...program created help academically talented students explore complex social issues that are faced by communities and society today. Class activities are comprised of rigorous academic coursework, community volunteer service, meetings with top community leaders, seminars on specific topics of interest, and rich residential and recreational experiences. This study examined how students perceive and evaluate their service-learning experiences with the CLI program using surveys from program evaluations and narrative comments from 230 gifted high school students who participated in CLI at two different sites in its first 2 years. Overall, the students indicated positive perceptions of the CLI program and were satisfied with its components, particularly the service projects and various field experiences. Overwhelmingly, they perceived that the coursework combined with hands-on experiences enhanced their awareness of civic issues, increased their motivation to engage in social issues in their communities, and allowed them to gain a new understanding and respect for diversity. Suggestions from students included more frequent field experiences, service projects tightly linked with academic content, and meetings with local community leaders. Because this study is the first evaluation of the CLI program, a longer term follow-up study with students who have participated in CLI and comparisons between students who have participated and students who have not participated in the program are needed to corroborate the positive perceptions found among this first cohort of student participants.

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Background

Conceptions of Service-Learning

In recent years, the concept of service-learning has been gaining much momentum and popularity, but the concept is certainly not new. Service-learning, or learning by doing, can find its roots in the philosophy of John Dewey. Dewey promoted a connection between daily life and learning (Kunin, 1997) and perceived communities as an integral part of educational experiences (Waterman, 1997). A tradition of volunteerism that was widespread in the United States in the 1960s also helped establish a foundation for service-learning (Hinck & Brandell, 1999). Today, service-learning is governed by the overarching assumption that academic achievement and social development are enhanced by hands-on, community-based actions intended to benefit others (Conrad & Hedin, 1991).

The National and Community Service Act of 1990 defined service-learning as a method that: (a) provides students with opportunities to learn and develop through participation in service experiences organized by collaborating schools and communities; (b) meets actual community needs and allows students to apply newly-acquired skills and knowledge to real-life situations; (c) enhances learning by extending classroom learning into the community; and (d) fosters a sense of caring for other people (as cited in Waterman, 1997). Service-learning is similarly defined by the National Service-Learning Cooperative as "a teaching and learning method that connects meaningful community service experience with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility" (Mintz & Liu, 1994, p. 12).

Service-learning is often mistakenly perceived as being identical to volunteer or community service because both involve service projects that impact the welfare of others. However, unlike general volunteerism or community service, service-learning is a method of teaching, not an end in itself, and thus, focuses on educating students, not simply on benefiting a client or community based on integration of thoughtfully organized community service with purposeful learning objectives (Blyth, Saito, & Berkas, 1997; Chapin, 1998; Goldsmith, 1996; Waterman, 1997). Different from traditional community service projects, such as visiting hospitals or nursing homes or cleaning up the local creek, service-learning activities also may stimulate social and political change (Chapin, 1998). Furco (1996) delineated the purpose and beneficiaries of service-learning as two distinctive features--service-learning aims to provide both service and learning, and benefits student participants and service recipients simultaneously. According to Kunin (1997), service-learning asks learners to become actively involved in the process of their own learning. Instead of simply following instructions from teachers in class, students are more engaged in both service projects and facilitated classroom reflection, which creates a more powerful and meaningful academic experience. Accordingly, two focal aspects of service-learning are (a) the rigorous academic content integrated with a meaningful service component, and (b) students' taking an active role in connecting their service work to school curriculum.

Terry and Bohnenberger (2003) suggested types or classifications of service-learning according to the degree of student involvement and service to the community (see also Terry, 2000). The three types of service-learning they identified are community service, community exploration, and community action. They differ in how the school and community interact with one another. Community service has the lowest level of involvement in service-learning activities and is characterized by interactions that go mainly from school to community. This level heavily focuses on service with a lesser emphasis on learning. Examples of activities include tutoring young people and working in nursing homes or daycare centers.

Community exploration, the second degree of involvement, does not necessarily include direct service to the community, but puts more emphasis on learning than community service. Interactions between school and community are bilateral--students can participate in services for the community, or members of the community can get involved in schools. Examples of community exploration activities include internships, outdoor learning, and experiences offered by organizations such as Co-nect Schools, Expeditionary Learning, and Outward Bound.

Terry and Bohnenberger (2003) classified the highest level of service-learning as community action where schools and communities cooperate in a reciprocal way. Community action has a greater impact on the community and is more empowering for students than either community service or community exploration. Student involvement in civic reforms (e.g., legislative initiatives), in providing professional services to community organizations (e.g., grant writing), and in community beautification or environmental improvements are examples of community action.

Why Do Gifted Students Need Service-Learning?

Developing active civic engagement among gifted students is not only in the best interest of the students themselves, but also in the best interest of their larger communities and the world. Researchers and educators assert that academically talented youth are well-suited for service-learning activities due to their advanced level of social, emotional, moral, and ethical sensitivity or concern (Passow, 1989; Silverman, as cited in Lewis, 1996; Terry, 2000; Terry & Bohnenberger, 2003). Given that a higher level of moral judgment development is associated with rapid cognitive development, which involves the acquisition of advanced knowledge of moral standards and values of groups to which individuals belong (Kohlberg, 1969), it is not surprising that academically gifted youth tend to have a more highly developed sense of social justice, fairness, moral judgment, concern for others, and interest in global issues than their non-gifted counterparts (Gross, 1993; Lee & Olszewski-Kubilius, 2006; Passow, 1988, 1989; Silverman, 1994). For example, Tan-Willman and Gutteridge (1981) found that high school students who attended an academically competitive school obtained 35% higher scores on the Defining Issues Test (DIT) than students in the norm. Lee and Olszewski-Kubilius also found that academically gifted high school students (primarily determined by above-level testing using the SAT or ACT) evidenced a higher level of moral judgment on the DIT-2 than their peers in the norming sample. Moreover, about two thirds of the gifted high school students were at or above the norming sample in moral judgment, which was actually comparable to the typical level of individuals with professional degrees. In Gross's case study of exceptionally gifted children (IQ over 160) in Australia, 4 of the 8 children (ages 10 to 13) exhibited far superior ability in moral reasoning, achieving scores that were above the mean of American high school and college students.

Personality traits, such as independence, responsibility, positive self-concept, and a high level of self-esteem, are documented as the major affective characteristics of gifted students (Ablard, 1997; Chan, 1988; Davis & Rimm, 1998; Janos, Fung, & Robinson, 1985; Katz, 1995; Olszewski-Kubilius, Kulieke, & Krasney, 1988; Sorenson & Francis, 1988). These attributes may make gifted students particularly well-suited to benefit from coursework and activities that involve service-learning and civic engagement (Lewis, 1996) because service-learning activities generally benefit students who are self-motivated, exhibit initiative, and actively engaged in the process of their learning (Kunin, 1997).

Another advantage of service-learning for gifted students is that it provides gifted students with curriculum and instruction that challenges them at a level beyond what they typically experience in school (Lewis, 1996; VanTassel-Baska, 1993). Particularly, through hands-on experiences with service-learning, gifted students may be able to develop advanced problem-solving abilities (Sorenson & Francis, 1988), critical thinking skills (Lewis, 1996), and leadership abilities (Lewis, 1996), and have opportunities to work with adult professionals or mentors (Sorenson & Francis, 1988).

Although very little empirical research exists that examines the impact of service-learning on gifted learners, there is some evidence indicating positive outcomes of participation in service-learning activities for gifted students. One example is Terry's (2000) focus-group interviews with 3 adolescents who had participated in service projects as part of their curriculum. The study showed that the students' service-learning experience enhanced their public speaking skills, use of mathematics, computer skills, photography, and writing skills. Their service projects included activities such as planning the restoration of a historic theater, raising money for an architect to design the renovation, and writing a state-approved solid waste management plan for their county. The students reported that after participation in those projects, they were better able to recognize real-life problems in their communities and had learned problem-solving skills, including the use of the political process, to help them resolve issues. Other reported benefits included greater self-confidence, self-efficacy, perseverance, and responsibility; enhanced skills related to teamwork and cooperation; new perspectives and knowledge about effective interactions with other people; and better relationships with parents and coworkers.

Trebilcox (1997) disclosed positive changes after gifted middle school students who participated in various community service projects affiliated with the Speak Out for Stephanie (SOS) Foundation. The SOS Foundation was founded in the early 1990s by the parents of a college student who was brutally raped and murdered. The goals of the SOS foundation were to lobby for the passage of the Kansas Sexual Predator Law and provide a voice for victims....

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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