What is Community Engagement?
Community Engagement describes the collaboration between higher education institutions and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange and production of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. Examples of community engagement activities include, but are not limited to:
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Community engaged teaching (service-learning, problem based learning for the common good, and course-based public research, unpaid community-based internships)
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Public scholarship (community based research, community based participatory research, action research, research for the common good, creative activity for or with a community partner)
- Service (community service; alternative spring breaks; voter registration drives; community-centered forums)
Slightly adapted from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning definition and the CSU Chancellor’s Office definition.For more in this, see this blog post.
What is the Center for Community Engagement (CCE)?
The CCE works to establish and strengthen partnerships in the community and with faculty members to help them integrate learning pedagogies for the common good into their curricula. This includes service-learning, community-based participatory and action research, public service, civic engagement, problem-based learning for the common good, and activism. Additionally we help non-profit organizations and faculty and staff connect with leadership positions such as Boards of Directors and committees and students connect with careers for the common good. We offer workshops and maintain informational resources on community-engaged learning that are tailored to faculty interests in teaching, research and publishing. We assist faculty in identifying publication, presentation, and funding opportunities. We assist community organizations in connecting with opportunities to collaborate with SSU.
What is Service-Learning?
"Service-learning is the various pedagogies that link community service and academic study so that each strengthens the other. The basic theory of service-learning is Dewey's: the interaction of knowledge and skills with experience is key to learning. Students learn best not by reading the Great Books in a closed room but by opening the doors and windows of experience." (Thomas Ehrlich)
Service-Learning courses are offered in all disciplines and at all levels of education. Service- Learning is an inclusive pedagogy, designed to respond both to community needs and to support academic learning. Because of that, there is no inclusive dictionary definition of "service-learning". However, service-learning courses do tend to have several key elements:
| Reciprocity: The community service supports the students' learning and
addresses an expressed community need.
Reflection: The instructor provides students with opportunities for structured "reflection" that help students to connect the service with academic and personal learning. |
*Research on service learning has shown that service-learning positively impacts:
- Academic performance, including GPA, cognitive development, critical thinking skills, writing skills, and problem analysis.
- Applying what students learn to the real world.
- Understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures.
- Interpersonal development, leadership/communication skills, and the ability to work well with others.
- Sense of social responsibility, as well as commitment to activism and increased citizenship skills.
- Clarity of career goals, as well as plans to participate in service after college.
*Source: Astin, A.W., Vogelgesang, L. J., Ikeda, E. K., and Yee, J.A. 2000. "How Service Learning Affects Students." Los Angeles: University of California Higher Education Research.
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Service-Learning Courses at Sonoma State University
Service-learning is a pedagogy that utilizes community service projects within the context of an academic course. Academic service-learning distinguishes itself from internships and other credit-bearing community experiences in several ways. First, the community experience is a component of an academic course, used as a "text" for student learning. Second, service-learning projects are designed in partnership with community to meet an expressed community need. Third, a structured reflection activity is utilized to help students understand how their community experiences link with the academic and civic learning objectives of the course.
Courses at Sonoma State University that seek to bear a service-learning designation should adhere to the following guidelines:
- The service shall be connected to and support the academic learning objectives of the course.
- The service shall address a need identified or developed in partnership with the greater community.
- Participation in community service is a core component of the course.
- Service-learning activities and requirements are described in the course syllabus or independent study contract.
- Faculty shall provide structured activities for critical reflection linking the service and academic study.
- Service sites are evaluated and approved by the course instructor. Students shall be appropriately supervised and supported by faculty or staff, in collaboration with site personnel.
- The opportunity shall be distinct from an internship, field experience, practicum or volunteer activity, unless these experiences meet the above criteria.
In the spirit of service-learning best practice, faculty are strongly encouraged to:
- Design the service-learning component to address an off-campus community need.
- Evaluate students on their ability to draw connections between the community service and course content, not just on completion of service.
- Visit service sites to assess their appropriateness to learning outcomes.
Service-Learning Course List