Chapter 1: Impact of Science and Service Learning on Middle School Students’ Resilience

This study examined the influence of an innovative science and service-learning instructional program (Science in Action [SIA]) on students’ measure of resilience. The program aimed to transform traditional science classrooms into engaging learning environments. Some 20 middle schools serving students from high-poverty families participated in SIA the program. Over 100 science teachers and 120 community partners worked to incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) problem-based learning pedagogy into science instruction to teach students to solve real problems in schools and communities. Two analyses were conducted. The first analysis examined students’ pre- and post-SIA implementation test scores on resilience from four middle schools. The second analysis targeted the impact of the quality of school SIA implementation on students’ resilience after they completed the programs.