This study addresses issues related to mandatory versus optional service-learning assignments and presents findings from a study of an option-based service-learning program. Using qualitative data collected from students over two semesters, this study examines one of the biggest barriers students cite to successful participation in…

Service learning pedagogy often assumes a variety of forms when connected with classroom teaching. Through a creative use of service learning pedagogy, the author constructs learning designs that foster student engagement with course content and prompts interrelated connections between the subjects and their own service learning experiences. The…

Because the national education agenda is focused on standards, testing, and accountability, schools are at risk of narrowly defining their mission as improving test scores. In this environment, it is easy to forget that public education serves a larger civic mission. Preserving and promoting a democratic society was the founding precept of the…

The transition to kindergarten can be difficult for both parents and children. Teachers, administrators and community providers can help ease this process by developing effective transition programs and materials for families in anticipation of the school year. However, such resources are often time-consuming and costly. To offer a solution, a…

One of the challenges with advanced writing courses, such as business writing, is developing assignments and projects that approximate writing in the workplace. Many instructors and learning theorists believe that giving students authentic writing practice is the best preparation for the writing they will do in their chosen careers. The author…

Service-learning projects provide students with opportunities to put theory into practice in a real-world setting. Unlike community service, service-learning projects are intentionally linked to an academic course and incorporate specific pedagogical goals. Researchers have suggested that service learning is a great teaching tool that can…

Two-dozen students from the University of Virginia in January 2006 took part in a program that brings college students from around the US to help rebuild New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The program was part of an interdisciplinary two-week course that examined the impact of the hurricane through such diverse topics as…

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research on service learning pedagogy into the realm of professional practice for students with disabilities. At this point in the development of a research base for service learning, an emerging need for studies is reported. Limited research exists which studies the impact of service learning…

The purpose of this briefing paper is to conceptualize a social responsibility and public policy agenda for Montgomery College. The briefing paper provides (a) a well researched perspective to embed a College culture to actualize social responsibility and public policy as institutional practices; (b) examines some of the opportunities and…

The National Household Education Survey, a nationally representative data set (N = 4,306 high school students and one parent of each), was analyzed to describe characteristics of adolescents, the nature of their service activities, and academic, behavioral and civic outcomes associated with service (voluntary compared to school-required and by…

This article intends to encourage teachers to explore ways "social and emotional learning" (SEL) and art education can enhance each other. Service-learning art projects were presented as one example, employing collaborate-and-create, asset-based methods integrated with SEL instruction. Advantages anticipated from combining these methods result…

Community colleges educate students from both oppressed and marginalized groups, yet there is almost no literature on community colleges and issues of social justice. Student participation in service learning has been tentatively linked to development of a social justice lens. In this study, I analyze community college students' post-course civic…

A comparative study was conducted to compare two approaches to engineering design curriculum between different schools (inter-school) and between two curricular approaches, "Project Lead the Way" (PLTW) and "Engineering Projects in Community Service" (EPIC High) (inter-curricular). The researchers collected curriculum…

What causes students to leave school? According to Azzam (2007), over 47% of students in the United States who drop out of school reported they did so because school was boring and irrelevant to their life situation. What can schools and teachers do to encourage students to stay in school? One possible solution may be to look at experiential…

Service learning involves providing service to the community while requiring students to meet learning goals in a specific course. A service learning project was implemented in a general biology course at Rockhurst University to involve students in promoting scientific education in conjunction with community partner educators. Students were…