This guide for policymakers at all levels illuminates common ground between education reform and service learning and encourages the inclusion of service learning as a viable partner in education reform efforts. Leading school reform models are analyzed with a focus on their compatibility with service learning. Also included is a description of…

Six programs are profiled that garner both deep engagement and high achievement from young people. All build upon fundamental needs of adolescent life: to register positive impact upon the world, to feel respected and connected, and to construct one's own narrative. A community action initiative at a high school in Texas' Rio Grande Valley is…

Key concepts about best practices of curriculum design and program development for outdoor youth programs are discussed. These include: agreeing on curriculum criteria and coming to consensus on a balance between content and process skills; using experiential teaching modes; and pursuing youth-adult partnerships for community change. There is not…

This paper suggests that students and their learning should become the focus of everything that college faculty do, examining what is currently known about student learning and where this knowledge comes from. Two large volumes have been published on what is known about student learning in college. A distillation of what is known can be extracted…

If children are required to make their own sense, then attempting to impart knowledge will fail altogether or result in only superficial short-term learning. Curriculum structure, load in science, and assessment must change for a constructivist approach to flourish in the classroom. Teachers must serve as a guide to students exploring science as a…

Chronicles the development of collaborative teaching efforts in higher education, in a context of declining resources. Outlines models of team coordinated teaching and team teaching, and identifies four dimensions of collaboration: integration, interaction, active learning, and faculty autonomy. Offers a model of collaborative college teaching…

Describes a workshop to provide parents, their elementary school children, and elementary teachers with a common science learning environment. It included 45 activities/demonstrations with directions and learning notes. The primary goal was to promote inquiry through involvement and interaction with each other, discovery, discussion, and thinking…

Describes a Temple University (Pennsylvania) law school course that combines the teaching of theory and practice, keeps upper-level students engaged in active learning, and provides a concrete and realistic context in which students can experience the moral dimension of practice. The course combines trusts and estates, professional responsibility,…

Proposes a more dimensional, holistic, child- and action-oriented educational-psychological approach for working with gifted preschool children, based on experiences with the Hanover Project and findings that previous kindergarten educational reforms in Germany did not sufficiently recognize and promote gifted preschool children. Examines…

Identifies "dummy runs" as those educational approaches and exercises that are unrelated to any real-life experience or goal. For example, writing a model business letter to a fictitious business. Maintains that social studies educators should avoid this approach and emphasize "real world" relevance and citizenship education.…

After arguing that there are substantial advantages to incorporating student play as a learning strategy in educational reform, the paper defines play, notes common misconceptions about play, examines reasons why children play, describes types of play, and looks at the function, outcome, and benefits of play. (SM)

Reiterates the oft-heard complaint that social studies instruction relies too heavily on textbooks and lectures resulting in disinterested and alienated students. Recommends social studies adopt more experiential and constructivist teaching methods (role playing, educational games, student projects) and utilize multimedia and the Internet. (MJP)

Explores techniques for creating cohesive active learning communities in which information can be linked to real-world experiences. Discusses four types of interactions that take place in distance learning environments: learner-content, learner-instructor, learner-learner, and learner-interface. Offers strategies for overcoming common barriers to…

Describes the course content, student response, and instructional effectiveness of an undergraduate psychology and law course built around a series of active learning projects. Students chose either to attend a jury trial or to interview three people involved in the legal system. These formed the basis for papers and presentations. (MJP)

Describes a non-graded, one-class-period activity that can help undergraduates understand and explore fundamental psychological concepts. Groups of three or four students perform short skits illustrating basic concepts (moral development, defense mechanisms, identity status) and the class tries to guess the concept. (MJP)