Service Learning Commons^™

Investigating Urban Community Needs: Service Learning From A Social Justice Perspective, Carol Wiechman Maybach

Service Learning, General

Homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, hunger, teen pregnancy, youth violence, and marginalization of the disabled are but a few of the complex social issues that continue to plague urban America. They are also issues that attract the attention of student service providers involved in service-learning programs across the country (Education Commission of the States, 1994). However, few of the higher education service-learning courses focus on the investigation of the needs of the individuals included in these groups in the urban community, and even fewer build service--learning projects around a model that is accountable for the results of the service experience on …

Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach To Experiential Education, Andrew Furco

Service Learning, General

For over a quarter of a century, education researchers and practitioners have struggled to determine how to best characterize service-learning. In 1979, Robert Sigmon defined service-learning as an experiential education approach that is premised on "reciprocal learning" (Sigmon, 1979). He suggested that because learning flows from service activities, both those who provide service and those who receive it "learn" from the experience. In Sigmon's view, service-learning occurs only when both the providers and recipients of service benefit from the activities.

Is Service-Learning Really Better Than Community Service? A Study Of High School Service Program Outcomes, Andrew Furco

Service Learning, General

In their 1981 study, the Experiential Education Evaluation Project, Dan Conrad and Diane Hedin investigated the impact of a range of experiential education programs on secondary school students. The study, which involved more than 1000 secondary school students, compared the effects of five different types of experiential education programs-community service, internships, political action, community study, and adventure education on students' psychological, social, and intellectual development. The study found that the various programmatic forms of experiential education showed significant, positive effects in all three student outcome areas. It also revealed that certain programmatic features, such as clearly articulated program goals and …

Service-Learning And School-To-Work: Making The Connections, Andrew Furco

Service Learning, General

Recently, much attention has been focused on two federal initiatives that encourage students to explore learning opportunities outside the classroom. The National and Community Service Trust Act and the School to Work Opportunities Act provide states with assistance to develop and implement school programs in which elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students are engaged in learning experiences that are hands-on, meaningful, and connected to the real world. Although the acts differ on their intended educational purposes, both are based on similar educational philosophies, principles, and pedagogies. These fundamental similarities suggest that the two reforms can work synergistically to establish powerful and …

Service Learning: Developing A Curriculum For Caring, Sally R. Beisser

Service Learning, General

This article defines service learning and provides summary data on a federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to implement service learning in the classroom. The author identifies and describes four categories of successful service projects and provides examples of integrating the curriculum content to identify and meet community and school-based needs. She then suggests instructional strategies and follow-up resources for professional use.

Community-Based Learning: A Foundation For Meaningful Educational Reform, Thomas R. Owens, Changhua Wang

Service Learning, General

Many of today's leaders in education, business, and community development are coming to realize, even more than in the past, that schools alone cannot prepare our youth for productive adulthood. These leaders are ready to try new approaches that link learning activities in classrooms with a full range of learning experiences available in our communities.

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 …

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.

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 …

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?

Service Learning And Curriculum Transfusion, Irving H. Budchen

Service Learning, General

Newcomers to service learning, caught up by its initial successes, are frequently not aware that service learning is capable, with appropriate long-term structuring, of exhibiting developmental stages that feed into patterns of academic growth.

Inclusion And Community Service Learning: A Partnership, Mary Chamberlain

Service Learning, General

Teachers and students, already burdened by seemingly overwhelming curriculum demands, are seeing more areas of study moved into the schools as a result of today's societal needs. Community service learning must not be perceived as yet another burden, but as an integrated part of the curriculum, an enhancement to teaching and learning.

Creating A School And Community Culture To Sustain Service Leaming, Caroline Allam

Service Learning, General

"You guys have always done this stuff for us. It's our town. We're the ones that are going to have to run the town after you old guys are gone. We ought to get a shot at making some deicisions about the future (Lysen 1992, p. 8).

This strong sentiment came from a Bath Junior High School student who was working with peers, teachers, scientists, and other community members to conduct water quality tests on the Kennebec River in Maine. The statement reflects the desire and willingness of young people to work together, to assume responsibility and stewardship for their …

Service Learning, Diversity, And The Liberal Arts Curriculum, Richard Battistoni

Service Learning, General

In the many years I have been teaching, I have attempted to engage students in issues surrounding their place as citizens in a multicultural democracy. In my second year of involvement in AAC&U's American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy, and Liberal Learning project, I have become acquainted with the perspectives of faculty from different disciplines and institutions and with a wide array of excellent multicultural materials and curricula; but even the best of curricula tend to be somewhat abstract.

Community Service Learning Is A Foregone Conclusion At The Lincoln Elementary School, Michelle Boorstein

Service Learning, General

For the staff at Lincoln Elementary School in Springfield, Massachusetts, articulating the many ways in which community service learning affects their school is nearly impossible. The principal says he doesn't require people to do community service. Yet, on any given day, students all over the school are learning through service projects.

National Service Getting Grants Done, Joshua Shenk

Service Learning, General

Early on the morning of September 12, 800 new national service corps participants strode onto the White House grounds, anticipating a noon ceremony in which they'd be sworn in by President Clinton, as thousands of others joined in via satellite. One catch, though. Earlier that morning, Frank Eugene Corder had also entered the grounds-over the gates, not through them-in his Cessna 150 aircraft, which crashed just short of his apparent target, the president's bedroom.

In addition ro guaranteeing himself a distinguished spot on history's roster of would-be assassins, Corder - who perished on impact-had also made himself one giant pain …

The Theoretical Roots Of Service-Learning In John Dewey: Toward A Theory Of Service-Learning, Dwight E. Giles Jr., Janet Eyler

Service Learning, General

As interest in service-learning research multiplies. there is a concomitant need fora theoretical base for service-learning. In this article the authors review aspects of John De1wy 's educational and social philosophy that they identify as relevant to the development of a theory of service-learning, including learning from experience, reflective activity, citizenship, community, and democracy. The article concludes with a set of key questions for research and theory development.

Samaritan Leadership, Terrance M.I. Egan

Service Learning, General

Whatever one's code of ethical or religious belief, the notion of service to others is an ideal common to all cultures and civilizations. For this reason, the story of the Good Samaritan is one of the most poignant, and universally-appealing parables of the New Testament.

Asked, "Who is my neighbor?", Jesus replied with the parable of a Samaritan who took pity on the half-dead victim of brigands. A priest and a Levite passed by, but it was the socially inferior Samaritan who proved to 'be the epitome of neighborly service. The Good Samaritan displayed qualities of leadership that the designated …

Minnesota Plan For National And Community Service (1994-1997), Minnesota Commission On National And Community Services

Service Learning, General

Minnesota has a legacy of national leadership in fostering volunteerism and community service. The oldest surviving volunteer center in the United States was established in Minnesota in 1919. The state has generated service organizations such as the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) and the National Retiree Volunteer Coalition (NRVC), now providing leadership as part of the national service movement. Minnesota's bipartisan ethic of civic commitment has stimulated governors and legislators to break new ground in state community service legislation .from the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s to the first commitment …

Job Development Programs, Jennifer K. Carter

Service Learning, General

In 1979, at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU), the Career Center (CPPC) and the Financial Aid Office collaborated to create the "job locator program" as identified in the Higher Education Act of 1965 and Amendments in 1976, 1980 and 1992. The Job Development Programs provide students with extra income as well as relevant work experience while employers gain student employees who have experienced practical application of the theories learned in classrooms. Therefore, the Job Development Programs provide an ideal opportunity to bridge the gap between the world of academia and the world of work.

Service-Learning: A New Priority For Career Centers, Pamela Franta

Service Learning, General

Service-learning is a term that has been in use for at least twenty-five years. Jane Kendall (1991) stated that she has discovered at least 147 different terms used to express the basic concept of service-learning. It's very difficult to define a concept with such broad usage, but Kendall has attempted to identify key elements of the term. She noted that a concept that has experienced so much resistance and debate over its clarification obviously entails a strong investment on the part of its proponents. There is something uniquely powerful about combining the concepts of service and learning together; this something …

Leadership Training And Service Learning, Ronald G. Billingsley

Service Learning, General

For the past twenty years the University of Colorado at Boulder has offered a leadership training program called The Presidents Leadership Class (PLC) which uses service learning as a fundamental strategy for developing leadership values and skills. Training in PLC is focused around an eight-point vision of ideal leadership characteristics and central to that vision is the belief that leaders should conceive of their actions as they relate to the broader good in society; they should participate in community service activities and forums. The goal is to shape self-concept in ways that make service to one s community seem like …

Service-Learning And The Dilemmas Of Success, Irving H. Buchen, Carl I. Fertman

Service Learning, General

Service-learning as a methodology and a movement has achieved a quantum jump in the last few years. Nationally, it has been given strong impetus by the commitment of Congress and President Clinton. A few years ago, Congress authorized significant start-up funds to make grants to states. A number of states. already extensively involved in service-learning, received substantial grants. Pennsylvania, our home base, for example. received sufficient funds to support, initially, 44 school and community programs throughout the state. Last year. there were 66 programs: and this year. it will go over 90. And Pennsylvania· s growth of support is replicated …

Service Learning For All Students, Carl I. Fertman

Service Learning, General

We are witnessing a transformation in education. Again and again we hear that we are in times of diversification, collaboration, systemic change, and transition. Although these terms apply to cooperative efforts between groups, they stem from the realization that such efforts can efficiently support and prepare students to face increasingly complex challenges, opportunities, and problems. Service learning is a part of this transformation.

Service learning rightly has been called the education of empowerment. It builds self-esteem, renews curiosity about learning, develops interpersonal skills, stirs leadership development, rekindles work and service ethics, and brings the world of careers closer to home. …

Needs Assessment For The Learn And Serve America Program, L. Richard Bradley

Service Learning, General

In almost every community there are a wide range of agencies which seek to address what are commonly understand to be "the needs of the community." Activities range from caring for the environment to ongoing assistance to those with various disabilities to the more temporary needs for food, shelter, and housing for those whose lives may be in transition due to job loss or change or change in marital status. Yet in spite of the commitment of the dedicated people associated with these agencies, most agency directors and community leaders agree that the needs usually outstrip available resources.

To fill …

White Paper On National Service, Stephen R. Mullen

Service Learning, General

President Clinton unveiled his vision of National Service in a speech at Rutgers University on March 1, 1993. It was a watershed moment in the resurgence of volunteerism and community service. This resurgence began about a decade ago, to highlight the need to appreciate our nation's and our communities' most valuable resource - its people. People from diverse agencies and organizations coalesced to ensure our nation's future by teaching the service or volunteer ethic to our youth. The intended purpose was to provide opportunities for young people to contribute to the development of their communities and give appreciation and understanding …

Challenges Of Replicating Success, Jay Altman, Tom Malarkey

Service Learning, General

Khrishnamurti used to tell a story about Man walking along the shore of the sea of life looking for the shell of truth. God and the Devil are watching from atop the cliffs rising far above the sand and water. Man finds the shell of truth in the roaring surf and picks it up. God turns to the Devil and says, "I've got you now, for Man has discovered truth."

I'm not worried," replies the Devil. "Just wait until he organizes it."

Although we hope no one would ever presume to have found the truth, most of us in the …

Looking For Young People Listening For Youth Voice, John Beilenson

Service Learning, General

Where are the young people? This is the question I find myself asking as I make my way around the offices of national and community service programs in Washington and across the country. I have worked in and for youth service and youth serving organizations since 1985, so I have few illusions. Offices are for adults. If you want to find the youth in youth service, you generally have to get out to project sites-schools and playgrounds and parks where young people are actually doing service.

Looking For Help Long Overdue: Where Has Higher Education Been?, Robert Wood

Service Learning, General

For more than a decade, the American public has carped and complained about the condition of American education, Some have gone so far as to wring their hands over the apparent futility of reform efforts, Overall, the nation has found the state of its public elementary and secondary education unacceptable. It has especially lamented the tragic condition of urban public schools, yet it does not seem to know what to do about it.

H.R. 2335, June 8 1993, Committee On Education And Labor Bill, U.S. House Of Representatives

Service Learning, General

To amend certain education laws to provide for service-learning and to strengthen the skills of teachers and improve instruction in service-learning, and for other purposes.