Teresa Davis, Associate Professor at California State University, Chico, in the Department of Professional Studies in Education, has been in education for 31 years and teaching at CSU, Chico for 10 years. Her background includes public school teaching in grades 1-12, in general and special education, school administration, and teaching as a reading specialist and fine arts specialist. She earned her doctorate at the University of Oregon in curriculum and instruction, specializing in performance assessment and the learning needs of special learners, including the gifted. For the past 5 years, she has been developing service-learning as a major curriculum emphasis within the special education program. She has been the director of a subgrant from the Corporation for National Service through the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). She has worked closely with Anne Bianchi, Director of CALServe Partners in Education Project, a service-learning project serving schools in northern California and centered at the Gray Davis Dye Creek Preserve in Los Molinos, California.

   "My teaching career has taught me that for students to become competent thinkers and problem solvers, they must be active partners in the learning process. Classroom practice that engages students in the exploration of worthwhile issues and allows for involvement with the community brings young people into meaningful, responsible roles.

   While preservice teacher candidates are studying to become teachers, their enthusiasm to be the best teachers they can be leads them to understand the possibilities of service-learning."

Anne Bianchi