Information systems programs have offered students opportunities for service learning in their curriculum through elective courses and through capstone courses. However, even though there have been numerous research studies showing the benefits of international service learning experiences, information systems programs have not yet developed these…

This article provides an overview of the use of service learning in the middle schools as a way to instill and foster civic responsibility and citizenship in students. In addition to a discussion about service learning's major aspects, the authors provide concrete examples of how to implement service learning across the curriculum in middle school…

New school buildings often grab headlines that highlight their green features and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, yet nearly 90% of schools in the United States were built before 1985, with the largest portion built from 1950-69 to accommodate the baby boom generation (National Clearinghouse for Educational…

The purpose of this manuscript is twofold: First, the authors explore the nature of the learning in which their students engaged during a service-learning experience in efforts to understand the meanings of teaching and learning they constructed, and how the context of this experience interacted with their candidates' previously constructed…

This article reports on a longitudinal study of a two-semester middle school environmental learning course that departs from traditional Mexican expository pedagogies through the incorporation of experiential and service learning approaches. In the short term, course participants acquired a heightened awareness of environmental issues, augmented…

How often have teachers tried to connect middle school science to students' lives only to lack an idea or a vehicle for making the connection? Service learning can provide that kind of a link for students. It is a teaching and learning method that combines meaningful community service with academics, personal growth, and civic responsibility. It…

As educators have sought instructional strategies for fostering student proficiency in higher order thinking and subject-matter integration, schools have developed a broad range of real-world experiences. However, the degree to which efforts to involve students in the community have been fully integrated or coordinated with classroom instruction…

Describes a teaching approach that uses an operating classroom business to fund service learning projects. (YDS)

Problem solving, both theoretical and practical, is the underlying skill developed through the physics curriculum. Service-learning has been integrated into engineering curricula, but programs proposed for that field often do not fit well into the structure of physics departments. A consultant-based approach to service-learning offers physics…

An evaluation was conducted of the service-learning-based Community Connection program at Baker Middle School in south Texas to determine whether the program is having an impact on student achievement, attendance, perception toward self, school, and community. Data were collected through a survey of a sample of 120 students from the target…

Service learning can help students learn specific skills and concepts, particularly in social studies. The article examines characteristics of good middle school service learning projects, explains how to begin a project, discusses the benefits of service learning, presents an example of service learning in Wren Middle School, Piedmont (South…

This volume makes two important contributions: First, it provides a framework grounded in theory and best professional practice that middle and high school teachers, their students, and community partners can use to design, implement, and evaluate service-learning projects that address authentic community needs. Second, it demonstrates ways…

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)

These three 1995 newsletter issues explore concepts and problems relevant to middle-level education. The cover story for the spring issue examines new trends in educational assessment. Additional briefs in this issue discuss team teaching, school reform as a community-wide effort, and home-school collaboration. The cover article for the Fall issue…