January 2005 — Features
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Motivating Students Through Project-Based Service Learning
In a survey conducted by an independent evaluator for the California High School Exit Examination, the state’s teachers reported that student motivation was the greatest limitation on teachers’ effectiveness (Human Resources Research Organization 2003). Because a lack of encouragement is also a primary reason for high student dropout rates, this article will offer proven strategies for addressing the issue of student motivation.
As most educators intuitively know, students learn more when they are creating their own learning opportunities. The “tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand” concept is being acknowledged and implemented in classes nationwide. Students from middle schools and high schools are mastering academic content standards while immersed in hands-on, technology-integrated projects which provide learning experiences that are not usually possible within the confines of the traditional classroom.
Project-based service learning emphasizes educational opportunities that are interdisciplinary, student-centered, collaborative, and integrated with real-world issues and practices. Teachers have found that environments which foster academic achievement through hands-on, authentic learning can motivate students by engaging them in their own learning (Brophy 1986; Lumsden 1994). Students apply and integrate the content of different subject areas at authentic moments in the production process, instead of in isolation or in an artificial setting. Thus, learning becomes relevant and useful as students establish connections to life outside of school. Authentic projects also help to address real-world concerns and develop real-world skills.
Integrating technology with service learning catches and holds the attention of students who have grown up in the digital age and rely on computers, video games, cell phones and digital music players for their information and entertainment. They are neither afraid of technology, nor in awe of it (American Institutes for Research 2002). As an added bonus, many of the abilities that students acquire through technology-integrated, project-based service learning are 21st century interpersonal skills. These include teamwork and problem solving skills, as well as effective oral and written communications skills, which are highly desirable by business communities (U.S. Labor Department 1991).
Project Success Stories
The following are three examples of student-driven service learning projects integrated with technology that engage and motivate California students, while simultaneously encouraging mastery of the academic content standards.
Tracking Arsonists. High school students in Sacramento are working with the local police and fire departments to help identify and track serial arsonists in their community. The students designed a mapping program for the police and fire departments that identifies and plots all fires within the designated jurisdiction by type, origin, size and time of fire. The students were then able to take the fire department data and plot them onto a visual map. This allowed the fire department to view arsonist patterns visually rather than in a data format, while also enabling them to focus on range patterns.
