Experiential learning is, for the author, a preeminent means to accomplish goals that are fundamental to the entire educational enterprise. It is a set of strategies that structure acquisition of information, analysis of ideas, and self-reflection in order to pull people into active engagement with their world. Among these strategies are skills of…

Other than trips to government offices, political science has generally not used field experiences as part of the undergraduate curriculum. To illustrate the possibilities of such experiences, we discuss field-based courses and curricular units at three sites. Each uses a national park to teach students about environmental politics and policy…

The author defines field service programs (or experiential programs) and suggests that this type of program is necessary for today's information-rich, experience-poor student. He describes the field service program at Coker College (South Carolina) which has three types of sponsored internships. (KC)

Nineteen high school students in an experimental self-directed learning class were interviewed about their out-of-school learning projects: number completed per year; time spent; subject(s) studied; setting (individual or group); preferred project method; and motivation (desire for credit or other reason). (SJL)

A study analyzed the reasons for adult participation in adult basic education (ABE) programs. During the study, researchers administered the Educational Participation Scale to 85 females and 72 males enrolled in ABE classes in New Mexico. Data from the returned questionnaires were examined to determine if any of the reasons for participation in…

A college and high school collaborated on an early field experience for preservice physical education teachers combined with a service-learning component. Evaluation indicated that high school student motivation and participation increased, high school teachers learned new teaching strategies, and preservice teachers experienced decreased…

To offer students biological field experiences, teachers should use their own basic skills, be enthusiastic motivators, participate in community programs/courses/workshops to acquire additional skills/knowledge for outdoor biological education, plan outdoor excursions with safety considerations in mind, and use available resources for classroom…

Evaluation of the Health and Science Action Learning Project was conducted as part of a larger national study of experience-based education programs in secondary schools. Developed to alleviate the problem of minority underrepresentation in the health professions, the program was designed to encourage minority students to consider these careers…