Faculty Resources for Community Learning

For students specifically, Community Learning courses and CHER co-curricular programming aim to advance the following learning goals:

1. Enhance achievement of broader College curricular and co-curricular learning objectives through community partnerships in Hartford that connect knowledge with practice. [Experiential learning]
2. Develop skills and understandings that support mutually beneficial collaboration in diverse communities. [Collaborative partnership]
3. Deepen understanding of the expertise and experiences of diverse communities in relation to one’s own identity and societal position. [Reflection and perspective-taking]
4. Become attuned to local context as residents of Hartford, while exploring the role of individual and collective agency in social transformation. [Place-based appreciation and civic agency]

Course design resources and other opportunities to get involved in Community Learning:

• Erica Crowley, Senior Director of CHER Academic Programs, is available to meet one-on-one or in small groups with faculty to discuss preliminary ideas, designing assignments, choosing readings, or building partnerships.
• Join a small cohort of Community Learning Faculty Fellows (CLiFF) by applying in early June. Topics of discussion generally include Community Learning foundations, Trinity in Hartford, building relationships with community partners, designing community learning components, incorporating reflection, and more.
• Visit the Community Learning Faculty Toolkit for readings and resources that can aid faculty in course planning and/or be incorporated into a class as student readings
• Propose a project for the Summer Public Humanities Collaborative and work with paid student research assistants, other faculty, and Hartford-area community partners for 10 weeks
• Support a community-engaged project as a faculty fellow or sponsor in the Liberal Arts Action Lab or Community Learning Research Fellows.
• Looking to connect with community partners? View the CHER database of recent partners here.

Community Learning course assistance funds

Each semester Community Learning offers faculty up to $500 of expense funding for each approved community-learning course. Allowable expenses include stipends for community partners to meet with your students, student transportation to community partner sites, book and instructional materials, or printing costs, video or photography equipment or services, hourly wages for community learning teaching assistant, refreshments for events with community partners, and other relevant expenses approved in advance.

To Reserve and Receive Community Learning Course Assistance Funds:

Step 1 – Please notify us in advance by filling out the Community Learning fund reservation form by the end of the second week of classes. If you do not submit a reservation in advance, we may not be able to fund your course.

Step 2 – Write a rich one-paragraph description of the community learning component of your course, attach a copy of your syllabus, and email to Erica Crowley for approval anytime during the semester. Optionally, include any course assignments or photos that you give us permission to share on the CHER website and social media channels.

Step 3 – Download this Community Learning fund expense form in Excel format and list up to $500 of allowable expenses per approved course. To reimburse you or individual students, include all receipts (if paper receipts, submit originals). If paid by credit card, include a copy of your statement or similar proof-of-payment. To pay stipends to community partners or local experts, download a federal W-9 form for them to complete and submit. To pay hourly wages to student teaching assistants, download and submit a Trinity student payroll form in advance.

Step 4 – Send all reimbursement materials to Erica Crowley. If we do not receive your expense request within 30 days after the end of the semester, it may not be funded.

Community Learning Student Course Evaluations

To evaluate whether co-curricular and curricular community engagement is meeting the above learning goals, we have revised our course evaluation form and process based on the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification and other industry benchmarks with input from national experts, Community Learning faculty, the CHER community advisory board, and CHER’s Faculty Advisory Board. The revised form significantly reduces questionnaire length, while directly evaluating the learning goals, using validated standards, such as the CASQ (Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire “Big 6”) and Bonner Program Civic Learning Outcomes. The new form can be viewed here and, for comparison, the former form (revised 2017) can be found here.

Community Partner Feedback Form

When faculty members sign up for CL course funds, they will provide contact information for their course partner(s). At the end of the semester, the Director of Community Learning sends the community partner feedback form to partners. The form asks partners about the strengths and weaknesses of their interaction with Trinity and allows them to offer ideas for further collaboration. Feedback will be shared with the faculty member to allow them to plan for the future. CL leadership will use the information to identify areas where we can improve to better support faculty and collaborate with partners. To enable flexibility in the formation of partnerships, CL faculty may provide a reason to opt out of the form for a given class (e.g. a unique partnership that the form does not fit, an emergent partnership that does not yet warrant assessment).