Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the Service-Learning and Experiential Education Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. 

Experiential Education, championed by John Dewey, emphasizes the personal experiences of the learner rather than learning from texts, lectures, and other second-hand sources.  Service-Learning, a form of experiential education, is a teaching method which integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, encourage lifelong civic engagement, and strengthen communities for the common good.

 The Community Service Act of 1990 defines service-learning as:

"a method under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program, and with the community; and helps foster civic responsibility; and that is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, or the educational components of the community service program in which the participants are enrolled; and provides structured time for the students or participants to reflect on the service experience."

 
The purposes of the SIG are:

1. To support members in their research agendas by providing opportunities for scholars to share current studies through presentations at the annual conference and through our on-line journal.
2. To keep members informed about current research related to service-learning and experiential education.
3. To provide opportunities for members to collaborate through emails, list serves, and our web site.

The SIG co-sponsors the International Journal of Research on Service-Learning in Teacher Education, which can be accessed at http://journals.sfu.ca/ijrslte/index.php/IJRSLTE. The SIG co-sponsors the journal with the International Center of Service-Learning in Teacher Education http://educationprogram.duke.edu/ICSLTE.  You will find procedures and guidelines for authors at the journal home page if you would like to submit an article for consideration. You may also contact Kathleen Tice ([email protected]) if you would like to be a reviewer for the journal. 

Our latest venture is editing the Advances in Service-Learning Research series of Information Age Publishing. This book series gathers current research on service-learning in K-12 education, teacher education, and higher education. Along with chapters highlighting the findings of service-learning research studies, the book may include thought pieces that identify theoretical groundings of service-learning and present methodological approaches for studying service-learning (including teacher action research). To view past volumes in the series, visit http://infoagepub.com/series/Advances-in-Service-Learning-Research. The 2013 volume focused on effective service-learning in teacher education, and the 2014 volume focused upon measuring effectiveness of service-learning. Another volume will be published in 2015 and will focus upon social justice. Virginia Jagla is the series editor, and she will issue a call for manuscripts and reviewers.If you are interested in learning more about this series and/or becoming a contributor, please contact her at [email protected].    

Of course, another way we share research is through the SIG sessions at the annual meeting of AERA. We look forward to connecting with you through one of these venues.

Best regards,

Kathleen and Ginny 

Kathleen C. Tice, PhD, Chair, Service-Learning and Experiential Education SIG of AERA,
University of Texas at Arlington

Virginia M. Jagla, PhD, Co-Chair, Service-Learning and Experiential Education SIG of AERA,
National Louis University