In collaboration with an urban public school, teacher candidates at a nearby university created a social-emotional skills project called Knight Brigade. The author discusses the project planning, implementation, and results as part of this ongoing partnership.

The article examines the Going Out program for the 9-12 class at Montessori Greenhouse, in Garden Grove, CA. In this program, the sixth-year students plan outings into the community based on their interests and current studies. Teachers encourage students to be as independent as possible in both the planning and execution of their excursions; this…

Service learning is a method of instruction where the students in a course use the course's content in a service project. The service is included as a portion of the students' course grades. During the fall semester 2010, service learning was incorporated into the Introduction to Astronomy course at Misericordia University. The class had eight…

We describe several service-learning initiatives implemented by the mathematics and education departments. College students with majors and minors in math and math education have helped to design and implement math events for elementary and middle school students. Formal and informal reflections on these service-related experiences have…

In Our Global Village is a project that originated when Barbara Cervone of What Kids Can Do traveled to Kambi Ya Simba, Tanzania, and spent time with the students at Awet Secondary School. Although the students were skeptical, Cervone persuaded them to write a book about their village, their lifestyles, and the challenges that the inhabitants…

Identifying a community problem or need and helping to solve it via student-led initiatives is at the heart of service learning. Elson Nash, associate director for program management at Learn and Serve America, a grant program of the Corporation for National and Community Service and USA Freedom Corps, calls service learning "the glue that…

Last year, 15 students in the Montpelier (Vermont) High School's Advanced Placement Spanish class paid class-time visits every week to a nearby dairy farm. They interacted with the Mexican laborers by conversing with them in Spanish, having picnics together, and playing cards and soccer. As the students advanced their Spanish verbal skills, they…

Service-learning is an instructional methodology teachers can use to foster student engagement in rigorous curricula. Through service-learning, middle level students see that what they are learning in school is real and important, and that they can be valued, contributing members of society. In this article, the Titans team at Remington Middle…

Implementing service-learning programs in schools for our gifted may help nurture the development of more highly moral people. Service-learning, a method by which students learn and develop through curriculum integration and active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that address needs in their community, has three levels:…

What causes students to leave school? According to Azzam (2007), over 47% of students in the United States who drop out of school reported they did so because school was boring and irrelevant to their life situation. What can schools and teachers do to encourage students to stay in school? One possible solution may be to look at experiential…

In this article, the author discusses how some educators are turning to service-learning projects for charitable activities--and helping to foster connections between students and the human beings they aim to serve. The author highlights a program called Kids Can Make a Difference, also known simply as KIDS, as an example of how to turn food…

With a satisfying "Whoompf!" the air cannon sends a tennis ball the length of the school gym. The successful launch is met with cheers from the science club members and their partners--college engineering students from a local university. This air cannon activity was one of many learning opportunities that grew out of a partnership…

Policymakers sometimes view arts education and experiential learning as distractions from the goal of enabling all students to master rigorous content standards. The three school programs described in this article, however, demonstrate that content standards can be integrated into engaging, motivating curriculums based on the arts and authentic…