Reports on a community service learning project in which 11 college students participated in conflict-resolution activities in a middle school. The students' reactions to the experience varied according to their different motivations for participating. Training and close supervision, partially accomplished through meetings and reading weekly…

Describes the use of literacy portfolios in an eighth-grade classroom. Discusses the growth of self-awareness, the strong sense of personal commitment, the connection between analyzing and critiquing individual work through the eyes of a reader, the creation of a community of writers, and student reflections on their writing experiences. (SD)

Describes the Proffit Mountain project, part of a senior-level class in applied geophysics that provides students with hands-on experience in applying principles and techniques learned in class. Students conduct magnetic, gravity, and radiometric studies over a diabase body which intrudes rhyolite at Proffitt Mountain in southeast Missouri.…

Three American Indian college graduates describe how they benefitted from the "INROADS to the Stars Scholarship" program. A multi-year scholarship and summer internship program, INROADS places talented minority group students in internships with global corporations and provides leadership training. Students must major in geophysics,…

Reports on Miami-Dade Community College's experience with service learning and the "America Reads" program, which have proven to be effective and important ways to help fulfill higher education's commitment to community building, scholarship, and civic responsibility. Outlines some of the keys to success in building a successful service…

Explains that an organic curriculum embraces a social studies curriculum that is supported by multidisciplinary social science methods and is grounded in the students' real-world experiences. Maintains that this organic social studies methodology is a means for implementing the thematic strands of the National Council for the Social Studies…

This chapter discusses how alumni research can be used to inform key audiences about the impact of college on alumni, including the preparation of alumni for the workforce, alumni experiences as students, and whether alumni may be inclined to support their alma mater.

The importance of teacher education graduates having appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) for learning competencies and experiences is well documented. However, without well developed processes for auditing the ICT experiences of undergraduates it should not be assumed that teachers will enter their profession with the…

It is expected that the demand for gerontological social workers will increase as the elderly population continues to grow. However, many practitioners enter the aging field with little or no formal training. Successful gerontological social work practice requires workers to be knowledgeable and technically competent. Fieldwork plays a critical…

This book offers first-hand, personal dialogues about the experience of completing a doctoral dissertation. The group of 10 students at Warwick University (United Kingdom) who contributed their impressions had been together for 3 years; 3 had already completed their doctorates while the others' projects were still incomplete. The book is organized…

Factors influencing the educational experiences of immigrants to the United States are outlined and discussed. The factors are categorized as relevant to the individual (personal strengths, age at arrival, quantity and quality of educational background, native language English proficiency, reasons for immigrating, race/ethnicity, immigration…

This report uses data from the 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study and the 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study to examine the postsecondary experiences and outcomes of first-generation students relative to their peers. After an overview of the demographic, aspirational, and enrollment characteristics of…

This document, a byproduct of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, provides data on what postsecondary courses are actually taken both by school completers and school leavers, based on analysis of postsecondary transcripts from 1972 to 1984 of 12,600 students graduating from high school in 1972. Also presented is a…

This guide describes the organization, administration, and maintenance of a student volunteer program designed to provide experiential learning to students and paraprofessional staff in rural human service agencies. The need for volunteer paraprofessionals in rural human service agencies, the benefits of a student volunteer program to both…

Evaluation of the Cabell County's (West Virginia) Program was based upon a list of program objectives directed toward improving student and community attitudes toward career education through a program of career exploration. Focus was on helping tenth grade students explore occupational interests and abilities in a school setting and at four…