Project Exploration: 10-year Retrospective Program Evaluation

Assesses the impact of a program giving low-income students of color hands-on science experience on science capacity, youth development, and engagement in communities of practice. Examines practices that support science learning by underrepresented youth

Service-learning as Citizenship Education: The Promise and the Puzzles

Since developing citizenship is a prevalent goal for many service-learning programs and policies, Bernadette Chi\u27s National Service Fellowship research proposed to examine what and how students learn citizenship through service-learning. She explored students\u27 attitudes about service, their understanding of citizenship, and the relationship between the concepts as a way to consider how service-learning contributed to students\u27 conceptions of citizenship. To suggest how and why students\u27 attitudes differed, this report also briefly describes the significant role of teachers in shaping service-learning experiences, and the variety of service-learning practices that contribute to a diversity of outcomes. In coordination with a state-funded study performed by the Service-Learning Research and Development Center at the University of California, Berkeley, student and teacher interview data was collected from 107 students (from grades three to twelve) and 31 teachers in ten school districts throughout California. Comparison students and teachers who were not involved with service-learning were also interviewed. Additional information was collected through teacher portfolios that documented details about the service-learning projects in which students were engaged

Teaching the Heart and Soul of Citizenship: Service-Learning as Citizenship Education

Troubling trends in political disengagement among young people include decreasing knowledge of and interest in political issues as well as lower rates of voting compared to previous generations. To potentially address this CO~ service-learning has often been promoted in public schools as a means of educating active citizens, among other outcomes. Despite the expansion of service-learning programs, the relationship between service-learning and citizenship outcomes deserves further study. This dissertation examines the following questions: Do teachers consider citizenship an explicit goal for service-learning experiences in K-12 schools? How do teachers and students define what it means to be a good citizen ? What models citizenship are taught in schools, and through service-learning in particular? Does service-learning make a difference in students\u27 attitudes and understanding of citizenship

Developing Indicators and Measures of Civic Outcomes for Elementary School Students

Over the past decade, public attention on the importance of the civic development and education of youth has grown. To address these concerns, the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC) Charter School opened in 1996 with the explicit mission to prepare and engage students grades K through 12 as caring citizens who are capable and motivated to fully participate in our democracy. While content standards and assessments readily exist to articulate the academic and artistic development of students, youth civic development, especially at the elementary level, has been under-conceptualized. What is needed is a more robust, comprehensive developmental framework for citizenship education that begins with younger ages and addresses civic skills and dispositions to the same degree as civic knowledge. The product from this project is a set of tested, reliable measures of civic knowledge, civic thinking skills, civic participation skills and civic dispositions that are referenced to recent efforts to provide frameworks of competencies in civic education. Two sets of instruments were developed using a comprehensive conceptual framework for civic indicators at the elementary level. The measures include a student survey of student civic knowledge, skills and attitudes that relate to dispositions, which is the focus of this report; a set of corresponding grade level observation checklists of student skills and behaviors was also developed. Starting at a young age to foster developmental foundations for civic engagement includes a democratic orientation to others and identification with them as fellow members of a community and body politic. This focus is not only developmentally appropriate but also consistent with the goals of many elementary schools to foster prosocial skills and behaviors. In addition, there is a need for greater attention to age-appropriate, instrument identification and development for elementary aged students to document student civic development by focusing on what they can do, an important and often overlooked facet of K-12 civic education research and practice. Addressing this need will also assist other public elementary schools interested in recapturing their civic mission and in creating a K-12 developmental framework for civic development

BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR CIVIC AND POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT: THE POTENTIAL OF HIGH‐SCHOOL CIVICS COURSES

We employed a quasi‐experimental design using pre/post surveys and comparisons with control groups to examine the impact of the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s CityWorks (U.S.A.) curriculum. In particular, we assessed its ability to further democratic aims by supporting the development of three forms of social capital: norms of civic participation, social trust, and knowledge of social networks. Our evaluation indicates that this curriculum and several of its curricular features (use of simulations, role models, service learning, learning about problems in the community, learning how local government works, and personal relevance) have the potential to further the democratic purposes of education. Key words: democratic education, simulations, role models, service‐learning. Se servant d’un design quasi‐expérimental faisant appel à des sondages en prétest et post‐test et à des comparaisons avec des groupes‐contrôles, les auteurs analysent dans cet article l’impact du programme américain Constitutional Rights Foundation’s CityWorks. Ils se penchent notamment sur son aptitude à promouvoir davantage des objectifs démocratiques en appuyant le développement de trois formes de capital social : les normes de la participation citoyenne, la confiance sociale et la connaissance des réseaux sociaux. D’après les auteurs, ce programme et plusieurs de ses caractéristiques (recours à des simulations, modèles de comportement, apprentissage du service, analyse de problèmes communautaires, étude du mode de fonctionnement du gouvernement local et pertinence pour les élèves) sont susceptibles de promouvoir l’éducation à la démocratie. Mots clés: éducation à la démocratie, simulations, modèles de comportement, apprentissage du service.

CityWorks Evaluation Summary

This report summarizes findings from our study of the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) CityWorks curriculum. This high school government curriculum was designed to respond to growing recognition of the need to promote commitments and capacities associated with civic engagement. Our data consists of pre/post surveys from CityWorks classes and control classrooms. We also observed classrooms and collected interview data through focus groups

Service-Learning in California: A Profile of the Calserve Service-Learning Partnerships (1997-2000): Executive Summary

Responding to the National and Community Service Act of 1990, the California Department of Education developed the CaiServe Initiative to support K-12 service-learning partnerships that would enhance student academic achievement and civic responsibility, increase teacher effectiveness and satisfaction, heighten school district awareness of service-learning, and provide authentic service to the community. The 1997-2000 local evaluation process was designed to assist CaiServe partnerships in the collection of participation and impact data for their local service-learning activities. The data collected were also to be used to develop a statewide profile of service-learning participation and impact across CaiServe\u27s funded partnerships. The profile report summarized here presents the findings from this three-year statewide evaluation effort

Development of an Alcohol Dehydrogenase Biosensor for Ethanol Determination with Toluidine Blue O Covalently Attached to a Cellulose Acetate Modified Electrode

In this work, a novel voltammetric ethanol biosensor was constructed using alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Firstly, alcohol dehydrogenase was immobilized on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode modified by cellulose acetate (CA) bonded to toluidine blue O (TBO). Secondly, the surface was covered by a glutaraldehyde/bovine serum albumin (BSA) cross-linking procedure to provide a new voltammetric sensor for the ethanol determination. In order to fabricate the biosensor, a new electrode matrix containing insoluble Toluidine Blue O (TBO) was obtained from the process, and enzyme/coenzyme was combined on the biosensor surface. The influence of various experimental conditions was examined for the characterization of the optimum analytical performance. The developed biosensor exhibited sensitive and selective determination of ethanol and showed a linear response between 1 × 10−5 M and 4 × 10−4 M ethanol. A detection limit calculated as three times the signal-to-noise ratio was 5.0 × 10−6 M. At the end of the 20th day, the biosensor still retained 50% of its initial activity

A mobile phone-based care model for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation: the care assessment platform (CAP)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiac rehabilitation programs offer effective means to prevent recurrence of a cardiac event, but poor uptake of current programs have been reported globally. Home based models are considered as a feasible alternative to avoid various barriers related to care centre based programs. This paper sets out the study design for a clinical trial seeking to test the hypothesis that these programs can be better and more efficiently supported with novel Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>We have integrated mobile phones and web services into a comprehensive home- based care model for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. Mobile phones with a built-in accelerometer sensor are used to measure physical exercise and WellnessDiary software is used to collect information on patients' physiological risk factors and other health information. Video and teleconferencing are used for mentoring sessions aiming at behavioural modifications through goal setting. The mentors use web-portal to facilitate personal goal setting and to assess the progress of each patient in the program. Educational multimedia content are stored or transferred via messaging systems to the patients phone to be viewed on demand. We have designed a randomised controlled trial to compare the health outcomes and cost efficiency of the proposed model with a traditional community based rehabilitation program. The main outcome measure is adherence to physical exercise guidelines.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The study will provide evidence on using mobile phones and web services for mentoring and self management in a home-based care model targeting sustainable behavioural modifications in cardiac rehabilitation patients.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>The trial has been registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) with number ACTRN12609000251224.</p