Collaboration is not a core practice in humanities teaching and learning, despite convincing arguments that it should be. To encourage collaboration in classrooms and with communities, DePaul University has developed its Experiential Humanities Collaborative. The Collaborative connects faculty, community partners, and students to co-design and…

For instructors engaged in teaching evaluation, bridging the gap between the content of formal educational experiences and what we want future evaluators to be able to do in practice remains a challenge. Studying the format and quality of university courses focused on program evaluation is one mechanism through which we might begin to narrow this…

Opportunity and learning gaps between upper-middle-class students and lower SES students that impact academic performance and social development are widening. The purpose of this Action Research study was to understand the interests of students, as well as the academic support most needed, to cultivate the development of 21st century skills and…

COVID-19 has put education in a challenging place. With millions of children out of school, education needs to reinvent itself. During the pandemic, communities have used this opportunity to support children's education in various ways, including the launching of new online classes. This article takes the social capital theoretical model as its…

Community-based action research (CBAR) encourages students to view internships and other civic-engagement opportunities as the first steps in collaborative projects that build long-term relationships with community partners and model how democracy works. We marshal longitudinal data, qualitative and quantitative, on both attitudes and behaviors to…

The author presents keys to designing a class that successfully melds service learning and student leadership development. These prescriptions are based on the lessons learned over 8 years of teaching a class titled "Community Leadership." This class emphasizes experiential learning and revolves around service learning projects. The…

Community gardening provides many benefits for students like outdoor physical activity, an understanding of plant life cycles, food production and healthy eating (Blair, 2009; Whiren, 1995). Gardening also provides hands-on learning opportunities to draw parallels between what is needed for plants to grow and what students need to be healthy. When…

Experiential education, and more specifically service-learning, connects students with a different kind of education. Moreover, service-learning provides the opportunity for students to listen to voices seldom heard in academia. Experiential learning and service-learning have taken on an important role in contemporary schooling and are being…

Describes project for secondary school students which results in a written political analysis of a neighborhood. Students begin by reading modern historical, political, and sociological studies of communities in urban areas. This research provides them with the background for interviewing and observing groups in the community. (Author/KC)

Describes a role-playing activity and a youth community service club project which illustrate how citizenship can be learned through experience. Shows how community involvement in educational activities can help convey positive values about society and impart knowledge and skills which help youngsters become productive members of that society.…

Describes classroom projects in a second-grade classroom based on the Foxfire approach to instruction. Projects planned and implemented in the classroom by students included: (1) sub shop; (2) recycling; (3) Black cemetery; and (4) garden. Students engaged in brainstorming, creating webs, weekly planning, and writing about their activities. (KS)

A student-initiated nature center project began six years ago when the original participants were in fifth grade. The students did the research, planning, construction, grant writing, and accounting and tied it all to Colorado state standards. Student engagement and self-confidence grew from a sense of responsibility and from knowing that the…

Maintains that many educators have recommended that public school students need to develop social action skills and participate in community service programs. Discusses student volunteer participation in community food service programs. Provides recommendations for teachers about developing such programs. (CFR)

Describes an urban environmental stewardship project undertaken by students at a Seattle public school in an effort to make their school more beautiful, their environment more healthy, and their learning more tangible. In partnership with neighbors and the community, students transformed a section of the school grounds into a garden refuge.…

Describes the development of "One America" at Glendale Community College (California), a program involving student project coordinators who work on specific issue areas and coordinate a series of presentations and workshops. The program identified five areas of concern: diversity, HIV/AIDS, women's issues, gay and lesbian issues, and…