Implementing Community-engaged Learning as a Campus-wide Initiative at an R-1 Institution

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Experiential Education and Community Engagement: Scholarship and Practice SIG Roundtable 1

Abstract

This study examines a professional development program designed to prepare tenure-track faculty to teach community-engaged learning (CeL) courses at an R-1 institution. The study involved a year-long pilot of nine faculty who were selected as CeL Faculty Affiliates. Data included five retrospective pre/post surveys of workshops faculty attended, artifacts of course plans developed by faculty, and interviews with the faculty affiliates. Despite variation with teaching experience, results identified three areas where faculty struggled with planning a CeL course: (1) designing student learning outcomes, (2) mechanisms for measuring community impact, and (3) crafting a plan to study instructional practices. Implications for designing professional development that incorporates the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and bridging CeL with engaged scholarship are discussed.

Author

• Mellinee K. Lesley, Texas Tech University