For faculty members who incorporate experiential or service learning pedagogies into their courses, student experiences in the field can be difficult, emotionally charged, and full of unexpected outcomes. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study of student lived experiences in the political science course "Democracy and…

Introducing children to theater and play production in the classroom setting can give a richness and energy to the quality of teaching. Play production can also be beneficial as a curriculum tool. When students participate in a project in an experiential way, learning is taking place. "Simon and the Woo" is an original play for children…

This study hypothesized that students in a course on mental retardation (MR) who had had extended contact with retarded people would achieve more favorable attitudes toward mental retardation than students without similar contact. Students enrolled in a Psychology of Mental Retardation class were randomly assigned to a control group (n=29) or an…

This study investigated the effect of two different approaches to practical work on the procedural understanding of foundation level students at two historically similar universities in South Africa, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), both of which run programs to improve the access of disadvantaged…

Two studies examined college students' attitudes toward people with mental retardation as a function of experiences with this population. In the first study, college students (N=107), who were enrolled in a course, "Psychology of Mental Retardation," participated in a service learning experience by working in group homes, day treatment programs,…

This monograph, the second in a series intended as a resource for middle-level leaders, highlights three successful approaches that support student involvement in learning: problem-based learning, service learning, and student-led conferencing. Each approach is reported to have its roots in constructivism, which allows students to apply classroom…

This proceedings contains transcripts, presentations, and workshop summaries from a 2-day conference on experiential learning in youth development, held by the Brathay Hall Trust in the English Lake District. Brathay is a British educational charity that offers a variety of youth development courses, ranging from outdoor adventure activities to…

Not long ago, children were passive recipients of what teachers and textbooks gave them. they read and heard about the earth, about the great changes produced on its surface through the activity of nature and man, about their people, their life and work and their adjustment to their environment, but no concrete experiences helped them to…

A student describes his need for experiential learning processes and the extent to which the School for Educational Change and Development at the University of Northern Colorado has fulfilled that need. (HMD)

Inexpensive and readily available materials are suggested for a study of rigid geometric figures. Students build three-dimensional figures noting the number of exterior struts (sides) and the number of interior struts necessary to make it rigid. (LS)

The conference centered on three main threads: (1) learning and the choice of materials; (2) the return to arithmetic; (3) topics (applications, geometry, probability, computers). Capsule summaries of the papers read and the ensuing discussions are presented. (JP)