In the Service of Learning and Empowerment

Too often teachers and students doubt their own abilities to forge collective work and dynamic critical learningin the midst of education reform practices that limit their opportunities to do so. This doubt can be heightenedfor elementary school teachers or even their students who are led to believe that they are not capable ofengaging critically with their education and their world. The Problem-Solution Project erases this doubtthrough merging service-learning critical pedagogy and constructivism. This approach to teaching and learningis designed to empower teachers and students while they meet curriculum standards and actively contributeto the transformation of their world.Unique to this collection are the reported experiences of teacher educators who implement Problem-SolutionProjects in their courses; preservice teachers' reflections on cohort-driven Problem-Solution Projects; and first-year and veteran teachers stories featuringProblem-Solution Projects initiated by their PK-5 students.Features include:• Describes how Problem-Solution Projects advance service-learning and critical pedagogy.• Discussion of how Problem-Solution Projects build on curriculum standards but resists standardizationof implementation and repressive education reforms.• First-hand accounts of teachers implementing Problem-Solution Projects.• Detailed description of the steps and outcomes of doing Problem-Solution Projects with preservice teachers inservice teachersand elementary students.• Examples of Problem-Solution Projects across courses subjects disciplines and contexts.Readers will find worthwhile the theoretical connections and the practical applications. Service-learningurban education multicultural education teacher education and teacher preparation practitionersacross subjects will find this text beneficial.