If we want students to remember what they learned in our classes past finals week, if we want to motivate lasting changes in the ways our students think and act, if we want our students engaged in making our world a better place, few options are than better learning by doing. Service learning—especially as civic engagement—so often stimulates meaningful education because it necessarily enmeshes students in activities that best promote durable learning. In this session, we will explore how and why service learning is so effective, paying particular attention to the epistemology and neurobiology of learning. We will also consider how evidence from a large, national study of service learning should shape best practices. Objectives: Participants will… 1. recognize and understand some of the myths and misperceptions that inhibit students' ability to learn efficiently and effectively; 2. acquire some ideas, techniques and resources that will help them better support student learning; 3. understand how service learning leverages the primary ways that people learn to result in better learning outcomes; and 4. be motivated to add some service learning components to their classes.

Learning by doing: How and why civic engagement increases durable learning

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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