This article examines service learning from the perspective of gifted adolescents who have participated in what I have termed CommunityAction service learning projects. Using a case study design, I investigated adolescents' perspectives concerning their involvement in service learning projects grounded in creative problem solving. A service learning typology based on the degrees of student involvement is described. The importance of service learning to the participants in this study is highlighted in the following themes that emerged from the data: methodology, attitudes, personal and social development, commitment, and empowerment. Implications for educators are discussed.

Service learning, a method of instruction that combines learning with service to the community, can foster mutual respect and caring between gifted students and their communities. Using examples from various service learning experiences conducted by young gifted adolescents, the authors relate how service learning can be instrumental in infusing the qualities of caring in gifted youth. A K-12 best-practice model for service learning that incorporates the Creative Problem Solving process, the cognitive apprenticeship model, cooperative learning, reflection, and celebration is described.

This study examines the effects of the Community Action service learning project, part of the Learn and Serve America program, on gifted adolescents and their community. Using a case study design, the author investigates this service learning project grounded in creative problem solving. The importance of service learning to the participants is highlighted in the following themes that emerged from the data: instructional methodology, student development, attitudes, empowerment, commitment, and effects of celebration. A service learning typology based on levels of service and learning is referenced. The author examines connections to the Future Problem Solving Program and discusses the implications for further research, the education of the gifted, and the community.

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Citing the need for a basic, K-12 developmental framework for service learning, this article describes such a model. This model, an inclusive typology of Tirvice learning, distinguishes three levels of service learning: Community Service, Community Exploration, and Community Action. The authors correlate this typology to Piaget's cognitive developmental stages tying in Bradley's three-factor Criteria for Assessing Levels of Reflection. Two types of service, direct and indirect, are explained. Implications for education, research, and the community are discussed.