This paper describes the culture of experiential community based learning at Central College, a rural liberal arts college in Midwestern, USA. Pre-service teachers use experiential community based learning to reflect on their personal growth in understanding the needs of diverse learners. Reflections demonstrate how the program contributes to the…

This paper discusses the use of reflective learning in service-learning projects in three different undergraduate courses. In a small group communications course, groups of five or six students were assigned to work with a non-profit agency to assist them in solving a problem. The students reflected on their group meetings in journals and wrote…

This essay presents the findings of a study employing a developmental approach to student acquisition of social responsibility. Professors at seven collegiate institutions of differing types who teach service-learning courses were asked if they would be willing to include their students in a study of social responsibility development through…

This paper describes the positive results of service learning at Kapiolani Community College (Hawaii) and demonstrates that service learning is an effective way of transforming the instructor as a learner and participant with the student, not only academically but also in the development of a more enlightened citizenry. A review of the literature…

For traditional-age college students (18 to 24 years old), college is a time of identity exploration. During this time, if individuals have a deep sense of caring for others, it is more likely that they will interact with others in an especially meaningful way. Thus, ways to expand student's identity through community service involvement are…

The Galileo Outdoor Adventures Program (GOAPe) addresses the needs of high school students with a student-centered experiential program that is project- and community-based. At the Galileo Academy of Science and Technology, a public school in inner-city San Francisco, GOAPe is a semester-long program and a student club. From the first day of…

Movements calling for reform in undergraduate education and the initiative for civic responsibility are traced, demonstrating that they have mutual concerns and self-interests. Though largely separate from and unknown to each other, their complementarity provides the basis for joint action. By integrating efforts to increase student involvement in…

Despite many service-learning programs that are now in practice, the empirical assessment of their effectiveness is sparse, due in part, to the difficulty in identifying a common indicator to measure effectiveness. In order to bolster the empirical assessment of these programs, evaluation of one such service-learning program is presented here.…

This study explores the relationship between elements of the service learning pedagogy and the self-development of students. The study focuses specifically on undergraduates who participated in a career-based outreach program (CBOP) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Observers followed four student fellows enrolled in a Community…

This packet provides information on New Century College, a program within George Mason University (Virginia) based on an integrated integration model of interdisciplinary course work, experiential learning, and service learning within learning communities. The program is organized into three "divisions" and requires 12 hours of…

A study examined experiential education programs in terms of how they developed participants' personal agency, sense of belonging, and levels of competence. Personal agency empowers students to become change agents in their lives and communities; sense of belonging enables participants to see themselves as members of a community with rights and…

Delta State University (Mississippi) encourages the development of the affective domain of its students, including its education majors, through their participation in a course called Volunteering in the Community. This paper reviews the concept of service learning and the findings of a Brevard Community College (Florida) survey concerning…

This report describes the Remote School, a "center for student leadership" in the high country of the Victorian Alps (Australia), and presents findings from an ongoing evaluation. This state-supported residential program addresses the needs of year-9 students on the threshold of adulthood and seeks to harness their energy in positive…