Prominent school-to-work observers see a close connection between service-learning and school-to-work programs. Major components of service-learning are as follows: active student participation, thoughtfully organized experiences, focus on community needs and school/community coordination, academic curriculum integration, structured time for…

Discusses service learning (learning that combines public service with related academic work) and service learning projects in an undergraduate course on mass communication and society. Finds that it is an effective means of teaching that increases student understanding of complex material. (SR)

Discusses how critical multiculturalism can be used to inform academic service learning, offering as an example the case study of a Pennsylvania State University project in which college students work with homeless citizens in Washington, DC. Stresses the importance of intentionality in planning the community service components of academic service…

This report explains the need for viable and effective partnerships between K-12 schools and institutions of higher education involving service and service-learning, and discusses the State of Washington's experience in this area. It is stated that both rural and urban schools have found service and service-learning to be effective methods of…

A study investigated the effects of service-learning projects conducted by 255 student teachers and designed in cooperation with their cooperating teachers. Drawing on survey and case-study data, it was found that classroom-based service-learning projects, if structured carefully, can contribute to student-teacher empowerment and enhanced…

Presents 10 ideas for service learning projects designed for elementary schools. Includes having students do local history projects complete with interviews and artifacts, learn about community volunteering, interact with the elderly, care for the environment, recycle materials, and hold canned food drives. (MJP)

Outlines approaches for student evaluation in service learning projects. Maintains that most service learning project participants' goals fall into three broad areas: civic development, academic achievement, and personal or social development. Assessment in these areas can be accomplished through tabulation of service hours, student journals, and…

Profiles Active Citizenship Today (ACT), a social studies service learning program for middle and high school students. In ACT, students explore their community, identify problems, examine public policy, explore their options, and take action. Includes unit excerpts from the ACT teacher's handbook. (MJP)

Briefly describes a service-learning grant program and provides examples of elementary, middle, and high school projects awarded grants in 1996. Projects included efforts to educate the community about river pollution, multicultural murals, and a school activities news show. Includes application form and general guidelines and suggestions. (MJP)

Discusses accomplishments of students in Miami Middle School and High School in northeastern Oklahoma, who with the help of teachers are linking their lived experience, school-based learning, and new-found activism through the medium of a service-learning project. Discusses the history of Tar Creek, now designated as the nation's worst…

Commitment to the improvement of the social order underlies and challenges the kind of educational program that Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, strives to offer its students. Between 63 and 73 percent of traditionally-aged seniors at Saint Joseph's indicated that they participated in some form of community service during…

Describes a middle school curriculum that integrates service learning and civic responsibility skills into the core academic program. The "CityYouth" curriculum consists of 32 multidisciplinary lessons divided into four units of eight lessons each. Examines how schools have incorporated the units into community activities. (MJP)

Details a series of service learning projects conducted by a California middle school social studies class. Creative, inexpensive, and substantive, the projects included writing to Manuel Noreiga in prison, creating a feed-the-homeless garden, and translating city documents into other languages. (MJP)

Describes a service learning project where students identify a real political problem, research related issues, and propose a solution. Members of the U.S. Congress and county offices of education have created corresponding awards programs. Includes procedures for creating a local project. (MJP)

A guide for college and university educators who manage service-learning programs, or programs that support student involvement in the community, is presented. A systematic approach to planning and managing service-learning programs is presented, management functions for supporting a service-learning system are identified, and ideas on…