Research emphasizes the impact of service learning on college students' development. Less evidence exists of its cognitive impact. To improve academic learning quality, researchers must identify intellectual outcomes best facilitated through service learning, create measures of these outcomes to embed into instructional processes, and conduct…

Reviews literature on cognitive outcomes of service learning with an emphasis on how convincing the results are to faculty. Explores how self-report measures produce the most consistent positive findings yet are one of the least persuasive measures; other measures based in the cognitive sciences, such as problem-solving protocols, show promise but…

Discusses use of focus groups as qualitative research methodology and as reflection tool in service learning. Three focus groups at Vanderbilt University (Tennessee) assessed cognitive outcomes of service-learning and encouraged students' reflection on their experience. Focus group data were triangulated with survey data to assess validity of…

Four sections of an undergraduate pharmacy communications course were randomly assigned to include either a traditional laboratory project or a service-learning project. Data collected late in the semester revealed significant positive changes for the service-learning participants in cognitive complexity, social competency, perceived ability to…