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| From the Editors: |
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We know from out of the office email messages that lots of service-learning folks are taking well-deserved vacations this month, but it’s been another busy month for NSLC as we gear up for the new school year. New from NSLC are resources on the History of Service-Learning in Higher Education and on STEM (in celebration of the soon to be announced new Learn and Serve America STEM Grantees). We’ve also updated some old favorites including our factsheets on Funding for K-12 Service-Learning Programs and Student Engagement in K-12.
“Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action”, is the theme of this year’s International Youth Day, which is coming up on August 12. In recognition of this event and of the pressing issue of climate change we’ve pulled together some resources for this month’s newsletter on the topic from the NSLC library as well as some great grantee submissions to our SLICE database.
Also this month, to help in gearing up for the new school year, we wanted to bring out another favorite from NSLC K-12 Program Advisor, RMC Research: “Linking: Service-Learning & No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.” These free “Linking” documents provide practical guidance for linking service-learning to NCLB, title by title. Order or download free copies today at: www.servicelearning.org/pubs/index.php
But, the area of most energy around NSLC this summer continues to be the Learn & Serve Challenge. Here are some thoughts from the Challenge organizers on the Top 3 Things You Can Do in August to Gear Up for the Challenge:
- Schools are gearing up again and Congress will soon head to recess. By August 15, 2008, tell us what you will be doing during the National Learn & Serve Challenge. Help us keep track of Challenge events across the country, and see what other people are doing. Visit www.learnandservechallenge.org/acceptthechallenge.php to Accept the Challenge and tell us what you will be doing.
- This is a great time to start putting together the pieces for securing a proclamation from your mayor, city council members, governor, state superintendent, or board of education. Allow four to six weeks to complete this process. Click here for simple tips and instructions: www.learnandservechallenge.org/proclamation.php for step by step instructions.
See the resolution passed by the Michigan State Board of Education during the 2007 Challenge! www.michigan.gov/documents/mcsc/Learn_and_Serve_Resolution_209604_7.pdf for an example.
- Get you organization, school, or community to become a Proud Partner of the National Learn & Serve Challenge. Email nslp@aed.org with “Proud Partner” in the subject line of your message to add your school or organization’s name to the list. Visit www.learnandservechallenge.org/participating.php for the full list of Proud Partners.
If you have a website, Facebook page, or other place to call your home on the web, add the Learn & Serve Challenge widget to show your support (you can find it on the NSLC homepage at servicelearning.org). And while you’re at it, share a little piece of NSLC on your site with one of the NSLC widgets: www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/up_to_date/widgets.php.
Barbara and Liberty
Barbara Holland, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Director
Liberty Smith, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Program Manager |
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| News: |
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Volunteering 61 Million Strong; Need and Momentum Grow
The most comprehensive research on U.S. volunteering ever assembled shows volunteering in America is strong and poised for growth, as momentum for service grows across the sectors and the need for volunteers is heightened by the economic downturn. Read the complete press release. |
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State Farm Youth Advisory Board Grants
A great opportunity to build a strong STEM Service-learning proposal. The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a diverse group of 30 students aged 17-20 who have been selected from nearly 650 applicants. They play a leadership role in creating and overseeing a $5 million-a-year State Farm funded service-learning initiative. The Youth Advisory Board grants funds for student-led service-learning projects in the United States and in the Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario provinces of Canada. These grants address in a structural way the issues of disaster preparedness, driver safety, accessing higher education/closing the achievement gap, and financial education. The minimum grant amount is $25,000 and the maximum grant amount is $100,000. Application are due October 3, 2008.
www.statefarmyab.com/Youthboard%20Application.doc |
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| New From NSLC: |
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History of Service-Learning in Higher Education
This page provides a brief history of service-learning in higher education from its roots in civic engagement movements to the present date.
www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/history_hesl/index.php
STEM
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and usually refers to education in one or more of these disciplines. This fact sheet offers information on how service-learning can address some of the concerns over the decline in STEM education in the United States.
www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_sheets/he_facts/stem/index.php |
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| People are Talking About... |
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This month, our Higher Ed email discussion list was abuzz with talk of the gender makeup of service-learning participants. By working with different definitions of “service,” including social service, military service, and public service, members provided input on who traditionally participates in these various types of service-learning, and the implications of what is has traditionally been viewed as “men’s work” or “women’s work.” Members looked into and discussed who chooses to participate in service-learning and why—and the factors, societal, historical, and institutional, that go into these choices. It was certainly intriguing to witness numerous observations of gender breaks through comparison of the gender breakdown in various higher ed programs to the breakdown in various service-learning programs. To read more on this discussion and contribute your thoughts, go to lists.etr.org/read/messages?id=90550.
If you’d like to sign up to receive messages from one or more of our email discussion lists on service-learning, please visit www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/lists_news/. |
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| NSLC How-Tos: |
A Note on Copyright
Because everyone wants to leverage existing resources and avoid reinventing the wheel we often get questions from Learn and Serve America Grantees, service-learning practitioners, and others about copyright. Copyright, the legal protection to authors of original works, ,gives authors the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and display their works. It’s a complex issue with a lot of rules and a lot of exceptions. Some of these exceptions relate to library and education settings, and allow for some additional use of copyright protected materials, such as the “fair use” rule. Other aspects of the law deal with the use of digital materials and online information. Copyright is a legal issue, and while we’re not able to provide you with legal advice, we wanted to provide you with some definitions, some ways to find out more about what you can and can’t do with copyright protected materials, and tips on how to protect your own original works.
Here’s a mini-glossary of some terms related to copyright and links where you can find more information:
Copyright: The exclusive rights of the owner of the copyright on a work to make and distribute copies, prepare derivative works, and perform and display the work in public. www.copyright.gov
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): An amendment to existing US copyright law that regulates the use of digital materials. www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
Fair Use: A limitation on a copyright holder’s exclusive rights which allows the use of copyright protected work for commentary, parody, news reporting, research, scholarship, and education. The rule assumes that the use is minimal enough that it will not interfere with the copyright holder’s exclusive rights to reproduce and reuse the work.
fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/index.html
Plagiarism: The unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. www.plagiarism.org/
Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse is full of resources that you can use to help you improve service-learning research and practice. You are able to quote small portions of a copyright protected work found on the NSLC website as long as you make sure to attribute that work to the author and not claim it as your own. You can also make and distribute copies of NSLC-produced documents, such as our fact sheets, bibliographies, and even this newsletter. Keep our name and the NSLC branding, but please share our resources with your students, friends, colleagues, and community-partners! All the Learn and Serve America Bring Learning to Life materials (www.servicelearning.org/lsa/bring_learning/) are also available free for you to make as many copies as you need and distribute far and wide. But note that without the permission of the authors, you cannot make and distribute copies of materials found on our site that don’t clearly indicate they were created by and for NSLC or Learn and Serve America. |
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| Featured Library Resources: |
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August 12, 2008 is International Youth Day and this year the theme is “Youth and Climate Change: Time for Action”. Below are a few resources from the NSLC library that can help inspire you and get you started in developing your own service-learning project to help tackle global climate change:
For more resources on this and related topics see:
Service-Learning and the Environment: Selected Resources
An extensive bibliography compiled by Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse librarian on ways to incorporate environmental concerns in service-learning projects.
www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/bibs/cb_bibs/environment/index.php
Climate Change: Youth Action Guide
 TakingITGlobal
The TakingITGlobal Climate Change Youth Guide to Action is intended to inspire, inform and involve youth in taking action on climate change and global warming. Each section of the guide highlights important steps in taking action and the authors take youth through the following steps: getting informed and identifying real problems; developing a leadership role and inspiring other youth to get involved; choosing a project, setting goals, developing and implementing an action plan; and, evaluating their success and sustaining their actions.
www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7904
Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! Campus Guide
Greenpeace
This toolkit was developed by Greenpeace as a comprehensive organizing guide outlining two successful clean energy campaign strategies.
www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7905
 Volunteer for Change, A Guide to Environmental Community Service
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
This guidebook contains project examples and ideas for environmental service learning. This booklet contains examples of volunteer projects related to solid waste management as developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose mission is to protect human health and the natural environment. EPA's Office of Solid Waste (OSW) promotes volunteerism and community service programs for people of all ages. A variety of service projects are featured in this booklet. They include reuse, recycling, composting, and household hazardous waste projects.
www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=4803
 Higher Education in a Warming World: The Business Case for Climate Leadership on Campus
David E. Eagan & Julian Keniry
This report is a guide for administrators, staff, faculty and students exploring the implications of climate change and seeking cost-effective solutions. It presents a scientific overview of global warming and a review of the business, educational and moral arguments for confronting this problem. Case studies from a diverse group of leading campuses illustrate energy-conserving and emissions-saving projects, effective financing strategies and creative ways to involve the campus community. A section on the planning process and implementation steps is included to help campuses get a jump on cutting costs and reducing their carbon footprint. www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7428
Tar Creek Anthology 2 - Our Toxic Place: Poems, Songs, Essays, and Research Papers
Miami High School Cherokee Volunteer Society
This book, produced as part of a service-learning project, is the second in a series of writings by middle and high school students from Ottawa County, a county that hosts the nation's largest and most dangerous Superfund Site, according to the EPA. Miami High School's Cherokee Volunteer Society became the first citizens' group in Ottawa County to organize a community response to their county's devastated environment and the health problems resulting from human exposure to toxic heavy metals. It is a good example of one of the products of an environmental service-learning project. www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=6303
**Service-Learning ‘Classic’**:
In addition to bringing you new library resources or those selected each month around a theme, we want to highlight some of those foundational resources that are of enduring importance and usefulness to the field. Remember that you can always conduct a search for such "classic" resources (or "starter" and "expert" resources) by visiting our advanced library search page. www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/default.php
Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
The MJCSL is a national, peer-reviewed journal for college and university faculty and administrators, with an editorial board consisting of faculty from many academic disciplines and professional fields at the University of Michigan and other institutions of higher education around the country. The journal provides a venue to intellectually stimulate educators around the issues pertinent to academic service-learning in higher education, as well as a venue to publish scholarly articles specifically for a service-learning audience.
All of the articles from the span of the MJCSL are cataloged individually in the NSLC library catalog. While we do not circulate the journals we are more than happy to photocopy and mail any article you may be interested in!
www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=2633 |
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| Order Publications from NSLC: |
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Did you know that NSLC offers copies of many of our most popular resources for free or low cost to both grantees and non-grantees? You can order free copies of the “Linking: Service-Learning & No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” or of the NSLC promotional postcard for SLICE: Service-Learning Ideas and Curricular Examples to help you prepare for the school year. The order process is easy. Just fill out the form online and let us do the rest!
www.servicelearning.org/pubs/index.php |
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| What's Happening: |
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The National Educators’ Institute for Jewish Service-Learning
August 10 – 14, 2008
Burlington, VT
The Center for Jewish Service-Learning
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=788
Connecting Literacy to Service Learning - Adding Relevance, Transforming Lives
August 25 – 26, 2008
Brighton, MI
Smart Character Choices
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=802
ServiceNation Summit
September 11 – 12, 2008
New York, NY
Be The Change Inc., City Year, and Civic Enterprises
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=776
Midwest Consortium for Service-Learning in Higher Education (MCSLHE) 5th Annual Conference
September 25 – 26, 2008
Brookings, SD
Midwest Consortium for Service Learning in Higher Education
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=792
2008 Imagining America Conference
October 2 – 4, 2008
Los Angeles, CA
Center for Diversity and Democracy, University of Southern California
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=832
2008 5th Annual NAAEE Research Symposium -- EE Research: To what end?
October 14 – 15, 2008
Wichita, KS
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=822
37th Annual NAAEE Conference – Explore New Horizons for Environmental Education
October 15 – 18, 2008
Wichita, KS
North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE)
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=821
National Conference on Disability Inclusion & National Service: Acting Today to Shape the Future
October 16 – 18, 2008
Alexandria, VA
Corporation for National and Community Service, the National Service Inclusion Project, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston and the Association of University Centers on Disability
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=813
8th Internal research Conference on Service-Learning & Community Engagement
October 26 – 28, 2008
New Orleans, LA
International Association for Research on Service-learning and Community Engagement
www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=728 |
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| Learn and Serve America Grantee Materials Roundup: |
Learn and Serve America Grantees are required to send the Clearinghouse all program evaluations and other material developed through their funded activities. But don’t just do it because you have to! Do it because you’ll be supporting the greater service-learning community and allowing others to build on your work to help their students succeed and their communities grow in positive directions!
Whether or not you’re a Learn and Serve America Grantee please send us your handbooks, guides, curricula, forms, and anything else you think could be useful to others involved in service-learning.
www.servicelearning.org/library/mat_contrib/index.php.
Interested in getting some ideas of how you can make an positive impact on the environment and global climate change? Check out this list of recent grantee and subgrantee submissions to our SLICE database: |
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Global Power Project
LA Unified School District
www.servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=253
Analysis and Alleviation of Air Pollution
LA Unified School District
www.servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=311
Campus Energy Saving Plan
LA Unified School District
www.servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=324 |
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| Promote Your Program! |
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We want to show the world what service-learning can look like!
Do you have a terrific story of a student who was slipping through the cracks until they were reached by service-learning? Or do you have an inspiring project that makes others wonder what THEY could be doing to better the community? Send us your service-learning success stories and let us tell them to America!
www.servicelearning.org/nslc/success_story_form/
Send us your high quality photos of your service-learning programs or projects to highlight on our sector pages, as well as on the rest of the site, what service-learning in action can look like!
www.servicelearning.org/library/promote/share_photo_form.php
We appreciate the contributions you make to the enhancement of the National Service Learning Clearinghouse, America 's Resource for Service-Learning Information. |
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| Success Stories: |
| Success stories are a way for NSLC to highlight and show off what you have done and are doing in the realm of service-learning.
Submit your story. |
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College Students and Joven Students Dance on Stage (A Learn and Serve America Grantee)
 Three days a week students from San Antonio College traveled to the JOVEN to teach dance to 45 students ages 4 to 14. San Antonio College students organized themselves into three teams. Teams choose the day of the week and dance style they would teach. Team members rotated being lead dance instructor for the children’s classes. Teams selected class music, planned the warm-up, loco motor movements across floor and choreographed a dance for their JOVEN class.
San Antonio College students caucus weekly to preparation for their JOVEN class. Class discussion included class structure, learning styles, technique, safety, and any problem that may have occurred.
 Each semester the project culminates with a joint performance of the JOVEN and San Antonio College Students. The excitement and thrill of the performance is felt by both groups of dancers. JOVEN students are thrilled to share what they had learned with their family and friends. The JOVEN students leave the concert proud of their performance and the skills they had learned. The San Antonio College students are confident that their efforts have created such joy and accomplishment for the children. They exposed the children to the love of dance, an opportunity they may never have had the opportunity to participate. They planted the seed that college is a possibility in every child’s future. "The best thing is when at a performance they are so excited. It is the best feeling," SAC student Marina Mendoza to Conexión Newspaper. To the San Antonio Express-News Mendoza stated, "We just fell in love with them. And to see them perform and do it so well, it was awesome."
The Service Learning Project constituted 25% of the overall grade. It will be divided as follows: 10% working at JOVEN, 5% class preparation, 5% Performance, and 5% Reflection paper.
Read More.
For more information about this project, please contact Audrey Grams at San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212-4299, agrams@mail.accd.edu - www.accd.edu/sac/sacmain/sac.htm. |
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View other success stories. |
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Spread the Good News! |
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NSLC is all about sharing, so please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues and invite them to subscribe by sending a blank email to join_nslc-newsletter@lists.etr.org. You're also welcome to incorporate excerpts from the newsletter into your own newsletter (just be sure to cite Learn and Serve America's National Service-Learning Clearinghouse NSLC Newsletter and send us a copy). |
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