Science And Service Learning

The authors examine samples of experimental learning programs in higher education to better understand the influential drivers of service-learning pedagogy, as well as potential barriers that hinder service-learning adoption in higher education settings. Service-learning is a structured learning experience that links academic course work and community service, stressing reciprocal learning and reflective practices to address community identified needs, while engaging and developing students citizenship skills and critical thinking for social change. This book discusses how service-learning projects impact students, faculty, higher education institutions, and service-learning clients through domestic and international experiences. The research methods demonstrated throughout this text include: survey research, mixed-methods research, literature reviews, quasi-experiments, and case studies. Chapters within this book evaluate the impact of service-learning projects through learning competency outcome measures or reflection analyses. We believe the empirical data and knowledge provided through this book will advance service-learning research and support the adoption/integration of service-learning opportunities in higher education settings. Moreover, we hope that future research will expand upon lessons provided in this book, to continue to build the service-learning knowledge base for faculty, students and institutions. Part I of this book provides a brief literature review of overcoming service-learning barriers in higher education, including discussion of online service-learning challenges and strategies. To offer an interdependent analysis of the service-learning approach, Parts II, III, and IV include case studies grouped by what may be considered the three primary stakeholder groups: Faculty, Students and Institutions. Part II: Faulty will provide detailed analyses of faculty, both tenure-track and off-tenure track, encountered issues and considerations regarding the integration of service-learning projects with the course curriculum. Part III: Students will discuss learning, reflections, and personal development outcomes of students who participate in service-learning opportunities. Part IV: Institutions will examine the partnerships between the higher education program and stakeholder communities, both in the domestic and international context. Chapter authors include professors from public, private, domestic and international universities with experience in student learning and experimental learning. These professors represent disciplines in public health, communication science and disorders, psychology, community engagement, and education and have incorporated service learning in their teaching and instruction. It is with sincerity that we express our appreciation to these professionals for their passion and commitment to advance our knowledge base of service-learning pedagogy and research in higher education.

"The goal of Volume VII of Research in Science Education is to examine the relationship between science inquiry and service learning. Its primary intent is to bridge the gaps between research and practice. The volume is meant to be useful to science and service-learning researchers and practitioners such as teachers and administrators because it provides information about strategies to integrate service-learning into the science curriculum and instruction."--Publisher's website.

This volume represents a breakthrough discussion of the research issues surrounding innovative pedagogies. Using service-learning as its focus, it explores ways in which researchers and evaluators can study a teaching and learning approach that has multiple goals, including both academic and affective development. The chapter authors show how to study a topic that is multilayered, complex, and involves the ways in which individuals make meaning of their experiences. Seven challenges that researchers need to grapple with in studying service-learning are identified and addressed: defining service-learning; basing service-learning research on strong theoretical foundations; refining service-learning research design and methodology; interpreting service-learning results; disseminating service-learning research findings; improving service-learning practice; and building funding to support service-learning research. In addition, practical recommendations are provided for professionals involved in doing research on service-learning and more broadly on any form of experiential education, community service and development, or educational reform. Studying Service-Learning: Innovations in Education Research Methodology is an essential resource for researchers who are interested in studying innovative teaching and learning strategies and for students who are learning about a range of research methodologies.

This book offers a comprehensive rethinking of the theory and practice of service-learning in higher education. Democratic and community engagement are vital aspects of linking colleges and communities, and this book critically engages the best practices and powerful alternative models in the academy. Drawing on key theoretical insights and empirical studies, Butin details the limits and possibilities of the future of community engagement in developing and sustaining the engaged campus.

Service learning offers students the unique opportunity to learn both in the classroom and in the real world. This exciting teaching strategy, detailed in Berman’s second edition of Service Learning, motivates students to learn content information, processes, and skills while making authentic connections to their surrounding community. This valuable resource explains the benefits of service learning and provides a step-by-step guide for using the instructional model. It features nine service-learning projects that are broken down into basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Each project features: - Strategies for aligning service and curricular goals - Tips for involving students in decision-making - Guidelines for managing different phases of the project - Activities that foster reflection and self-evaluation - Tips for differentiating by tapping into multiple intelligences In this single resource, teachers will find everything they need to successfully implement service learning projects, helping students gain deeper understandings of content while positively impacting their communities.

The need for more empathetic and community-focused students must begin with educators, as service-learning has begun to grow in popularity throughout the years. By implementing service and community aspects into the classroom at an early age, educators have a greater chance of influencing students and creating a new generation of service-minded individuals who care about their communities. Teachers must have the necessary skills and current information available to them to provide students with quality service learning and community engagement curricula. The Research Anthology on Service Learning and Community Engagement Teaching Practices provides a thorough investigation of the current trends, best practices, and challenges of teaching practices for service learning and community engagement. Using innovative research, it outlines the struggles, frameworks, and recommendations necessary for educators to engage students and provide them with a comprehensive education in service learning. Covering topics such as lesson planning, teacher education, and cultural humility, it is a crucial reference for educators, administrators, universities, lesson planners, researchers, academicians, and students.

This volume is an important and timely contribution to the field for it captures the rewards and challenges of service learning from the varied perspectives of faculty dedicated to this type of teaching, and, at the same time, illuminates strategies for campuses and non-profit organizations to adopt to solidify institutional commitment. Increasingly, service learning is valued as a teaching and learning strategy consistent with the democratic ideals of education, and to this end, a better understanding of the faculty role is essential to advancing practice and improving society.

Interest in and research on civic engagement and service-learning have increased exponentially. In this rapid growth, efforts have been made to institutionalize pedagogies of engagement across both K-12 and higher education. As a result, increased positive attention has been complemented equally by well-founded critiques complicating experiential approaches’ claims and questioning if institutional, financial, and philosophical commitment is warranted. A key complaint from these critical voices is the tightly woven, protective insular core in the field of service-learning. This claim is not unfounded, nor necessarily bad. Initial efforts to legitimize service-learning and other forms of community-based education required group cohesion. The concern, however, is that the initial group cohesion has led to groupthink wherein group members have avoided critical analysis and evaluation. This book aims to prevent groupthink within the field of service-learning by allowing for the examination of effective alternatives by new voices who can serve as “critical evaluators” from within the field itself. Myriad perspectives are offered, including empirical, theoretical, practical, and community perspectives. Authors challenge preconceived notions of service-learning, who is benefited by this pedagogy, outcomes of participation and implementation, and most importantly the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological lenses through which service-learning is even considered. The book allows servicelearning’s major criticisms to be examined, challenges to be voiced, and research agendas to be laid. This book parallels service-learning’s presence and popularity across various disciplines/fields. Chapters are written from broad perspectives and are aimed to inform service-learning researchers and educators, community organizations, and policy makers who consider service-learning as a means to address civic responsibility. Authors expose theoretical and philosophical concerns circulating in the field, and often still occupying spaces on the fringe of discourse, action, and research. The book raises fundamental questions for undergraduate and graduate courses with social justice themes by considering the implications that pedagogies of engagement have on learners and communities.