Library: Faculty Civic and Community Engagement: Best Practices

Faculty E-Training Video Series

The following videos should be viewed in sequential order, walking you through an overview of the theory and practice of service-learning, as well as offering support with converting a course to include community-based projects and activities.

Module 1: Introduction to Community-Engaged Learning

Module 2: Evidence of Impacts

Module 3: Reflection and Respect for Difference

Module 4: Partnerships and Civic Engagement

Module 5: Syllabus and Next Steps

Taxonomy for Community-Engaged Learning Experiences

The Buffalo State Taxonomy for Community-Engaged Learning Experiences outlines student learning outcomes for quality community-engaged learning experiences.

Taxonomy for Community-Engaged Learning Experiences
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LEVEL	RECIPROCAL PARTNERSHIPS
Entry	Students connect course content with expressed community requests.
Intermediary	Students contribute to designing experiences that reflect course concepts and community partner priorities.
Advanced	Students assess the collaboration for the reciprocal benefits to the community and their learning.

LEVEL	CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY
Entry	Students describe issues of social justice associated with the community partnership.
Intermediary	Students apply course concepts as a means to addressing social issues.
Advanced	Students plan ways to link their academic discipline to their lives as active citizens.

LEVEL	RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCE
Entry	Students identify the diverse nature, backgrounds, and priorities of individuals.
Intermediary	Students examine their own values, attitudes, and beliefs as they relate to equity.
Advanced	Students evaluate the effect of stereotyping on community wellbeing.

LEVEL	CRITICAL REFLECTION
Entry	Students relate their academic content to their community experience.
Intermediary	Students analyze the impact of the experience on self and partners.
Advanced	Students synthesize information learned to apply to newly encountered situations.

Service-Learning Handbook for Faculty

Service-learning is an important and growing movement in higher education. There is also growing support on campus and in our region for community-engaged learning. This handbook has been written to increase your understanding of service-learning and how it can work in your classes.

Civic & Community Engagement Faculty Handbook
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Anti-Racist Community-Engaged Learning Resources

Principles for Anti-Racist Community-Engaged Pedagogy
Drawing on the literature on anti-racist and community-engaged pedagogy and on input from students of color and community partners at each of the four campuses, this statement is designed to serve as a resource for community-engaged faculty adopting anti-racist pedagogy and practices. This statement was developed by faculty from four Massachusetts public universities as part of a project, “Building on the Cultural Wealth of Minoritized Students: Anti-racist Community-Engaged Programming, Pedagogies, and Practices,” funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
The Buffalo Syllabus
In the immediate aftermath of the Buffalo Mass Shooting, scholars, activists, politicians, and local officials took to social media to name the horrendous event as a white supremacist attack and uplift the needs of the community directly impacted– Buffalo’s East Side residents.
YWCA: OUR SHARED LANGUAGE: SOCIAL JUSTICE GLOSSARY
The Center for the Study of Social Policy: A Glossary for Shared Understanding