Service Learning Commons^™

Youth Teaching Youth Survey, Angela Hauer

Evaluation/Reflection

The Youth Teaching Youth workgroup surveyed Minnesota's 87 counties in February and March of 1999 (Appendix A). 68 of the 87 counties responded, 78%. Of those that responded, 44% (30) currently have 'Youth Teaching Youth' programming and 56% (38) do not. Of those that responded to the survey as currently not having 'Youth Teaching Youth' programming, 35% said that it has occurred in their county in the past. In previous years Alcohol Decisions had been done in ten counties, Project 4 Teens had been done in six counties, and Talking with TJ and Self Kare for Kids have both been …

Wingspread Declaration On Renewing The Civic Mission Of The American Research University, Harry C. Boyte, Elizabeth Hollander

Civic Engagement

Civic engagement is essential to a democratic society, but far too many Americans have withdrawn from participation in public affairs. Higher education can contribute to civic engagement, but most research universities do not perceive themselves as part of the problem or of its solution. Whereas universities were once centrally concerned with "education for democracy" and "knowledge for society," today's institutions have often drifted away from their civic mission.

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 …

Alternative Spring Break And Social Responsibility Is There A Relationship?, Judith Angela Biggs Garbuio

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Humans are living in a complex, interdependent, global society. Violence by youth is at an all-time high, the school system is failing to educate students (especially in urban areas), and all of this is compounded by major economic and social forces that are significantly altering the fabric of our lives. According to Keith (1994) these forces include: “… the impact of technology and the globalization of the economy on social relations and the structure of work (Broyn. 1991; Mingrone, 1983; Offee & Heinz. 1992; Wilson. 1987); the depletion of non-renewable resources and the ecological crisis; the mounting pace of population …

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 …

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 …

Strengthening And Supporting Service-Learning Objectives, Ins

Project Summaries

In the fall of 1994, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation gave a pilot grant to the Institute for Global Ethics to develop and demonstrate a methodology that incorporates a values-based orientation and reflection component into a selected number of service-learning programs across the country. A continuing two-year grant to expand the initiative got under way in December, 1996.

Service-Learning As A Tool For Violence Prevention An Annotated Topic Bibliography, Ann Treacy

Bibliographies

Bibliographic information for discussions and reports on service-learning as a tool for violence prevention.

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 …

Promising Practice For K-16 - Project Connect: School-University Collaboration For Service-Learning, Education Commission Of The States

Partnerships/Community

Partnership is a recurring theme in education these days: partnerships between schools and communities, between colleges and nonprofit organizations, between high schools and elementary schools, and between K-12 and higher education systems. Whether one refers to the latter partnerships as K-16, Pre-K-H or K-PhD, what truly defines them is the level and type of interactions among the school, university and community.

The Emerging Role Of Service Learning At Jesuit Universities, James J. Fleming

Service Learning, General

We Jesuits love teaching! We are alive when we are in the classroom. The art of teaching-and it is an art in the truest sense-is a medium in which we can create. "When it is most radical," as Madeleine Grumet has so eloquently observed, teaching as a "work of art simultaneously draws the viewer to it, engaging expectations, memories, recognitions; and then interrupts the viewer's customary response, contradicting expectations with new possibilities, violating memories, displacing recognition with estrangement." This is what the learning process can be: seductive, surprising, and transforming.

Applying Theory To Community Service: A Boyeristic Model, Lyle Flint

Service Learning, General

In 1994 fifty faculty members, representing various departments and colleges at Ball State University, met and, for several days, discussed Boyer's (1990), Scholarship Reconsidered The result of these discussions was, A Different Dawn, a proposal seeking a reconsideration of the traditional lines of scholarly productivity. While a full implementation of Boyer's model has not yet appeared in governance documentation, particularly promotion and tenure documentation, at Ball State it has been embraced by the administration and by a large number of the faculty. Central to Boyer's model is the call for service to the community outside of the academy.

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.

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.

Service Learning Makes The Grade, Rich Cairn, Susan Cairn

School K-12

Connecting service learning to specific standards presents challenges for educators. In Minnesota, teachers and students are pioneering assessments that effectively evaluate performance in light of learning goals.

Service Learning: A Vision For Change And Youth Empowerment, Martha J. R. Johnson

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Service Learning: A Vision for Change and Youth Empowerment examines the theoretical and practical framework of service-learning in a curricular setting. Service-learning is both a method and a philosophy of education. This position paper provides teachers and students with the conceptual framework and practical knowledge to implement successful school based service-learning programs that emphasize youth empowerment, democratic process, consensus building, critical reflection, and community collaboration. Key topics included are: definition, philosophy, essential elements, and practical strategies to apply service-learning methodology.

Introduction To Service-Learning, Augsburg College

Service Learning, General

Information for Education students making a difference in our community (EDU 265, EDU 210).

A Lack Of Civic Commitment?, Pablo Eisenberg

Civic Engagement

A recent study on youth leaders.hip and community service, conducted by Peter D. Hart Associates for Public Allies (a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that promotes youth leadership), found that today's young Americans are committed to community service and direct, personal assistance to others. But the survey of 728 people between the ages of 18 and 30 also raised disturbing questions about the young generation's commitment to civic engagement and social change.

Tribal Colleges: An Introduction, American Indian Higher Education Consortium, The Institute For Higher Education Policy

Tribal Nations Documents

Tribal Colleges were created over the last 30 years in response to the higher education needs of American Indians, and generally serve geographically isolated populations that have no other means of accessing education beyond the high school level. They have become increasingly essential to educational opportunity for American Indian students, a status they have achieved in a relatively brief period of time. Tribal Colleges are unique institutions that combine personal attention with cultural relevance, in such a way as to encourage American Indians—especially those living on reservations—to overcome the barriers in higher education.

When Will I Ever Use This Stuff Anyway?, Suzanne S. Austin, Charlotte L. Berceli

Higher Education

As instructors of an intermediate-algebra course at a large urban community college, we decided to use a service-learning project to help students understand and appreciate the mathematics that they were studying. This outcome transcended the classroom and best motivated mathematics students by helping them realize how important the subject is to their futures (Jenrette 1994).

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.

Connecting The Learning: 4-H Extension And Graduation Standards, Tamie Bremseth, Jan Hively, Jim Mitchell

Project Summaries

The 1998 Minnesota Graduation Rule defines what students should master during their school years. Going beyond paper-and-pencil tests, the rule requires students to demonstrate what they can do as well as what they know. As the rule has been developed, teachers and school districts have been scrambling to adjust their programs to address the individualized learning requirements that emphasize experiential, project-based learning.

The Impact Of Integrating A Structured Ethical Reflection Program Into High School Service-Learning Experiences On Students' Socio-Moral Development (Executive Summary: Final Report), Ins

Project Summaries

This evaluation reports the effects on students' socio-moral development of the implementation of a program that integrates training in ethical decision making skills and service-learning programs. Because the program blends the development of ethical reasoning with service learning experiences for students, it represents a new direction for both service-learning and moral/ ethical/ character education.

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.

Building The Service-Learning Pyramid, Campus Compact

Higher Education

Through a $3 million dollar grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, Campus Compact will undertake an extensive effort to increase young people's involvement in civic and community life. This work will also focus on increasing higher education's commitment to its civic responsibilities.

Working Paper, Russell Garth, Robert L. Sigmon

Higher Education

To educate students for a lifetime of contribution to society, colleges and universities accept an enormous challenge. Toward this end, they help students pursue a broad range of goals-prepare for careers, acquire a sense of civic responsibility; gain self-awareness, and learn how to learn.

The University As Citizen: Institutional Identity And Social Responsibility, William M. Sullivan

Higher Education

To act responsibly, we must know who we are. If higher education today is uncertain about its social responsibilities, as seems manifestly the case, then this suggests that the American academy is unsure about its institutional identity. For organizations as for individuals, responsibility follows from relationships. But relationships grow out of our purposes even as how we relate to others helps to shape our aims. Vital and successful institutions stand out by their ability to maintain their direction and sense of meaning even amid significant shifts in the social landscape. Indeed, they can aid in providing direction for other institutions, …

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.

Presidents’ Declaration On The Civic Responsibility Of Higher Education, Campus Compact

Higher Education

As presidents of colleges and universities, both private and public, large and small, two-year and four-year, we challenge higher education to re-examine its public purposes and its commitments to the democratic ideal.We also challenge higher education to become engaged, through actions and teaching, with its communities.We have a fundamental task to renew our role as agents of our democracy. This task is both urgent and long-term. There is growing evidence of disengagement of many Americans from the communal life of our society in general, and from the responsibilities of democracy in particular.We share a special concern about the disengagement of …