Community engaged pedagogy (CEP) invites students to connect their academic knowledge and skills to people, events, and issues in their local/international communities.
Opportunities for structured reflection before, during, and/or after the experience will help students to articulate and deepen their learning.
Learn more about CEP:
- Carleton’s Committee for Community Engaged Pedagogy (CCEP) offers several reports on the status and benefits and barriers to CEP at Carleton.
- Community Campus Engage Canada (CCEC) provides up-to-date resources to support community engaged teaching and research, including best practice guides, tool, webinars, and more.
There are several types of community engaged experiential learning at Carleton. Continue reading to learn more about each type.
Field experiences
Field experiences include a range of activities that require varying levels of student interaction (e.g., field trips, fieldwork, attendance at an event).
Locally, students can do activities such as: attend and take field notes on community events, conduct interviews with community members and professionals, or visit sites of interest and relevance to their courses (e.g., museums, galleries, monuments).
Internationally, students can participate in international experiences or exchange programs abroad. Students who travel to other countries and immerse themselves in their communities have the unique opportunity to learn authentically and profoundly about the world’s diverse cultures, histories, issues, and languages. Learn more about Carleton’s international experiences and exchange programs
Industry/community research projects
Industry/community research projects invite students to work on a project that has been developed through collaboration with a community partner or organization in order to identify and analyze issues or opportunities and develop solutions.
Community-based research includes engagement in research projects that result from the collaboration between the instructor and community partners. The research is relevant to the community members and takes place within the community. Such projects can be time-intensive, and so are best reserved for full-year, 6-credit courses.
See Trent University’s community-based research modules
Service learning
Service learning provides students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have acquired in their course to address issues in the community. For example, students can volunteer at a shelter or food bank, or support students with learning disabilities in local schools. Community service learning should directly benefits the community partner.
Students can benefit from applying their academic skills and knowledge to deepening their understanding of vulnerable populations, studying complex social issues, and strengthening their critical thinking and leadership skills.
Learn more about community service learning
Read about the principles of good practice in community service learning