Learning Through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Across Academic Disciplines and Cultural Communities (2nd Edition), by Christine M. Cress, Peter J. Collier, and Vicki L. Reitenauer. Stylus Publishing. July 2013. ISBN: 978-1-57922-990-0. 240 pages. Paperback, $27.50.
Educators frequently adopt pedagogies, such as service-learning, that are purported to comprise best practices. However, students are not always privy to the background research that informs and supports these strategies. In Learning Through Serving (2nd edition, 2013), Cress, Collier, Reitenauer, and Associates address group work, community partnerships, identities, critical reflection, and other topics that are integral to service-learning. Their exposition provides students with insights into the rationale behind this pedagogy and how to successfully navigate service-learning, rather than simply imposing activities on them. If students have had previous negative experiences with group work or community involvement, for instance, it is particularly important to unpack these dynamics so that they give new experiences a fair chance and avoid repeating negative patterns. The authors also address student concerns about “what difference” service-learning makes by talking about starting from anywhere and moving forward from that point.