How Are Community Engagement Courses Facilitated?

In a CEL course, faculty intentionally connecting community engagement experiences to their course learning objectives. Faculty

• Identify community partners that represent a “good fit” for course objectives
• Articulate what students are expected to learn through the experience,
• Sharing how it connects to the course objectives, and
• Use course activities, assignments, and reflection to reinforce those connections to the course objectives.

InSPIRE is here to help!

• Planning and brainstorming to ensure good alignment.
• Assistance in identifying appropriate engagement opportunities.
• Using objective-focused design to connect community experiences to course objectives, reflection, and assessment.

UTEP Engage can also assist with forming new or expanding upon existing connections to community partners.

Where Can I Find Opportunities and Track Student Engagement?

The CUE (Community University Engagement) is UTEP’s online resource connecting students with community engagement opportunities and tracking their participation. Here, depending on the structure of the course, faculty can identify specific community partners or opportunities for their students or allow students to explore approved opportunities available through the CUE. Students use the platform to access opportunities connected to their courses, register when applicable, and record their engagement hours and participation. Weekly progress reports are available through the CUE to support ongoing monitoring, and a final report of student engagement hours is provided at the end of the semester.

Final Check before Day 1 of My Students’ Engagement

If using the CUE to track student engagement, make sure your course is linked to the community partner(s) of choice.

Make sure that students are prepared!

• Special trainings (if needed)
• Expectations for participation outlined for conduct and communication
• Expectations on outcomes linked learning objectives communicated
• Walkthrough of how to access and use the CUE site

Make sure that you are prepared!

• Student reflection prompts to help students connect experiences to course objectives and to give space to students to engage in metacognition and meaning-making.
• Learn how to access CUE reports to monitor student participation and engagement hours.

And remember, InSPIRE remains available throughout the process to assist faculty with questions, resources, and implementation of their CEL courses.

Community Engagement Is Significantly Different From Other Forms of Experimental Education In That It:

1. Offers a balance between service and learning objectives;
2. Places an emphasis on reciprocal learning;
3. Increases an understanding of the content in which clinical and/or service work occurs;
4. Focuses on the development of civic skills;
5. Addresses community-identified concerns; and
6. Involves community in the Service Learning design and implementation.

Models Description

Community Engagement Course Models

There are several ways in which students can engage in the community that involves both services to the agency as well as learning for the students. The students may participate through various models faculty can choose to use for their course(s).  Below are three models that are used:

Service Learning (Option Within a Course):

The service is embedded into courses as an option for students to participate in a community-based activity. Students may engage in short service opportunities (10-20 hours) such as events or one-day visits. Faculty can choose to work with one or multiple community organizations.  The community-based activity substitutes a portion of the normal coursework. For example, a traditional research paper or group project can be replaced with an experiential research paper or personal journal that documents learning from the service experience.

CEL Designation (Required Within a Course; Minimum of 20 Hours):

Generally, all students are involved in a service experience as an integrated aspect of the course. This expectation must be clearly stated on the syllabus, with a clear rationale provided to students as to why the service component is required. Faculty can choose to work with one or multiple community organizations. If all students are involved in service, it is easier to design coursework (i.e., class discussions, writing assignments, exam questions) that integrates the service experience with course objectives. Class sessions can involve agency personnel and site visits. By working with community members, students can enhance their organizational, teamwork, interpersonal skills, and others. They also can gain important experience and knowledge by working with diverse members of the community.

Project-Based Service:

Community-based projects are incorporated within courses in which students typically work in teams and engage with the community by applying classroom learning objectives through service. Students work with community members to identify a particular need or problem and propose solutions to that problem, or a professor can have a selected project and use the course and students collectively work together to address the project’s needs.

(This model may offer only limited contact with community partners and presumes that students have some specialized knowledge upon which to draw to develop plans for solving the problem).

Community-Based Action Research:

This approach involves working closely with students to teach research methodologies that advocate for community residents and address issues of concern to the community.  The results of the research are communicated to the agency so that they can be used to address community needs. Action research and participatory action research take a significant amount of time to build relationships of trust in the community and identify common research agendas; however, community research projects can support the ongoing research of faculty. Extending this type of research beyond the confines of a semester may be best for all involved.

If a faculty member is interested in participating or incorporating community engagement practices in their class, InSPIRE is available for support and guidance. We are happy to be a resource during the process.

Community Engagement Videos:

• What is Community Engagement? - Community Engagement is a teaching method for students to gain academic content while also serving the community.
• Purpose of Community Engagement Courses? - Community Engagement Courses serves the student, community, and the faculty member; it allows us to expand our university and to work alongside our community.
• How to Facilitate a Community Engagement Consultant Model - Community Engagement consultant model is used in order to provide students an opportunity to apply their skills that they are building in statistical modeling and also work in service and with community organizations so that their expertise can have impact.
• Requirements for Classes - If a faculty member is interested in participating or incorporating Community Engagement in their class, we are here to help make that happen.
• Ethical Considerations of Community Engagement Courses - Working in a Community Engagement Course capacity is confidentiality and to protect the integrity of confidentiality of that agency.
• Co-Teaching with Community Partners - Community Engagement Courses is not volunteerism, it has an academic component to it.
• Building Community Partnerships, What it Takes - Partnerships is about starting where people are, finding ways of coming together to identify mutual interests not always needs, but mutual interest and it’s a long-term relationship.
• What is True Reciprocity? - Being engaged in Community Engagement Courses and learning about the history of a community, the culture, being active, developing relationships with people in the community is really at the heart of our profession.
• Preparing students for Community Engagement Courses - In being able to help the students connect what we teach in the classroom, what we help them to learn, they can actually see in the community through real-life experiences.
• Effective Community Engagement Reflection - Reflection is really important, you don’t separate your reflection from your observation, they go hand in hand.
• Identifying Appropriate Community Partners - First step is finding a community organization whose focus area directly relates to the course content in the particular course that you want to offer Community Engagement Courses in.
• Community Engagement Courses with Freshmen - Like most experiential learning, the student gains more by reflecting upon their experiences than simply by going through them.