Community-Engaged Learning Course Development Program
Fairfield University’s Center for Social Impact awards up to eight faculty per year with Community-Engaged Learning Course Development Grants. The program supports faculty development of community-engaged learning courses and department plans grounded in best practices and aligned with the University’s strategic plan, mission, and liberal education values in the Jesuit tradition. Through program participation, faculty develop new courses and transform existing courses by integrating community-engaged learning pedagogy. Community-engaged learning is an experiential approach to teaching and learning. Through it, students enhance their learning and contribute to positive social impact by working alongside community partners on mutually-beneficial projects and activities that connect with credit-bearing academic experiences.
Through the program, faculty explore:
1. Best practices for ethical community partnership.
2. Critical reflective practice.
3. Student learning characteristics in community-engaged learning and related pedagogies, such as experiential learning and social justice learning.
4. Connections to community-engaged learning and the Jesuit, Catholic tradition.