Community Engagement and Teaching: Service-Learning and Community-Based Learning Pedagogy
Requiring students to do service at partner organizations through community-based learning courses can help them… (further explanation).
What is community based learning or service-learning?
In CBL courses at George Mason University, students examine social and environmental issues related to justice in the classroom as they perform engaged service in the local or campus community, integrating their learning in the classroom and outside of it through critical reflection in writing and dialogue. The SAIL Office in New Century College seeks to support community partners and faculty members in developing CBL courses that foster student learning, community partner relationships, and critical experiences across differences and facilitate mutual benefit.
What is project-based CBL?
Community Based Learning vs. Experiential Learning
Examples of CBL courses at George Mason
Community engagement here at George Mason University often comes in the form of service-learning or community based learning. This page serves as a resource for faculty in developing, teaching and evaluating community based learning courses in ways that can enhance student learning and experiences
Traditional vs. Critical Service-Learning
Traditional service learning is used to define a community service action tied to learning goals and ongoing reflection, where students become active learners, bringing skills and information from community work and integrating them with the theory and curriculum of the classroom to produce new knowledge. At the same time, students’ classroom learning informs their service in the community.
Critical service learning involves like actions and integration with learning goals as traditional service learning, but with a social justice orientation- one that embraces the political nature of service, encouraging students to see themselves as agents of social change, and use the experience of service to address and respond to injustice in communities.
How can service-learning support faculty scholarship?
A list of journals and publications that can serve as a resource for “making the case for” service-learning as well as be a destination for publishing scholarship related to service-learning and community engagement.
While experiential learning is a useful tool
Rethinking Engagement vs. Application