Jul 11th, 2007
II. Goals/Standards
The major benefit we all hoped to gain was a renewed spirit among our students, and therefore ourselves, for academic pursuits, nourished by the opportunities to interact on-site in an historic project with professional scientists. Environmental, political and cultural aspects of this project would become part of these students’ world, as well as create pride in a community service project with long-range implications.
Research supports that experiential learning is highly effective for a variety of learning styles and engages multiple intelligences [Gardner, 1983.] We expected our students to have fewer behavior problems and higher high school graduation rates because of our active, hands-on, project-based curriculum. We also looked for carry-over effects on improved student WASL scores.
Students participating in this service-learning project met specific grade level expectations and state standards in science, social studies, writing, and reading.