Service learning allows students to learn more about their classroom instruction through involvement with their local community. It is both a service given to the community, as well as a practical way for students to reflect on what they have been studying in class. The author of this article explains a service learning project which will be very…

Many instructors have expressed a recent interest in incorporating service-learning activities into their courses. Several authors have maintained that service-learning opportunities help students to better understand class concepts and also lead to desirable outcomes in students, such as enhanced self esteem and an increased interest in social…

This qualitative study explored the intersection between social class and college outreach. The service-learning experience was perceived differently by students of different social classes. The benefit was that the interactive classroom forum allowed diverse students to exchange views. Regardless of their personal backgrounds, students shared a…

In this study, the authors analyze an effective classroom teaching style that relies on interactive learning and integrates classroom activities and efforts into communities. They introduce the service learning project as an effective teaching tool that can be used along with other effective teaching practices to enhance students' learning…

This article uses primary and secondary research on educational, social, and political theory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to argue that the history of service-learning must be revised to include Jane Addams' pioneering work. A full consideration of Addams significantly revises understanding the origins of service-learning, suggesting…

This article introduces an approach to service learning based on students' collective engagement with a range of community organizations. We explore the particular benefits of this comparative collective community-based (CCC) learning model through a discussion of the "Possibilities for Change in American Communities" program, which was begun by…

While there has been a steady increase in the understanding of how service-learning affects students, there remains a dearth of research on how using service-learning pedagogy impacts faculty. In this research study six themes emerged that illuminate how using this innovative pedagogy shaped and influenced faculty members' understandings of, and…

Intentionally linking the assessment of student learning outcomes of service-learning with reflection allows each to inform and reinforce the other. This paper traces the evolution of a strategy that uses reflection products as data sources to assess and improve both individual student learning and program-wide approaches to reflection. Two tools…

Service-Learning can be a rewarding and challenging experience for students. One of the rewards for students can be the connection between their course work and real life experience. However, students interacting with populations with which they have limited prior experience face unique challenges. We developed a training program designed to…

This article is based on the author's own strategies to foster community among educators. As a new, young, female junior faculty member in the School of Education at a major research university, the author has struggled to build a strong sense of community in her school. She has also encountered ambivalence about openly expressing…

Our annual feature, "From the Inside," is intended to share stories about working with youth in order to inspire others. In this year's installment, Carol Weiss Rubel, an educator in Pennsylvania, writes about her experience working with at-risk teens and creating "Yellowwood." Yellowwood is an alternative school for youth with…

The media calls them the wizards of tomorrow, the fix-it-kids, athletes of the mind, star players, and champs. These are the young people who compete and win academic, artistic, leadership, and service related competitions. Competitors spell words as difficult as autochthonous, make new scientific discoveries, compose poetry, publish their short…

This volume discusses the ways in which teacher preparation programs around the country are actively embracing civic education from the belief that teacher education is inherently tied to both the preparation of civil servants and the work of preparing citizens. In the field of education, specifically the work of preparing teachers, there has been…

Over the past quarter-century, evaluation researchers have recognized the importance of documenting implementation practices of programs as they are transferred from controlled to real-world settings. As programs become widely disseminated in the general population, there is a tendency for practitioners to alter programs in a manner more conducive…

For more than 200 years, American democracy has served as a model for the world. Central to the founders' vision was that government requires the consent of the governed that the people must be active and responsible participants in their own governance. A primary mission of American public schools has been the civic education of young people.…