Community-Connected Learning Outcomes

Community-connected learning allows educators to connect learning in the classroom with real-world experience that helps to strengthen local communities. Community-connected learning supports civic knowledge cultivation, skill building, and identity development.

Community connection, a core strategic direction of the College, makes real the questions and ideas that we explore as a learning institution and puts learning to work for the public good.

Community-connected learning allows students to:

• directly connect theories to realities with hands-on practice;

• engage in meaningful work that aligns with - and further clarifies - their values;

• develop the knowledge and skills necessary for collaborative success;

• take action with people who are different from them; and

• establish and deepen relationships that center the common good.

Community-connected learning provides students with the opportunity to practice developing:

• their commitment to learning and working in and with community;
• the intellectual curiosity to explore social issues in new ways;
• empathy for others;
• a willingness to critically reflect on and discuss their experiences;
• an open mind to different ideas and perspectives;
• the humility to understand their own biases and limitations; and
• an appreciation of cultural and community differences.

Civic Knowledge

We cultivate students’ civic knowledge by asking:

• What systems and structures do students need to understand to work effectively with communities?

Community-connected experiences help students forge meaningful relationships that challenge assumptions and inspire students to expand their understanding of complex social systems and how social change works.

Civic Skills

We build students’ civic skills by asking:

• What practices and abilities help students collaborate with others in ethical ways?

Community-connected experiences provide opportunities for students to develop and hone skills that allow them to contribute effectively with others—like how to enter diverse communities respectfully, facilitate groups effectively, and get things done in teams that include people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Civic Identities

We help strengthen students’ civic identities and commitments by asking:

• Who are students in their local and global communities?
• What do students care about, and how will they engage?

Ultimately, community connected experiences spark students’ commitment to be contributors in our world going forward. Instead of waiting for an ideal world, they know that taking action—imperfectly in the here and now—is how we function as a democracy and design a more just world.