The effects of experiential, service-learning summer learning programs on youth outcomes

An expanding body of scholarship and other writing is emerging across may disciplines that views service learning as an effective, and perhaps core element of the higher education mission. James Applegate and Sherwyn Morreale, writing as disciplinary association officers of the National Communication Association, suggest that faculty, students and communities will continue to witness the proliferation of service learning initiatives as university service missions are recast with a new vision for community outreach that matches the expertise and values of the university with the needs of local, state, national, and international communities.1 It has not been clear to date how much of an impact service learning pedagogies have had among those who teach journalism and mass communication. The journalism and mass communication literature in this area is, in comparison to other disciplines, small. The study described below attempts to address this imbalance. Service learning has been defined by several scholars whose theoretical positions vary. Most acknowledge that the essence of service learning is in its ability to connect student involvement to community outlets.2 One of the more inclusive definitions of service learning is offered by the American Association of Higher Education: Service learning means a method under which students learn and develop a thoughtfully organized service that: is conducted in and meets the needs of a community and is coordinated with an institution of higher education and with the community; helps foster civic responsibility; is integrated into and embraces the academic curriculum of the students enrolled; and includes structured time for the students to reflect on the service experience.3 Although service learning can be categorized within the more general paradigm of experiential learning, its major distinction lies in the philosophical basis from which it springs-integrating a sense of civic responsibility into the academic environment in order to impart character development as part of the academic mission.4 For the democratic process to work, society needs active citizens with a sense of responsibility and involvement in the communities in which they live, not passive consumers. In fact, service learning has been posited as a way for the academy to acknowledge its commitment or renew its civic responsibility to the community it finds itself in. Studies that have assessed service learning experiences conclude that the outcomes have been positive for most involved: students, faculty, community and institution.5 Students are more motivated in their classwork, work harder and learn more; and many of the benefits acquired from their service learning experience are long term.6 Faculty find that student learning is enhanced and that there is an interaction between theory and practice and thought to action.7 Community organizations have also found student contributions valuable. Campus/community relationships are constructive, and connections are made that did not exist before.9 Researchers have studied particular class experience regarding the incorporation of service learning alongside more traditional classroom methods.10 With regard to the journalism/mass communication discipline, Cohen and Kinsey incorporated service learning projects into the Mass Communication and Society course and found that the greatest strength of this approach was in assisting students in placing classroom material into a meaningful context.11 They also found that both students and teachers observed the service learning projects they participated in were an effective use of academic time. Focusing on service-learning designated courses, Corbett and Kendall found that students enrolled in these courses believed that the service learning experiences heighten their sense of citizenship and assisted them in understanding basic concepts and theories of course content.12 Other researchers have looked at university-wide curricula and have determined that service learning components are found predominantly in education and social science courses. …

Summer slide, or the loss of academic skills and knowledge over the summer vacation, is a pervasive and worrisome phenomenon, especially for children and youth growing up in low-income communities. The chapter uses the principles of narrative inquiry to tell the story of Camp DIVE (Discover, Inquire, Voice, and Explore), a free, four-week summer program designed to ameliorate the impact of summer slide. After reviewing the literature on summer learning loss, a brief explication of professional development schools and community schools is used to set the stage for the narrative inquiry into Camp DIVE. The sources of evidence used were surveys, interviews, focus groups, personal reflections and records kept during the implementation of the summer program. The background and context of Camp DIVE are described, noting that the program evolved from an existing professional development school partnership between a College of Education and a local school district.

Introduction/Objective Research has shown that students from underserved backgrounds are capable of developing scientific practices in a service learning model. However, these learning experiences are often delivered as “one-off” opportunities, such as career fairs, STEM fairs, or one day visits, and the content of the lessons is often divorced from what students are learning in their regular science courses. The purpose of our service learning project was to increase learner efficacy in scientific practices specifically targeted to 6th grade life science standards in South Carolina. Our educational model expands the work on STEM service learning by a) utilizing dually-enrolled high school students as instructors, b) vertically integrating our service learning experiences into the preexisting state curriculum, and c) pairing student instructors with master teachers to enhance future instruction. Methods/Case Report Our biomedical science program has a well established outreach team that delivers STEM instruction throughout our local school district and community. We wished to build upon our prior work by designing outreach labs to address key standards in the state curriculum for our target population of learners (grades K-12). We hypothesized that we would see a larger impact on learning with the current project, because vertically integrating labs into the preexisting curriculum would provide relevance for learners and a concrete lab that teachers could reference back to when reinforcing content. We met with curriculum instruction leaders in our school district, including our middle school science lead, to identify target standards. As our state has recently migrated cell biology and organ system content into the 6th grade curriculum, our instructional leaders felt that this was an area where intervention was needed. The material was new for teachers and was assessed on state standardized assessments that ultimately are reflected on schools’ “report cards.” We developed a set of 8 laboratory lessons targeting 4 state standards, using the 5E instructional model. Dual enrollment students in our biomedical science program were trained as instructors for these lessons. Results During Lab Week 2025, we delivered our standard-targeted lessons to 6th grade learners at 5 district middle schools. 3-4 student instructors formed the instructional team for each lesson. The lessons targeted anatomy of a human hair, cell theory, reactions versus reflexes, and basic microbiology concepts. The breadth of scientific practices taught included microscopy skills, trichoscopy, simple stains, and EMG. Instructional teams were assigned to middle school science classrooms at each school. Over the three days of service learning, over 1,000 6th grade students participated in our lab lessons. Learners showed statistically and educationally significant increases in self-efficacy on all primary learning objectives. Our student instructors were well received by classroom teachers and reported greater confidence in their own skill set. Learners reported a strong desire to participate in additional laboratory lessons. Conclusion Service learning is advantageous for both instructor and learner. In order to serve as instructors, our biomedical science students had to create lessons, summarize content for a younger audience, and present novel laboratory skills to younger peers. In performing these tasks, student instructors were pushed to the highest levels of Blooms taxonomy. Furthermore, master middle school teachers provided valuable feedback to our student instructors. These feedback not only enhanced instructor performance; it has also informed a feedback and formal training program to be used in upcoming years’ work. Learners benefit from our model through relevance, competence, and autonomy, three key components of autonomous motivation. When learners receive instruction from older “peers,” they can see themselves in similar roles and tackling similar material. Unfortunately, one week of targeted lessons cannot meet the need of an entire district. We will further enhance our model by developing “check-out” lesson kits for teachers, implementing a formal student instructor program, and establishing a service learning calendar throughout the academic year.

The Center for Summer Learning examined various summer program models and found that there are nine characteristics that provide a framework for effective summer programs. In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how effective practices lead to positive results for young people. The nine characteristics of effective summer learning programs are (1) accelerating learning, (2) youth development, (3) proactive approach to summer learning, (4) leadership, (5) advanced planning, (6) staff development, (7) strategic partnerships, (8) evaluation and commitment to program improvement, and (9) sustainability and cost-effectiveness. These characteristics are divided into two sections. The first three characteristics address a program's approach to learning. Summer instructional techniques are most effective when academic learning is woven into enrichment activities and youth development. The second section covers program infrastructure to ensure the organization achieves and maintains quality programming. The nine characteristics complement each other to ensure a strong program that works to prevent summer learning loss and narrow the achievement gap. To demonstrate the variety of high-quality programs that include the nine characteristics, thirteen program profiles at the conclusion of the chapter each highlight one of the characteristics. These profiles show the various approaches that different summer programs have developed to accelerate academic achievement and promote positive development for young people in their communities.

The process of receiving and using feedback from teachers and peer editing groups in the writing classroom, while valuable, is not sufficient in the discipline of technical communication. Technical communication relies heavily on experiential learning, which is typically gained through internships and coops. Similarly, in courses with a service-learning component or activities, students are able to interact with real-world audiences, getting feedback on their work from audiences beyond the classroom. There has been little integration of service learning into technical communication courses serving a student population comprised of engineering students. In courses with this type of curricular structure, students have the opportunity to learn and apply writing, editing, and collaboration strategies specific to the field of engineering in non academic situations. This paper outlines the justification and methodology for using community engagement and service learning assignments in technical writing courses that primarily serve students in engineering programs. It outlines the benefits to the students and community organizations; details how I, while at the University of Alaska Anchorage, used service learning as a means of programmatic assessment in my technical communication courses; and concludes with the methods of assessment used to evaluate the effectiveness of this type of course.

This case study reports the findings undertaken to address the roles of middle school students' locus of control in closing the achievement gap as perceived by educators in a school in the Public Waldorf movement. Rotter's social learning theory was used as the theoretical framework to guide the design and analysis of this study. The literature review on locus of control, students' academic performance and Waldorf pedagogy informed this study. The overarching research questions for this study investigated educators' perspectives on the role locus of control plays in overcoming achievement gap. Three primary research questions guiding this study are as follow: (1) What roles does locus of control play in overcoming achievement gap as perceived by educators at a school in the Public Waldorf movement for middle school students of low socio-economic status? (2) How are middle school students' ability to learn reinforced by students' locus of control, as perceived by their teachers? (3) How do environmental factors at a school in the Public Waldorf setting influence students' locus of control and their learning experience, as perceived by the educators and students of the school? The findings indicated an internal locus of control in middle school students. The research concluded that teachers perceived locus of control as an important component to student learning and also acknowledged Waldorf methods as influential factors to student success. Furthermore, less emphasis is placed on academic achievement, and more on students' social-emotional, artistic, creative and physical development as a measure of success. Parental support and school community are crucial to the sustainability of Waldorf method in a public school. The empirical evidence examines the implications, the significance, and limitations in terms of reducing the opportunity gaps. Keywords: Waldorf curriculum, Waldorf public movement, academic achievement, academic gap, locus of control

This article investigates three teacher learners’ service learning experiences, in order to explore the extent to which approaches to service learning can lead to legitimate learning outcomes tied to transformative teacher growth and situated in tenets of social justice. Using student interview data, the author posits that service learning fails as a social justice methodology for preparing teachers when it fails to interrupt biases in ways that transform teacher learners into learning servants. The findings suggest that in order to prepare educators to serve, more work needs to happen prior to sending teacher learners into the field, as some of the biases we wish to interrupt may be firmly in place before these new teachers enter the field. The article concludes by reframing service learning through the conceptual methodology of learning to serve.

Changing students' perceptions of the homeless: A community service learning experience.

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia’s (ADRD) is rising rapidly with the aging of the baby boomer generation. A large workforce gap in dementia providers is widening with education as a frequently cited barrier to entry into the ADRD workforce (Mayer et al, 2023). This scoping review aimed to explore the extant literature on the use of service learning (SL) pedagogy related to ADRD in higher education settings for students in health-related majors. A systematic search was conducted using seven databases. Sources were included if participants were undergraduate/graduate students in any health-related discipline and if SL was utilized in conjunction with specific instructional paradigms (e.g., coursework, on-site workshops). SL, though individually defined by authors of included studies, was required to include community engagement with adults with ADRD; studies specific to clinical rotations were excluded. Included sources (n=32) were systematically extracted for characteristics including student demographics, SL components (learning instruction methods/training, experiences, reflection), and outcomes. Analysis of training revealed most ADRD SL paradigms relied on setting-specific training (n=15) over didactic academic instruction (n=7) or a combination (n=7). SL experiences ranged in type with informal activities (n=13) and creative arts (n=9) most commonly utilized to engage participants. The reflection component most commonly included open-ended reflective journals (n=15). Analysis revealed variability in how SL is represented in the literature. Despite this variability, sources frequently report SL as a viable option for educating the next generation of dementia service providers, with observed improvements in student attitudes and knowledge related to ADRD.

Aging is a distinct part of the life cycle. College students enrolled in courses in gerontology often have difficulty relating to aging, that part of life not yet experienced. They may not fully appreciate that adults become more unique, not more similar, as they age. We describe courses in an undergraduate gerontology certificate program that incorporate experiential learning activities with older adults across a hierarchical sequence of courses. These courses feature service learning opportunities focused on increased understanding of course content, broader appreciation of the discipline and improved sense of civic responsibility. Much like the course content of the curriculum, the incorporated experiential learning opportunities for each course level fit a hierarchy leading to student competence and skills development needed for success in the final independent practicum. For the described courses, students provided community service, experienced direct contact with older adults and used reflective practices to integrate course content into service learning activities. We report on qualitative data obtained from students enrolled in the foundational course, Biophysical Aspects of Aging and the third level course, Aging and Mental Health. Content analyses of reflective essays identified five themes: (a) insights about the realities of aging in America (b) perceptions concerning personal negative stereotypes about older adults; (c) feelings of accomplishment/awareness of new skills in providing community services; (d) understandings related to the importance/value of community service; and (e) successes in integrating the course work on aging into service-learning experiences. Other experiential learning activities incorporated into this gerontology certificate program are highlighted.

The frequent need that students exhibit for greater academic and nonacademic support than can be offered during the regular school day is a widely documented challenge. Summer programs are a common tool that schools and districts employ to expand the time over which students have access to learning opportunities and resources. For the current article, we examined 65 summer learning program evaluation reports through a qualitative lens, in order to synthesize the report authors’ views on the implications for effective summer program practice that emerged from their work. We also review recommendations for school leaders and educators to support summer learning outside the context of a formal summer program.

For many years, the Australian government has commissioned survey data on multiple facets of the experience of university students in order to improve teaching and learning and its outcomes. Over the last decade, these surveys have reported much lower satisfaction ratings for quality indicators related to feedback/comments provided to students about their work, relative to satisfaction ratings with overall teaching quality and the total student experience.This case study provides unique insights into this problem by identifying common characteristics and student perceptions of online feedback interactions. It draws on a large data set of ratings and comments provided by university students in the context of their receipt of formative, pre-submission online feedback about a piece of their academic writing – at their time of need. The data was gathered from more than 14,000 comments from a 12-month period across multiple universities in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom provided by Studiosity, an academic support provider to universities in these countries. The study captures the lived experience of the students by employing a manifest content analysis to analyze comments provided voluntarily by students at the conclusion of their online interactions.The results support the position that a positive online writing feedback interaction is multifaceted, containing elements of both service quality and learning experiences and is influenced by both student characteristics and the institutional context. This high-level evidence could also be used to inform strategy development and priority setting around the provision of academic support services.KeywordsOnline writing feedbackAcademic supportService qualityStudent learningStudent perceptions

Many accredited schools and programs of public health integrate experiential learning into the capstone experience for undergraduate public health majors; thus, the experiential learning capstone must be both cumulative and integrative. A goal of experiential learning is to foster the application of concepts and skills learned in the classroom to real-world public health situations. Students may benefit from earlier opportunities to engage in high-impact experiential learning activities. Therefore, the University of Iowa College of Public Health developed an experiential learning requirement that is separate from the capstone course. Our students' experiential learning activities do not need to be cumulative across the entire curriculum, but they should be integrative. Public health undergraduate students at the University of Iowa must successfully complete at least one of the following experiences in public health: research, internship, service learning, or global learning. This article will provide a model for the creation of an experiential learning program for undergraduate public health students that is separate from the culminating, capstone experience.

Higher education plays a vital role in supporting the social, economic, and cultural development of global societies. With the advancement of technology and increasing global demands, higher education institutions are required to continuously innovate in order to create relevant and sustainable learning experiences. This study aims to systematically review various educational innovations implemented in higher education to support sustainable learning. Using a PRISMA-based Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach, 37 articles published between 2020 and 2024 were analyzed. The study identified three main categories of educational innovation: curriculum innovation, instructional innovation, and educational technology innovation. Curriculum innovations include the integration of sustainability principles and the development of 21st-century skills. Instructional innovations involve active learning approaches and personalized learning technologies. Meanwhile, technological innovations focus on the use of AI, AR/VR, and digital learning platforms that enhance interactive and inclusive learning experiences. Despite challenges such as infrastructure gaps, limited faculty training, and unequal access to technology, this study highlights the importance of integrated and sustainable approaches in implementing educational innovations. It provides evidence-based recommendations for higher education institutions to develop more relevant, inclusive, and sustainable learning practices.

Phase 2 of the Courage and Moral Choice Project (CMCP) involved a more structured and planned learning experience than had Phase 1. Two teachers at an alternative public high school collaborated with researchers and artist educators to develop an integrated, three-month learning experience around stories of helping. Students participated on a voluntary basis and focused on these stories through language arts, history, art, and service learning experiences. They were encouraged to tell their own stories of courageous moral choices, and their exchanges led to more general disclosure and trust in the learning environment. Artist educators were brought into the schools to encourage students to translate their experiences of moral choice into poetry, essays, art, and songs. Teachers and students reported a more cohesive sense of community as well as increased empathy and awareness of the help of others among participants.