Delivering a Community-Engaged Course

Delivering a community-engaged course can be challenging, but it becomes easier with practice. There are more factors to consider and issues that may arise, so having some backup plans prepared in advance can be helpful.

Preparing Students for Community Engagement

Before students begin to work with your community partner, introduce them to the concept of community engagement, its importance, and its benefits. You can use the Student Toolkit to help them get started.

You will also need to ensure students understand the context of the project they will be working on. This may include background on the community and community members as well as the mission and goals of the community partner. Depending on the context for your community engagement, students may also need some preparation in cultural competency, to interact respectfully and effectively with diverse communities, or in the ethical issues that may arise, including confidentiality.

Your community partner may also have some training they would like the students to complete prior to beginning their project or visiting their site.  

Community Engagement as Content

Throughout the course, weave together theoretical concepts with the real-life experience students gain through the community engagement. There are multiple strategies to do so, including discussions, reflection journals, presentations, and case studies.

This reinforces the importance of the community engagement activities and the reciprocity of learning from the community partners.

Logistics

There are a lot of logistics to manage in a community-engaged course. Here are some common logistical challenges:

• Attendance – are there specific dates and times when students need to be at the community site? How will you handle absences? Can students make up the experience somehow?
• Scheduling conflicts – will the community-engaged work occur during class sessions, or outside of them? How will you handle scheduling conflicts?
• Transportation – will students need transportation to the community site? How will they get there?
• Safety concerns – are there any risks associated with the work students will engage in, particularly physical safety risks? What preparation or equipment will be needed to reduce the risk of injury?
• Quality of student work - sometimes, the work produced by students may not met the standards needed for the community partner. How will you review student work and (if necessary) improve the quality of that work?
• Work that extends beyond the semester - what will happen if the community project isn't completed during the semester? Will it continue to students in the next semester? Will the community member be able to hire a student intern to complete the project? Will the responsibility for completing the work fall to you?