Community-Engaged Learning (CEL)

• Schedule a meeting with OCP staff to share and brainstorm ideas for new or current course and syllabi development, as well as relationships with community partners.  

   

  There are a variety of ways for faculty to integrate community-engaged learning into their courses. Below are a few common approaches: 

   

  • Placement-based. Students choose a community agency from a list of opportunities predetermined by their professor and serve for a set period of time (e.g. 15-20 hours over a quarter).  Typically, placement-based opportunities are individual learning experiences for the students. Placement-based community-engaged learning can involve both direct and indirect service. Examples include tutoring programs, public awareness campaigns, generating marketing resources, planting native species, program evaluation, etc. The placement-based approach works particularly well in introductory level courses. 

   

  • Project-based. Students work on a project identified by a community agency. Students either work in small groups or a whole class takes on a project. Students draw upon previous knowledge and course content to successfully complete the project. Often students present the outcomes to the project to the community agency at the end of the quarter. Examples include GIS community mapping project, statistical analysis, video production, software design, survey development, business plans, etc. The project-based approach works well in higher level courses. 

   

  • Problem-solving. Students work on a problem identified by a community agency. This model is similar to project-based work, although an outcome is not predetermined, and the project is loosely structured to allow for discovery. Problem-solving approaches can be well suited for capstone and graduate level courses. 

   

  • Research-based. Community-engaged research (CER) often involves placement, project, and problem solving work. Students conduct research around a question defined by the community agency. Research projects can be broken down and completed within one quarter, or divided over two-three quarters with the faculty member sustaining the information from one quarter to another. CER works well in research method courses, capstones, and graduate level courses. 

   

  For additional reading on CEL teaching and pedagogy visit the Campus Compact Community-Engaged Learning and Teaching Knowledge Hub.  

OCP staff can provide assistance with various administrative needs, such as Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), Letters of Agreement (LOAs), service contracts, grant applications, and other funding requests.  

Consider integrating orientation and reflective training to support ethical and meaningful student engagement with community partners. To get started see tri-campus student CE core competencies and training resources, and inquire about collaboration with OCP staff to provide in-class sessions that meet your CEL course objectives.