In a clothing for special needs class, one student project involved becoming a clothing consultant to a blind man. The student and client evaluated and coded his wardrobe using a Braille-adapted computer, made Braille labels for clothing, and shopped to fill gaps in the wardrobe. The service learning project connected classroom learning with a…

Traditional mentoring programs match a mature adult with an at-risk youth. A mentoring organization in Washington, D.C., practices a creative variation of this approach by training high school students to mentor troubled elementary school students. Considers the possibilities and problems of this model which blends cross-age youth mentoring with…

The Alan Shawn Feinstein High School for Public Service in Providence, Rhode Island, has high-minded curricular goals, despite its rough beginnings. Students and staff are excited about Feinstein's communitarian emphasis, extended class periods, small classes, advisory program, and portfolio assessment process. Hopefully, start-up difficulties…

Service learning provides early adolescents with a unique opportunity to integrate curriculum and school activities. Because integration emerges from various needs or commonalities, service learning can become a team or single-class project, a one-shot or ongoing effort, a schoolwide or community activity. Initiators should develop a vision,…

Three areas of emphasis distinguish service learning/experiential education from cooperative education: (1) the focus of the social and developmental agenda; (2) attention to those on the margins of society; and (3) a different approach to the mutual benefits reaped by participants. (SK)

In June 1992, 26 high school students and environmentalists left United States to participate in community service/experimental learning environmental project in Russia. Focus was environmental monitoring of Novgorod, Russia. Both U.S. and Russian students gained in scientific knowledge; Russian teens felt more empowered about community service.…

Three years ago, a coalition of three Washington State districts, Peninsula, Tacoma, and Issaquah, began cooperating to help one another implement programs and policies fostering a service ethic. This article describes each district's progress at implementing its Project Service Leadership program. (MLH)

Teenagers enjoy being involved in community service; all we have to do is ask and provide the opportunity. The 101st Congress passed the National and Community Service Act of 1990, which will fund programs enabling students from kindergarten through college to serve their communities. A sidebar lists national resources for service-learning in…

Describes how the theory and practice of situated learning provide a model for examining the learning claims of service learning and for research into its effectiveness. While service learning emphasizes the nature of service and students' engagement with communities outside school, situated learning focuses on the nature of the learning in…

Steps for developing a service-learning experience within a college course are not the same as those for traditional coursework, and faculty often look to experiential educators for guidance. A former Outward Bound director presents strategies for negotiating projects, developing the syllabus, orientation and supervision, monitoring student…

Addresses issues of college liability and logistics in off-campus experiential programs, especially programs abroad with service learning components. Warns that liability problems, e.g., safety issues, legal concerns, and ethical responsibility to the local community, can threaten program viability and overshadow learning objectives. Urges…

Describes a social action model for teens to address concerns in their community with adult assistance. Identifies five program principles: (1) adult faith in youths' capacity to contribute meaningfully; (2) preparation and support for roles young people select; (3) student selection of the project; (4) acceptance that problems occur; and (5)…

Examines how service learning is being conceptualized by compositionists, particularly through the trope of community, to consider how it functions as a practice and topic in the discipline. Considers how educators position themselves and their students as practitioners of service-learning. Considers what the relationship of that learning to the…

Describes both principles and use of the critical incident journal, in which the student in a college-level academic service learning program details experiences that change his perspective. The format requires students to describe their roles in the incidents, analyze their own and others' responses to it, and reflect on its impact on self and…

Lists key resources for the field of service learning, including books, journals, and a World Wide Web site to help practitioners and researchers. Most citations are annotated. (MSE)