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Blogs on Service Learning

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1
Environmental Education Through Environmental Action
Philippe CousteauApril 25, 2013
Tags Environmental Education, Global Education, Service Learning, All Grades, Science

My grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau was once quoted as saying, "Before we talk about the environment, we must talk about education." It's one of my favorite quotes of his because at its root is his belief in the power of youth to change the world. It's not only a belief I share, but one that I'm confident is our best opportunity to tackle some of biggest challenges facing our planet and the world community.

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2
Another Person's World: Ed Reform Through True Understanding
Lori DesautelsApril 4, 2013
Tags Community Partnerships, Education Reform, Service Learning, , Urban Schools

Anthropologist and humanist Ashley Montagu stated: "Love is profound involvement in the well-being of others." Several weeks ago, I experienced this kind of love in West Humboldt Park, an impoverished, gang-and-violence-infested inner city Chicago neighborhood.

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1
A Teaching Moment: The Peace Corps as a Source of Inspiration
Maurice EliasMarch 6, 2013
Tags Global Education, Service Learning, , All Grades

Do you know how the Peace Corps got started? And do you know why it's important to know how? Since this month is the 52nd anniversary of the Peace Corps, let's take a moment to find the answers.

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10
Change the Subject: Making the Case for Project-Based Learning
Rob RiordanJanuary 17, 2013
Tags Curriculum, Education Reform, Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

What should students learn in the 21st century? At first glance, this question divides into two: what should students know, and what should they be able to do? But there's more at issue than knowledge and skills. For the innovation economy, dispositions come into play: readiness to collaborate, attention to multiple perspectives, initiative, persistence, and curiosity. While the content of any learning experience is important, the particular content is irrelevant. What really matters is how students react to it, shape it, or apply it. The purpose of learning in this century is not simply to recite inert knowledge, but, rather, to transform it.1 It is time to change the subject.

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16
New Research Helps Make Case for Rigorous PBL
Suzie BossJune 22, 2012
Tags Education Reform, Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, All Grades

Editor's note: Today is the fifth in a series of posts from PBL World, a global gathering of educators interested in project-based learning. Join the conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag #pblworld.

Teachers and other "education change agents" who are advocates of project-based learning often find that they have to make the case for PBL to their communities. "They need backup," acknowledged Cindy Johanson, executive director of the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) and Edutopia. In her keynote address to PBL World on Thursday, she shared highlights of new research that shows the effectiveness of PBL for achieving rigorous learning outcomes.

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11
PBL: What Does It Take for a Project to Be "Authentic"?
John LarmerJune 5, 2012
Tags Curriculum, Global Education, Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, All Grades, English Language Arts, Geography, History, Science, Visual Arts

Everyone thinks that Project-Based Learning has something to do with "authentic" learning. But not everyone agrees what this means.

Take this quick quiz.

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3
Service Learning Case Study: The Answer to Our Educational Woes in 10,000 Cookies?
Jim BermanFebruary 27, 2012
Tags Career and Technical Education, Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, Student Engagement, Teacher Development, High (9-12)

Some answers are so obvious that they elude us. Some answers are devastatingly apparent but require a new set of eyes to see. Take the classic conundrum that we all face: How best do we learn? What cutting-edge, flavor du jour will have us whittling away our time at the next professional development stint? What rip-the-top-off-and-dump-it-in practice works best?

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Intergenerational Learning Changes Learning, Changes Lives
Brendan O'KeefeJanuary 3, 2012
Tags Community Partnerships, Mentoring, Service Learning, , All Grades

As educators, we all know that learning is a powerful experience. But when that learning comes from a respected elder, it can be life-changing.

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1
Students Design Games and Software Tools to Tackle Real-World Problems
Suzie BossMay 27, 2011
Tags Arts Education, Game-Based Learning, Service Learning, Technology Integration, All Grades

At the recent U.S. finals of the Imagine Cup competition, student teams from across the country showed off not only their technical brilliance but also an eagerness to improve the world through gaming and software development. How so? How about using a portable device to help visually impaired students with note-taking, or a digital strategy game that challenges children to improve the environment through clean energy, or a game for your smart phone in which players fight deforestation to earn points.

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A Formula for Creating Successful Student-Run Service Learning Projects
Rosemary OwensMay 19, 2011
Tags Achievement Gap, Digital Divide, Dropout Prevention, Free School Supplies, Literacy, Mentoring, Primary (K-2), Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, Student Engagement, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), English Language Arts, Florida

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Rosemary Owens, assistant principal for curriculum at Freedom High School and Tampa FL.

 

Tampa's Freedom High School was transformed by a student-led initiative beginning in the summer of 2009. A rising senior, Blake O'Connor, and I had the privilege of attending the Aspen Ideas Festival (AIF) on a scholarship from the Bezos Family Foundation. The AIF is an annual gathering of big thinkers from all areas of society, from the arts to science to religion, culture, economics, and politics. Each year, the festival challenges participants to tackle some of the more pressing issues of our times, and figure out ways to replicate solutions.   

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