Middle School Service Learning

Service Work for Project-Based Learning

Effective Middle School practice calls for project-based learning. Projects that are most meaningful for early adolescents are ones that demonstrate their competence and give them a public display of the effort that they put into their work. Service learning supplies this opportunity. Although at first it appears to be more work for the teacher, in reality those who have done it well will tell you that it is just different work and that it allows you to call upon a whole set of adult resources in the community who have a myriad of talents to help educate your students.

Some resources:

• National Youth Leadership Council, which allows you to search project examples by grade level and subject area
• Community Lessons, on the MA Department of Education website, with 14 chapters offering a summary of a service-learning project from a MA school. You might use these more as a springboard for discussion on what makes a quality project or to examine one more more aspects of actual service-learning practice.
• Edutopia, for examples that cross disciplinary boundaries (George Lucas Educational Foundation)
• Service Learning Framework [PDF]
• Service Learning Terms [PDF]
• Approaches to Service Learning Problems [PDF]

Faculty Spotlight

Lorraine Greenfield
Assistant Professor

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Vivian Carlo
Associate Professor

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