Community Engagement

  • CE Symposium

    Community-based (Service) Learning

Community-based (Service) Learning

Community-based (Service) Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. Faculty choose a limited number of meaningful partnerships with the goal of providing students with different, but consistent off-campus learning experiences. Through community-based learning, students-from kindergartners to college students-use what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. They not only learn the practical applications of their studies, they become actively contributing citizens and community members through the service they perform.

For more information on community-based (service) learning, contact our office at communityengagement@ csun.edu.

NEW: Timelogs and Video Resources for Community-based (Service) Learning

Pedagogical Development

  • Workshops designed Introduce the Pedagogy & to Strengthen the Pedagogy of Community-based Learning (Service Learning)
  • Assistance Revising Course Syllabi to Include a Community-based Learning Component
  • Reading Recommendations for Students Engaged in Community-based Learning
  • Assistance Completing the Community-based Learning Project Planning Checklist 

Risk Management Support

  •  Process Requests to Partner from Community Agencies for the purposes of service learning
  • Conduct Sites Visits to Potential Community Partners to determine potential risks to students
  • Provide a Database for Students Service Learning Plans and Agreements (kept on file for 3 years for audits)
  • Collect and Electronically Store Student Time Sheets and Site Supervisors Evaluations of Students (kept on file for 3 years for audits) 

Additional Services

  • Pre- and Post-Service Evaluations are available for Faculty wishing to gauge students' tendencies toward civic engagement (useful for conducting research)
  • Competitive Grant Process to Support Development of New Community-based (Service) Learning Courses
  • Competitive Grant Process to support both Discipline-Based and Interdisciplinary Community-based (Service) Learning Course Projects

Identify Your Course as Community-based (Service) Learning