Service-learning.In this issue on service-learning, authors describe teaching/learning/service processes embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in programs of study incorporating service-learning in diverse contexts. These programs offer powerful possibilities for students to develop new attitudes and skills, and the articles provide an overview of student outcomes vis-a-vis academic achievement, appreciation of diversity and personal/professional development. Institutional changes resulting from service-learning's impacts include the increased linkage linkageIn mechanical engineering, a system of solid, usually metallic, links (bars) connected to two or more other links by pin joints (hinges), sliding joints, or ball-and-socket joints to form a closed chain or a series of closed chains. between discrete courses, faculty/student involvement. While many of these articles describe service-learning's impacts on undergraduate students some of them describe graduate level projects, (e.g., scholars from the University of Georgia Organization The President of the University of Georgia (as of 2007, Michael F. Adams) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. , describes the potential for service-learning to enhance the role of doctoral programs of study in preparing professional scholars for today's complex workforce). Service-learning holds great potential for allowing students to play a key role in developing ethical programs and projects that provide benefits for communities as well. The article from the University of Utah The University of Utah (also The U or the U of U or the UU), located in Salt Lake City, is the flagship public research university in the state of Utah, and one of 10 institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education. discuss the role of service-learning in enabling young students to develop a high school project aimed at improving the community's environmental health, emphasizing community health impacts, public awareness, and policy recommendations to promote change. Drake University Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in the city of Des Moines, Iowa. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. scholars describe a project that helps graduate students to investigate the impacts of "digital citizenship" in a service-learning laboratory. International contexts for engaging students in service-learning are discussed in the articles from Georgia and Pace. The authors from these institutions describe the process of developing intentional, integrated programs of studies in the international context. Their papers describe the transformational model, with improved learning outcomes and positive impacts for student participants. Finally, some of the potential problems associated with service-learning are defined and described from both sides of the debate by Whitfield. Her paper reminds the reader that service-learning does not always yield the "win-win" consequences that its advocates and supporters have described and documented in many institutions. She reminds the reader that there are important dimensions of the service-learning experience that must be taken into account, including careful planning and formative assessment Formative assessment is a self-reflective process that intends to promote student attainment [1]. Cowie and Bell [2] define it as the bidirectional process between teacher and student to enhance, recognise and respond to the learning. of the process, to achieve the intended outcomes. While Carlan and Rubin's project in south Texas, for example, resulted in more caring teacher education students, the process of re-examining their own previously held assumptions and re-constructing their attitudes and beliefs were key elements in that transformational process. Campana's article takes this careful planning and attention to the re-examination of college students' role in the process even further. She highlights the mutuality of the interaction by describing an interactive lesson as an example of how theater can be used to teach academic or social subjects. As the university students gain valuable information about drama and pedagogy from the fourth grades, they also learn a valuable lesson about the mutuality of this event, and understand that they are not the only ones providing in important service. Another AEQ AEQ Academic Exchange Quarterly AEQ Aequalis (Latin: Equal) AEQ Aplicaciones Electronicas Quasar (Spanish: Quasar Electronic Applications) AEQ Auto Enter Queue AEQ Advanced Equalizer special issue on service-learning in higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. will appear again in the spring of 2006. I encourage readers to join the growing number of scholars and practitioners from around the nation who are implementing this innovative approach to teaching and learning in a wide variety of contexts, documenting the processes and impacts and disseminating dis·sem·i·nate v. dis·sem·i·nat·ed, dis·sem·i·nat·ing, dis·sem·i·nates v.tr. 1. To scatter widely, as in sowing seed. 2. their findings with others in this public forum. Judith H. Munter, Ph.D. Service-learning Editor Associate Dean for Research, College of Education, University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso, popularly known as UTEP, is a public, coeducational university, and it is a member of the University of Texas System. The school is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, in El Paso, Texas, and is the largest university in the |
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