Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Study Of The Effects Of A Service-Learning Experience On Student Success At An Urban Community College, Judith Sheryl Berson

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data.

Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied. including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities.

Book Review: The Invisible Medium, Michael L. Hilt

Communication Faculty Publications

Peter M. Lewis and Jerry Booth. The Invisible Medium. Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1990.

The critical theme presented by the authors of this book is that radio has become an "invisible medium." They blame this condition on its subordination to television in public policy debate, and because of the infrequent attention it receives through critical and scholarly studies. They examine the two predominant models of radio—public service and commercial—and survey alternative radio practice in both Western and Third World countries. Throughout the book, they stress the underestimated potential of radio as a contemporary mass communication instrument and contend …

Problem Construction And Creativity: The Role Of Ability, Cue Consistency, And Active Processing, Roni Reiter-Palmon, American Institutes For Research, Jennifer O'Connor Boes, Mark A. Runco

Psychology Faculty Publications

Problem construction has been suggested as the first step in creative problem solving, but our understanding of the underlying process is limited. According to a model of problem construction (Mumford, Reiter-Palmon, & Redmond, 1994), problem construction ability, active engagement in problem construction, and the presence of diverse and inconsistent cues influence creative problem solving. To test these hypotheses, 195 undergraduates were asked to solve 6 real-life problems and complete a measure of problem construction ability. Active engagement in problem construction was manipulated by instructions to the participants. Cue consistency was manipulated by the information presented in the problem situation. The …

Postmodernism, “Reality” And Public Administration: A Discourse, Hugh T. Miller, Charles J. Fox, Gary S. Marshall

Faculty Books and Monographs

Chapter, Deconstructing Administrative Behavior: The “Real” as Representation, authored by Gary Marshall, UNO faculty member.

Organizational Context And Young Adult Education In An Urban Service Corps, Robert A. Pence

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

As a medium-sized, state-supported youth corps, the Wisconsin Conservation Corps (WCC) is an established institutional expression of a service corps model that has potential to address some of the educational and economic needs of marginalized young adults from "at-risk" environments. The WCC is a "second chance" work experience program that attempts to prepare 18 to 25 year-old unemployed young adults for employment or continuing education while they complete useful conservation work throughout the state. It is largely a white, male, rural-based program that maintains some crews in the black and Hispanic urban core of Milwaukee. This case study critically examines …

Developmentally Disabled Elderly: Reflections Of The Aging Network Workers' Readiness, Daniel Alan Kash

Student Work

This study looks at the readiness of the aging network workers to work with the developmentally disabled elderly. The developmentally disabled elderly population will grow along with the rest of the aging population. As this occurs, the aging network workers may be called upon to work with the developmentally disabled elderly population. This study surveyed the aging networker workers to determine their attitudes and opinions in serving the developmentally disabled elderly population. Specifically, the survey looked at the attitudes and opinions of the aging network workers of the developmentally disabled elderly population in the following areas: perceptions of the field, …

Communication Apprehension And Exercise Adherence: An Exploratory Study, Janette Thomas Carr

Student Work

This thesis explored whether adhering to an exercise program could significantly predict an individual’s level of communication apprehension (CA). The project expands the study o f CA by analyzing a potentially new treatment option for alleviating this fear of communication. Specifically, it asked if an individual’s level o f exercise adherence (EA) - as measured by the four components of intensity, frequency, duration, and longevity - could significantly predict an individual’s level CA in each o f the four contexts - interpersonal conversations, group discussion, meetings and public speaking - and overall. Five research questions were posited (one for each …

Interparental Conflict, Family Environment And Perceived Interpersonal Conflicts Among Late Adolescents, Harry Durell Johnson

Student Work

The characteristics of interpersonal conflict within the family system during adolescence may be influenced not only by the attempts of adolescent's to individuate from their parents, but also by the environment in which this individuation process occurs. Family systems that are characterized by decreased family cohesion and increased interparental conflict may inadvertently provide environments that foster increases in conflict among its members. How these environmental factors are associated with the quantitative and qualitative aspects of conflict is an important question which is addressed in this study. The relationship between the family system environment (i.e., family cohesion and interparental conflict), participant's …

Service-Learning In One State: Results Of The North Carolina Service-Learning Inventory, Diane C. Calleson, Lani G. Parker, Robert C. Serow

Service Learning, General

Recent years have seen greatly expanded interest in service-learning among educators at both the K-12 and college levels. By most accounts, the initiation of service-learning programs and courses has come about in response to a recognized need to provide more effective citizenship education and to do a better job of preparing young people to be active members of their communities (see, for example, Barber). What is less clear, however, is the overall shape and substance of these programs. Because service-learning usually has a strong local component, not very much is known of the broader patterns and trends at the national …

Community Service Learning As Democratic Education In South Africa And The United States, Meta Mendel-Reyes, Jeremy Weinstein

International Service Learning & Community Engagement

This paper describes the development of the first community service learning program for democratic education in South Africa. The Democracy Education Project, which is based on Swarthmore College's innovative Democracy Project, was designed and implemented by a Swanhmore College student working with a high school in a Black community near CapeTown. This case study demonstrates that the successful transposition of a model of community service learning from one country to another requires recognizing the complex relationships among history and culture, and theories and practices of democratic education. It is also crucial to involve the new community as an equal partner …

Internships: Academic Learning Outcomes, Regina Grantz, Marilyn Thomas

Higher Education

Proponents of experiential learning have long recognized the learning benefits students can achieve through internships, service-learning experiences, and co-ops. There are others, however, who see those experiences as "career exploration," "good for the resume," but not integral to academic learning and so, not valid for the earning of academic credit. Even if internships are viewed as a valid component of the learning cycle (Kolb), what do we expect students to learn? How do we articulate outcomes that relate to a student's discipline major or to a liberal arts curriculum? Finally, how can we assess whether a student is meeting the …

Omaha's Public Libraries, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

The Omaha Public Library began as a subscription library in 1872. The "library" was located in a rented room on 14th Street between Douglas and Dodge with a collection of 2,600 donated books. The Library Association charged an annual fee of $3.00 for membership. In 1877 the State Legislature approved an act allowing the establishment of "free public libraries and reading rooms." That same year the Omaha City Council established the Omaha Public Library at the urging of the Omaha Library Association. The Library opened with a budget of$1,274.80, a librarian, and nine appointed directors, the precursor of the Library …

Broadcast News And Elderly People: Attitudes Of Local Television Managers, Michael L. Hilt, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz

Communication Faculty Publications

The Kogan Attitudes Toward Old People Scale was used to measure local television manager attitudes toward elderly people. Census projections have shown that the elderly population will increase dramatically in the next century. The importance of local television news in the lives of the elderly makes the study of two groups of television managers - general managers and news directors 0 found that younger news directors have a more positive attitude toward older people, while the older general managers had a less positive attitude.

Perspectives On The Use Of Internet In Art Classrooms, Donalyn Heise, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

With the emergence of Internet technology, students have the opportunity to develop skills necessary to live, work and play in the 21st century. More than ever before, students will need to be competent in accessing and managing information from a variety of sources. The Internet allows students to engage in global communication, as well as access the most current information available. For art education, the Internet also provides a real opportunity to blend multicultural, multi-age, gender-inclusive educational reform into the art curriculum by incorporating visual resources and contextual information from many different cultures.

Relationship Between Life Change Events And Communication Apprehension, Elaine Bylund

Student Work

This research investigates relationships between communication apprehension (CA) and life change events, using college students at a Midwestern university. Instruments used were the Personal Report o f Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA- 24) which measured CA, both overall and in four subareas, and a modified version of the Adolescent Life Change Event Questionnaire (ALCEQ), which records life change events during formative years and past year before being questioned.

No significant relationships were found between the overall scores of the two instruments in this study, although demographic information showed that the younger college students reported more public speaking apprehension than the older groups. …

Effects Of Participatory Learning Programs In Middle And High School Civic Education, Simon Kim, B. Sue Parks, Marvin Beckerman

School K-12

Introduction of participatory learning program in school civic education increases student awareness and improves communication skills through active participation in community services. Citizen Education Clearing House (CECH) programs which include the election, the Missouri state government, and the metropolitan issues program, enable students to improve their basic knowledge of election procedures and awareness of youth violence. A study of students from different racial and academic backgrounds who participated in these programs, reveals that participation leads to better civic education.

Community Service Throughout A School System, Anne Bishop

Service Learning, General

Teachers crave moments when student interest is high, questions flow freely, and learning is vivid enough to be retained. One such moment occurred when an elementary student in an environmental service project with wetlands volunteers said, "I learned that there are different types of wetlands and ours is a freshwater wetland that we are helping to stay fresh." These moments happen more often when students actively engage in experiences that involve helping others than during lecture, pencil and paper exercises, or assigned reading. Combined, service and learning become uniquely powerful (Kendall 1990). Facts learned in the classroom become a springboard …

Project Northland: Outcomes Of A Communitywide Alcohol Use Prevention Program During Early Adolescence, Cheryl L. Peny, Carolyn L. Williams, Sara Veblen-Mortenson, Traci L. Toomey, Kelli A. Komro, Pamela S. Astine, Paul G. Mcgovern, John R. Finnegan, Jean L. Forster, Alexander C. Wagenaar, Mark Wolfson

Project Summaries

Adolescent drinking and other drug use remain major public health problems in this country, despite some encouraging declines in the prevalence of use.^1-7 Alcohol use among adolescents is widespread (e.g., 88% of 12th graders reported any lifetime use in 1992), even though drinking is illegal for essentially all high school students.³ Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for adolescents,⁸ with one third to one half of such crashes involving alcohol.⁹ Furthermore, early onset of alcohol and tobacco use is a risk factor for progression to more serious forms of drug use.¹⁰

Helping Younger Students: A Cross-Age Tutorial Program, Sandra Harris

Project Summaries

The faculty in Castle Hills Baptist School, with an age-diverse population-225 high school students, 125 middle school students, and 350 elementary students-in three adjoining buildings, became interested in starting a cross-age tutorial program. After reviewing the literature, the faculty recognized the need for careful planning (Rosenshine and Furst 1969); high intensity instruction (Cohen, Kulik, and Kulik 1982); and a structured program ( Graesser and Person 1994). Believing that cross-age tutoring could benefit teachers, younger children, and older students, teachers looked to tutoring to further academic growth and increase interest in academic subjects (Fitz-Gibbon 1977; Yacc and Cannon 1991; Cochran 1993; …

A College-Community Service Program To Improve Student Reading, Antonio M. Eppolito, Stephanie Burt Pelcher, Jim Wright

Higher Education

Service learning at LeMoyne College extends the learning of undergraduate students in teacher education beyond the college classroom while fulfilling an education department's practicum requirement by assisting in the improvement of elementary students' reading comprehension skills. A partnership created among Blue Cross-Blue Shield Insurance Company of Central New York-whose corporate sponsorship covers the cost of transporting tutors from the college campus to the elementary school Elmwood Elementary School of The Syracuse City School District, and Le Moyne College (BEL) provides a tutoring program for third graders who have been judged by their teachers to be less-skilled readers than many of …

Origins, Evolution, And Progress: Reflections On A Movement, Goodwin Liu

Higher Education

This article traces the evolution of the community service movement on college campuses over the past 10 years. The author also analyzes the development of the movement through three conceptual strands -- student leadership, institutional support, and service learning -- weaving them into a narrative of the recent decade.

Naming And Framing Service Learning: A Taxonomy And Four Levels Of Value, James Robertson Price Iii, John S. Martello

Higher Education

Service learning draws upon some of the noblest intentions of American higher education: its goal is to develop an educated and engaged citizenry willing and able to address society's ills. This idea of service learning resonates deeply with the felt needs of our time, and perhaps nowhere more keenly than in the urban locations of metropolitan colleges and universities. Consequently, service learning is perhaps the fastest growing and the most promising movement within higher education today.

Serving In One's Own Community: Taking A Second Look At Our Assumptions About Community Service Education, Marie Kennedy, Molly Mead

Higher Education

What difference does it make if the students in a comm.unity service education project are from the communities being served? On the basis of over 20 years of experience, the authors warn that superficial conclusions about who the students are can easily interfere with effective teaching of such projects. They also develop their approach to community service education: community empowerment through action research. Those most affected by the conditions being researched must be involved in posing the research questions, determining how the results of the research will be used, and mobilizing for change-oriented action.

The Effect Of Intergovernmental Aid On City Property Taxes: New Results For Minnesota, John R. Bartle

Public Administration Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Midlands Institute For Non-Profit Management: Building A Solid Foundation, Center For Public Affairs Research (Cpar)

Publications

Agenda and material from the Midlands Institute for Non-Profit Management - Building a Solid Foundation Conference, July 8-10, 1996.

Orthographically Mediated Inhibition Effects: Evidence Of Activational Feedback During Visual Word Recognition, Jason F. Reimer

Student Work

According to the multistage activation model of visual word recognition (Besner & Smith, 1992a, 1992b; Borowsky & Besner, 1993), during visual word recognition, activation can spread from semantic to orthographic representations via a feedback mechanism. Two experiments were conducted in order to test directly whether or not such feedback occurs, and if so, under what conditions. In order to directly measure feedback, a mediated priming paradigm was utilized. In this paradigm, participants named aloud targets that were preceded either by a semantically related prime (e.g., dog - cat! or by a prime that is related to the target via a …

Wisc-Iii Profile Patterns Of Learning Disabled Children, Russell Goetting

Student Work

The present study examined the performance of a heterogeneous population of learning disabled children (N=171) and children with learning disabilities in reading (LD-R), math (LD-M), and reading and math (LD-R+M) on the WISC-III ACID and SCAD subtests (Arithmetic, Coding, Information, Digit Span, and Symbol Search). Archival WISC-III scores of children that have been verified as having a learning disability in fourteen Midwestern school systems were used to answer the research questions in this study. Two different methods of examining performance on the ACID and SCAD subtests were used in this study, the index score method and the profile method. The …

Affect During Conflicts Between Adolescents And Their Best Friends, Other Friends And Acquaintances, Mary J. Spenceri

Student Work

While conflict, in general, has received much attention in the literature, "affect felt" during conflicts and its influence has not been a major concern to researchers. Only a few investigations of "affect intensity" associated with conflict have been conducted. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of affect intensity, an individual differences factor, in the affect experienced in conflict situations with friends and acquaintances by different age groups, and the resolution strategies that are used. Students from grades 5, 8, and 11 and first and second year college students completed the Affect Intensity Measure, a conflict questionnaire, …

Reflection Activities For The College Classroom, Julie A. Hatcher, Robert G. Bringle

Evaluation/Reflection

As educators committed to strengthening the integration of service into academic study, we have provided this booklet of reflection activities as our first attempt to consolidate the collective wisdom on reflection activities that can be used in college classrooms.

In The National Interest: Community College And Their Community Service Are Vital To Democracy, Hugh Baily

Higher Education

Let me get right to the point and give you a sense of why the Corporation for National Service sees Community Colleges as such critical partners in our effort. Your students across the country have been engaged in community service for many years. Indeed, during the past decade we have seen a resurgence of grassroots activity that helped catapult the issue of service onto the national agenda. Now we are asking institutions of higher education and their students to continue their leadership and involvement.