Provides detailed advice on how professors can use reflection in their service-learning courses. Describes how reflection is a critical component to service learning because it allows students to respond, often in writing, to the relationship between what they are learning in class and what they are experiencing at their service sites. (EV)

A study based on data from 1,500 students at 20 colleges and universities found that students who combined community service and academic study (service learning) differed from those who did not, in their target attitudes, skills, values, and understanding of social issues. Participation in service learning had an impact on these outcomes over the…

The Comparing Models of Service-Learning project surveyed the impact of service-learning programs on students' citizenship values, skills, attitudes, and understanding nationwide. Data were obtained from 1,136 pre- and post-surveys of students who participated in service learning and 408 of their classmates who did not select service-learning…

A research project used data from a national comparative study to examine whether service learning improved students' problem solving or contributed to a more complex understanding of social issues. In a pilot study, students with no, limited, and intensive service-learning experience were interviewed about a social problem and how they would…

A study explored the application of reflective judgment theory to the types of problem solving faced by students in community service placements. It also tested the impact of different service-learning experiences on growth in reflective judgment over the course of a semester. Participants were 66 students in 6 colleges and universities. They were…