation lately among parents, educators, policymakers, students and the media is the isolation of young people from their communities. Many people feel schools have a responsibility to build bridges among diverse populations of children and youth, provide nonviolent problem-solving experiences and promote positive activities for young people, even during after-school hours. Involving young people in community service is seen as one potential solution. Indeed, some citizens and educators would like to ensure that all students — including those least likely to participate voluntarily but most likely to benefit from the experience — have the opportunity to …

Invlving Older Adults In Schools, Jane Angelis, Lisa Wathen

Intergenerational

Older adults possess what many young people lack: history, patience, and a deep knowledge of the human struggle. At a time when flexibility and the ability to change are essential skills for entry into the economy, senior citizens can show the way. They were born, after all, before television, jet planes, and communications satellites. And in an age in which mobility, poverty, and other forces have severed family ties, older adults are a living link with the past. With all the benefits that can accrue from involving older people in our schools, it would seem to make sense that' this …

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 …

Reading, Writing And Service Learning, National Helpers Network, Inc.

School K-12

Cross-age tutoring programs, like the National Helpers Network's "Helpers Promoting Literacy" model, in which middle and high school students serve as reading tutors to younger children, have been popular fixtures in many school service learning programs in recent years. Described by many as "win-win" programs because both the "tutors" and the "tutees" improve their reading skills as a result of participating, these programs are often integrated into English and language arts curricula and give students the opportunity to learn by teaching. But a look at programs throughout the nation shows that service learning practitioners are expanding on that idea and …

Service Strategies And Programs To Help Incarcerated Youth: A Training Program For Volunteers, Teresita Bolivar

Special Topics, General

For more than thirty years, AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members have been serving disadvantaged communities. The program is dedicated to increasing the capability of people to improve the conditions of their lives.

Foster Grandparents are part of the National Senior Service Corps, a network of more than a half-million seniors who are making a difference as volunteers. Since 1965 the Foster Grandparents Program has tapped the experience, skills, talents, interests and creativity of seniors age 55 and older. They serve 20 hours a week in: schools, hospitals, day care centers, homes for abused and abandoned children, Head Start, …

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.

A Model Job Training Program For Summer Youth: Library Interns At Grambling State University A. C. Lewis Memorial Library, Grambling, Louisiana, Sally Carroll, Sandy Stokley

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

A six-week university library intern program sponsored by the Job Training Partnership Act investigated the impact on 12 economically disadvantaged young persons facing nationally recognized problems pertaining to inadequate reading and math skills, work ethics, job skills, and motivation to complete school. Participants, predominantly (92%) African-American high school students, worked at Grambling State University, an historically black university, under predominantly (85%) African-American supervisors. Interns received academic enrichment, work experience, and life skills, primarily through pre-testing, classroom training, orientations by departmental supervisor, "hands-on" group projects, written assignments, daily reviews, and post-testing. Statistical data verify recommendations in the literature that job training …

Service-Learning And Community Service In K-12 Public Schools, Bernie Green, Rebecca Skinner, Chris Chapman

Special Topics, General

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education used the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) to conduct the National Student Service-Learning and Community Service Survey in spring 1999. This is the first survey to provide reliable national estimates of the percentage of public elementary, middle, and high1 schools incorporating service-learning into their course curriculum, as well as providing the most recent data on school engagement in community service.

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).

National Service And The Internet: Building Bridges To Collaboration, Anne M. Ostberg

Service Learning, General

The national service fellow examined how Unified State Plans proposed using the Internet to facilitate collaboration, and how existing state service Web sites reflected the collaboration discussed in Unified State Plans.

Forty-eight states have Unified State Plans for National and Community Service. These plans include as partners several entities: the state commission for national and community service, the Corporation for National Service state office, the state education agency, representatives of higher education, and other representatives of volunteer and service programs. The majority of Unified State Plans (79 percent) propose using the Internet to accomplish goals toward achieving a broad vision …

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 …

A Kinder, Gentler Student Body, Linda Jacobson

Special Topics, General

Monica Viega describes what went on in her classroom earlier in the school year as "Jerry Springer fights." Displays of anger and incivility among the 5th graders sometimes grew so intense that furniture would get tossed across the room. But the scene in Ms. Viega's classroom no longer resembles a raucous daytime talk show. Every morning, her Blalock Elementary School students sit in a circle and discuss how they treat one another. They talk about what they see on the television news and about keeping drugs and violence out of their neighborhoods. "This amazes me," Ms. Viega, a first-year teacher, …

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 …

The Progress Of Education Reform 1999-2001: Youth Violence, Suzanne Weiss

Special Topics, General

Three strategies to stem the tide of youth violence: Prenatal and infant care; small schools; and service-learning.

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' …

Service As Learning: One School's Story, Deborah L. Bright

Special Topics, General

Cole Porter first alerted us in 1934, and three decades later, Bob Dylan reminded us: times are definitely changing. Too true. A5 we stand with one foot balanced precariously on the ledge of a new millennium, the world around us seems different almost from day to day, from moment to fleeting moment. The pace of this change quickens not arithmetically, but exponentially, and the students we see before us in our classrooms are preparing themselves to inherit from us a world we may not even recognize.

Service Learning As Democratic Action, Joel Westheimer, Joseph Kahne

Special Topics, General

It is often said that today's youth will be called on to solve tomorrow's problems. Schools provide essential preparation for this task. Despite the rhetoric, curriculum that considers the nature of social problems and ways youth might respond as citizens rarely gets center stage. Rather than focusing on ways youth might participate through democratic institutions to foster a better society, curricular discussions focus on the acquisition of academic and vocational skills. To the extent that the democratic purposes of education are raised, educators emphasize conveying knowledge regarding U.S. history and government structures and exercises in which students simulate the operations …

How Can Service-Learning Strengthen Tutoring Partnerships?, Jennifer Arndt, Bob Seidel

Service Learning, General

Tutoring is usually volunteer service done to benefit learners and their communities. Tutoring should be a partnership between tutor and student. The partnership should also include the teacher, the student's family or household, the school, the tutoring program, and other tutors and students. All of these people and institutions have an interest in the success of the tutoring endeavor. All have something to contribute and something to gain. These relationships might not always be apparent to everyone involved. But if tutoring programs see all involved as learners and teachers, they can illuminate these relationships and strengthen them.

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.

The Blossoming Of Service Learning Quality In Maryland Or "How Do We Know It's Getting Any Better?!", Luke F. Frazier

Evaluation/Reflection

It's almost 9:20 on a February morning and the parking lot at Edmondson-Westside High School is mostly quiet. Only a faint thump-thump-thump of the latest urban anthem wafts from a Nissan Sentra double-parked at the entrance. The sky threatens rain as our visiting group of Chicago educators steps from the van and hurries inside. The Chicagoans are here to examine urban service learning in all its glory. And although we have carefully selected sites for our visitors based on their reputations, I am still nervous. Nervous about the quality of what they will see. Nervous that the students won't really …

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.

African-American, Latino, And Hispanic Youth In Service Topic Bibliography, Charles C. Cook

Bibliographies

African-American, Latino, and Hispanic communities have been among the least discussed, least researched, and under-reported groups in the area of community service. Traditions of these cultures have a history of building and enriching their environments by involving youth. Over 80% of African-Americans, Latino, and Hispanic people populate the nation's 100 largest cities. Therefore African-American, Latino, and Hispanic youth who are engaged in community service are involved in strengthening and revitalizing our country's urban centers. Today organizations such as the National Urban League, ASPIRA, and the National Council of La Raza, as well as schools and local community organizations help mobilize …