Schools and students are frequently the beneficiaries of charity drives that collect books. Students at two schools in Prince William County are flipping that paradigm, reports Prince William Living.

The students at Hylton High School and Beville Middle School [an International Baccalaureate (IB) school] are contributing to their community in a tangible way by constructing Little Free Libraries. The libraries—stand-alone cabinets that are placed in public spaces, and in this case near schools—allow residents to take a book for free as long as they replace it with one of their own.

The little free library project is a good example of project-based service learning. It was the brainchild of Schenell Agee, supervisor for the Office of Library Media Programs and Research, who came across the concept at a conference. She first worked with Doug Wright, supervisor for the Office of Career and Technical Education(CTE), to incorporate the construction of the libraries into CTE classes.

Beville Middle School joined the project when John Dolan, a Project Lead The Way Teacher, brought it to his students. He and his young carpenters were so enthusiastic that they worked on the libraries on their own time after school.

“Once the students started building them and fully understood the purpose of the project, they developed a sense of pride in their work and really tried to do their best,” high school teacher Thomas Ehman said. Ehman’s reflection demonstrates the power of project-based service learning.

The purpose of the project animated the students in a way that learning from a textbook cannot. The constraints of the project required them to apply skills and knowledge in unique ways. By the end of this school year, students will have built 30 libraries.

Caleb Dolan, a seventh grader at Beville Middle School, said, “I think it is cool that we are doing something to help our communities.” Dolan’s pride and satisfaction in his work is touching. At an age when many other students are immersing themselves in the latest pop-culture fad, Dolan is learning that he can use his skills to construct public goods that benefit those around him.

The community has also rallied around the project. Funding has come from the school districts education foundation and an all-volunteer animal welfare organization. Local government officials have met with various teachers involved with the program.

The Little Free Libraries project and its ramifications are consistent with the report of Dr. David Sikkink, the lead researcher of alternative pedagogical schools, like IB schools, for the School Cultures and Student Formation project at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. The underlying foundations of this approach to education are particularly conducive to service-learning projects.

Sikkink reports that “important studies have shown that the moral philosophy of an IB education teaches commitments beyond individual self-interest and instills empathy across social differences, while still emphasizing the autonomy and ultimate value of the individual.”

Dr. Sikkink’s findings appear in The Content of Their Character, to be published in February. The book is available for preorder with a CultureFeed discount.