Integrating Community Engaged Learning in Your Course

Why do you teach what you teach? Why should students care to learn what you teach?

I think almost all instructors care deeply about the subject matter they’re studying and teaching because we understand the impact of our scholarship on the world, although this isn’t true with all our students. Community engaged learning is a great way to help students reach a deep understanding of and investment in this impact through engaging with social issues. Think about the types of social issues that are relevant to your course. How can we utilize community engaged learning to reach our students?

This blog post will briefly explain community engaged learning, explore how to think creatively and broadly about what community engagement can look like, and find ways to integrate it into your teaching while being cognizant of the workload and degree of flexibility available in your curriculum.

What is community engaged learning?

Community engaged learning is a type of educational approach that combines academic study, practical experience, and civic engagement. It integrates meaningful community engagement and service experience with instruction and reflection to create a reciprocal outcome that enriches the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility, and strengthens communities. The Service-Learning Program identifies these six key features of community engaged learning you can use to guide you in designing the community engagement elements of your course. But to get started, I’ve compiled some ways to help you explore your options.

Broadly speaking there are two axes with which you can categorize community engaged learning partnerships: format and content.

In terms of format, we have:

• Direct service
  • Students engaging in person-to-person interactions with those in the community under the guidance of community agencies
• Project-based
  • Student plan and execute self-contained, issue specific work with community agencies
• Research
  • Students collecting information for public welfare or interest under the guidance of a community-based organization
• (Hybrid)
  • Combination of two or more above formats

In terms of content, we have:

• Advocacy/civics
  • Creating awareness and civic engagement or pushing for change on issues that impact the community.
• Education
  • Communicating subject matter to a variety of audiences to increase community knowledge.
• Nonprofit/social service
  • Directly increasing capacity within community agencies.

While the most common conception of community engaged learning falls in the direct service × nonprofit/social service intersection, any combination of format and content can be utilized in creating community engaged learning opportunities in your classroom. Below are examples for each combination (from existing IU service-learning courses when available). Note that your community engagement opportunity might not fit so neatly in these categories, so just use this as a guide for brainstorming possibilities.

 

	Content
Format	Advocacy/civics	Education	Nonprofit/social service
Direct service	Canvass for a political campaign	Tutor students in elementary after-school English language learning program (EDUC-E/M 300)	Fill volunteer position for a nonprofit
Project-based	Plan and conduct public forum on advocacy topic (PACE-C 200)	Develop and teach Spanish curriculum for school program (HISP-X 270)	Organize an event for a nonprofit (SPH-R 410)
Research	Create an advocacy publication on a local political issue (PACE-X 490)	Create information videos for nonprofit agencies	Conduct analysis for effectiveness of local nonprofit program (SPH-H 562)

How do I integrate community engaged learning in my course design?

While your perception of community engaged learning might be a time-consuming addition to your already busy curriculum, there are also other ways of integrating community engaged learning that can feel less burdensome while retaining the benefits for both students and community partners. Here are categories for you to conceptualize how community engaged learning can best fit into your curriculum:

• Requirement within a course ​
  • All students are involved in community engaged learning as an integrated requirement.
  • Ex: direct service shifts at Jill’s House for 2 hours a week over 10 weeks​ (SPH-B 354)
• Option within a course ​
  • Portion of normal coursework is substituted by a service-learning component. ​
  • Ex: assignment requirements can be fulfilled by either writing a traditional research paper on childhood development or by participating in a community engagement opportunity with children and writing a reflection paper (Megan Murphy)
• One-time group service project ​
  • Required one-day project, no ongoing commitment throughout the semester.
  • Ex: day of service at Leonard Springs State Park​ (EDUC-F 204)

How do I get started?

Of course, there are many other considerations that go into creating a perfect community engaged learning partnership – How many students are you working with? Is the class lower or upper division? Is the class in person, virtual, or asynchronous? How much freedom do you have over the material in your syllabus? And most importantly, is there a community need that can be fulfilled by your partnership? All these factors make community engaged learning more laborious but also more rewarding for faculty and students. We will take a closer look at some examples of community engaged learning at IU from faculty members over the next few weeks in a series of partnership spotlights. In the meantime, if you’re interested in incorporating community engaged learning in your course and need help getting started, the Service-Learning Program can provide guidance and expertise in any capacity you need.