Learn and Serve America, Students

12th Annual Continuums of Service Conference: Building a Global Community through Collaborative Engaged Scholarship

Angelaw — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:28:19 -0600

It has never been more important to bring students, faculty, service-learning and civic engagement practitioners, and community members together to address the critical issues we are facing locally and globally. Given the current global economic climate, and the enormous changes in our world, it is imperative that we use engagement to support and enable our fellow citizens to live, work, access higher education, and improve the health of our society.

The Institute on Global Service-Learning at Cornell University

Angelaw — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:11:01 -0600

The Institute on Global Service-Learning offers faculty, administrators and practitioners an unique opportunity to learn about global service-learning pedagogy, theory, program models, institutional support and scholarship. The Institute seeks to foster greater collaboration and dialogue among participants who are interested in advancing global service-learning theory and practice.

Registration is limited to 80 participants. Institutional teams are encouraged.

This year, the Institute is organized into three topical modules:

* Pedagogy, Program Models, Tools and Design

SLICE (Service-Learning Ideas and Curricular Examples)

corik — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:05:21 -0500

This is the newest tool from Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. It's an easy-to-search database with hundreds of high quality service-learning lesson plans, syllabi, and project ideas. Access project plans to organize service-learning in school or out of school, with youth of all ages. Take a look at this powerful new tool by visiting the website at SLICE.

Engaging at-risk youth in leadership development

magdalenam — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:14:43 -0500

For years, the field of youth development has stressed the benefit of cultivating leadership skills in teens — oftentimes among those that are already excelling. However, with appropriate encouragement and training, many future leaders can be found among so-called “at-risk” youth. Recognizing this reality, former school counselor, Mariam MacGregor, empowered a new breed of teen leaders at an alternative high school in Thornton, Colorado. This effective practice examines her innovative methods and can prove valuable for national service programs seeking to build future leaders, peer mentors, and tutors. Staff of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (LEARNS) submitted this effective practice in September 2008.

National Service-Learning Conference: Growing Hope, Cultivating Change

Angelaw — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:24:05 -0500

This conference is the largest gathering of youths and practitioners involved in the service-learning movement, drawing approximately 2,700 attendees from across the United States and at least 20 other countries each year. Through three days of general sessions, featured forums, and service-learning projects, the conference engages participants in local, national, and global issues that service-learning addresses. It provides networking opportunities with service-learning leaders through more than 200 experiential workshops, receptions, and informal meetings.

National/Global Youth Service Day

Angelaw — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:59:05 -0500

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is organized by Youth Service America with the Global Youth Action Network as its key partner and a consortium of international organizations and over 120 national coordinating committees in participating countries. GYSD is an annual global event that highlights and celebrates the contributions of youth to their communities through volunteer service.

Engaging Students in Communities

maryh — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:15:07 -0500

Student involvement in service and service-learning produces valuable benefits to local communities and enables young people to become proactive members of society, while also experiencing the mutual benefit gained from such involvement. … Schools — both K–12 and postsecondary — as well as community-based and other service-learning programs provide useful places for engaging students in volunteer opportunities and in helping them start off on a solid path toward a lifetime of service and civic participation.

Providing summertime contact in school-based mentoring programs

pingv — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:04:28 -0500

One of the main challenges for school-based mentoring programs is keeping matches in touch over the summer break when extensive in-person meetings may not be possible. Research indicates that school-based mentoring relationships suffer when summer contact is absent. Luckily, there are several strategies available to school-based mentoring programs to keep matches engaged, minimize the negative impact of the summer break on relationship quality, and get matches ready to build on positive momentum when the school year starts back up. This effective practice was submitted by LEARNS at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in April 2008.

Creating, running, and sustaining campus-community service-learning partnerships

pingv — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:20:13 -0600

Because of their importance, theoretical elements of successful campus-community partnerships have long been identified. However, less has been done to ascertain best or even promising practices of these collaborations. This effective practice uses the research from a service-learning practitioner at the University of Vermont who developed a handbook for programs based on the experiences of the Northern New England Campus Compact. Cheryl Whitney Lower submitted this effective practice in October 2007.

Using viral marketing to recruit student volunteer leaders

pingv — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:04:52 -0500

Viral marketing is a technique that leverages people to spread a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the exposure and influence of the message. This is a particularly powerful youth recruitment tool, as young people are savvy producers and consumers of this kind of information — much of it web based. Hands On Network shared this effective practice in August, 2007, developed from the experiences of the Citizen Action AmeriCorps members.

Recruiting college students as volunteer leaders

pingv — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:18:20 -0500

College students often have a variety of activities and responsibilities competing for their attention, and engaging them in service takes a well-conceived strategy. This effective practice was developed and tested by Hands On Network’s Citizen Action AmeriCorps members in Seattle, Boston, and Atlanta. Lori Jean Mantooth of the Hands On Network shared this effective practice in August 2007.

Establishing campus connections for engaging college students as volunteer leaders

pingv — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:09:47 -0500

National service programs seek to expand their efforts by leveraging additional volunteers within the communities they serve. Increase capacity by recruiting college students as volunteer leaders, who can plan meaningful service projects that engage their fellow students. This effective practice was developed and tested by Hands On Network’s Citizen Action AmeriCorps members in Seattle, Boston, and Atlanta. Lori Jean Mantooth of the Hands On Network shared this effective practice in August 2007.

Understanding the principles of universal design

pingv — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:53:32 -0500

At the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University, a group of architects, product designers, engineers, and environmental design researchers established seven principles of universal design to provide guidance for planning products and environments (Connell, Jones, Mace, Mueller, Mullick, Ostroff, Sanford, Steinfeld, Story, & Vanderheiden, 1997). This effective practice, shared by the National Service Inclusion Project in June of 2007, highlights these standards, and offers examples to guide those working on design issues. Additionally, the practice will help non-designers to consider materials and settings from the perspective of people with disabilities.

Utilizing baby boomer volunteers as advisors to service-learning projects

pingv — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:06:21 -0600

More than fifteen years ago, a high school in a small, coastal Oregon town began a senior project that fostered civic engagement in its students. Set within the context of a community-wide approach to intergenerational service-learning that begins in the earliest grades and continues through retirement for many adults, today, service-learning has become a way of life for students of the Tillamook School District. All graduating students complete 30 hours of community service as a requirement for participation in commencement ceremonies. Adding to the success of this undertaking is a student-selected older-adult committee that advises each student as he or she plans and pursues a service project. This effective practice was submitted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in December 2006 for the SaYES Initiative.

Building a community-wide service ethic through intergenerational service-learning

pingv — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:15:15 -0600

A small, coastal Oregon town that has experienced many transitions in employment and lifestyle has come together around community-wide service-learning projects that benefit its citizens. Their efforts show what can be done through years of attention to the components of community- and school-based service-learning projects. This effective practice highlights this community-wide approach to intergenerational service-learning that begins in the earliest grades and continues through retirement for many adults, and was submitted by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in October 2006 for the SaYES Initiative.

Using a scheduling/goals worksheet to organize a tutoring session with multiple students

pingv — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:20:49 -0600

For mentors and tutors who work with more than one student at a time, it can be difficult to coordinate interests and abilities, and stay focused and on task for each student being served. This effective practice outlines a technique that can be of help to those who are striving to provide high quality, individualized support in these challenging situations. Paul Dean, a student at Yale University, and a member of the Dwight Hall Academic Mentoring Program, shared this strategy in November 2006 via the America Learns Network.

Boosting first-grade mathematics curriculum with a partnership between an RSVP and service-learning program

pingv — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:45:46 -0600

RSVP of Worcester, Massachusetts, initiated an innovative classroom program, Math Magicians, that assists local elementary schools in cultivating students’ appreciation of mathematics and enhances the district’s elementary mathematics curriculum. The program involves both service-learning high school seniors and RSVP volunteers with first-graders in the Worcester Public School District. This effective practice provides an example of an RSVP project providing training and program coordination to facilitate a school-based career and service-learning curriculum, and offers a practical approach for national service programs seeking ways, with the help of older adults, to support local elementary schools in a core discipline and high-school career and service-learning curricula. Submitted by SaYES/Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in September 2006.

Teaching students to recognize uppercase and lowercase letters

pingv — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:22:19 -0500

For some preschool and kindergarten students, it can be a challenge to learn to recognize the letters of the alphabet. This effective practice highlights a creative technique that engages students on many levels, making it easy and fun to remember letters. Sherry Martin, a second year AmeriCorps member with America Reads – Mississippi, shared this effective practice in September 2006 via the America Learns Network.

Finding and keeping baby boomer volunteers through school partnerships

pingv — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 15:10:52 -0500

With support from Learn and Serve America, RSVP of Northern Arizona, headquartered at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, recruits baby boomers and assigns them to tutoring projects in local K-12 schools. This effective practice highlights a promising model for programs that want to begin the work of developing effective partnerships that utilize baby boomer volunteers. With characteristics of baby boomers in mind, outreach and informational campaigns to attract older adult volunteers can bring together schools and volunteers. Prepared by SaYES/Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in August 2006.

Connecting baby boomer volunteers with K-12 service-learning schools

pingv — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:39:45 -0500

In response to the Seniors Assisting Youth Engaged in Service (SaYES) initiative, Shelby Public Schools Service-Learning Program launched a campaign to recruit older adult volunteers and partner them with projects in K-12 schools. This effective practice can serve as a model for programs across the nation, which want to begin the work of developing sustainable SaYES partnerships. Submitted by Ann M. Herrygers of Shelby Public Schools, in Oceana County, Michigan.

Using art to teach students about the global reach of racism and justice

pingv — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 14:02:04 -0500

Students at Santiago Creek Community School, an alternative campus operated by Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) of Orange County, California, undertook an international service-learning experience: the design, making, and exchange of murals with students doing a similar project in Capetown, South Africa. The project emphasized use of student voice, collaboration, and partnership, while also highlighting empathy, equality, and a sense of global connectedness. Service-Learning Coordinator Jim Perez submitted this effective practice in July 2006 as part of a report on ACCESS.

Using service-learning to introduce at-risk students to a broader community

pingv — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 13:21:35 -0500

A class of 16 at-risk students in Anaheim's Youth and Family Resource Center (YFRC) undertook the design, making, and delivery of pillows and care packages for young patients confined to the Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (NICU/PICU) at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. The project had two goals: to extend the students' concepts of community and to aid young children in need. Service-Learning Coordinator Jim Perez submitted this effective practice in July 2006 as part of a report on the success of Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) in Orange County, California.

Using service-learning projects as an integral part of alternative K-12 education

pingv — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:13:13 -0500

Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS), a division of the Orange County Department of Education, uses service-learning projects as a way to enhance curriculum, learning, academic achievement, and social development while also addressing the needs of a diverse student community. ACCESS students engage in a variety of innovative service-learning activities that contribute to the health of their communities, and in turn discover their potential, develop their character, and maximize their learning. Educational consultant Michael Stark submitted this effective practice in August, 2003 as part of a project for CalServe.

Increasing energy conservation awareness in elementary school students

pingv — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 18:44:52 -0500

An energy education program — Knowledge Is Power! (KIP) — in California's Ojai Valley, uses peer to peer interaction and experiential learning to educate elementary school students. A marionette show, interactive solar-powered laboratory, energy footprint project, and a school energy audit are all part of the curriculum. Educational consultant Michael Stark submitted this effective practice in August, 2003 as part of a project for CalServe.

Identifying features of high-performing after-school programs

pingv — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:13:00 -0500

In 2005, the After-School Corporation (TASC) commissioned an evaluation of the after-school programs it funds in New York City to determine which programs were most successful in improving student academic performance and to identify what traits and features were common to them. The study was implemented by Policy Studies Associates (PSA) as a follow up to their multi-year evaluation of TASC. PSA found that shared characteristics among these high-performing programs include: a broad array of enrichment opportunities; opportunities for skill building and mastery; intentional relationship building; a strong/experienced leader/manager supported by a trained and supervised staff; and sponsoring organizations that provided an effective balance of support and autonomy. The findings of this study will be of value to new and existing national service-funded organizations seeking to establish or improve their programming, staffing, and support systems for out-of-school time (OST) programs.