Professional+Readings

[|Motivating Students]

Bradford, Melanie. “Motivating Students through Project-Based Service Learning.” //T.H.E. Journal// 32.6 (2005): 29-32. Peer Reviewed Journal.

The "tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand" concept is the prevailing idea in this article. However, the author goes a step further than simply saying the students should partake in Project-Based Service learning. In fact, the author suggests that integrating technology into service learning is a great way to hold the attention of students who have grown up in the digital age and who rely heavily on computers. The author notes that the skills students acquire through technology-integrated service learning, like problem solving skills and effective oral and written communication skills, are important 21st Century intrapersonal skills. For our service learning project, we wanted to do some sort of service learning project that would help students do something about hunger relief at a local level. After reading this article, I thought it may be nice to have the students create a video about what they’ve done as a service learning project. Furthermore, the students could also talk about World hunger statistics in the video in order to emphasize hunger as a World Issue. This video could be used as tool to help students create awareness; for instance, they could show their video to other high schools and encourage them to also do the same kind of service based learning project. If this project were in fact to be put in place, it would be necessary to know what kind of policies there exists on students performing service based learning projects. Furthermore, it would be necessary to know if the appropriate technology was available at the school in which the teacher planned on doing this very project. Of course, it would be necessary to know which policies are in place which could prevent the students from using their finished project as an awareness video. You could easily have the students do an awareness video for any kind of subject in the classroom. In fact, you wouldn’t even need to do the service based learning side of a project to create awareness videos on any subject, as long as the technology was available.