Preparing Students for Community Engaged Learning (CEL)

• Integrate CEL Into Your Syllabus 

  • Clearly define CEL in your syllabus and connect it to your discipline, course goals, and Student-Based Learning Outcomes (SBLOs). Include: 
    • Purpose of CEL in your course 
    • Learning objectives (academic + civic) 
    • Expectations for student engagement and reflection 
    • Anticipated community collaboration or project types

• Facilitate Community Context & Critical Discussion

  • Encourage dialogue on the following: 
    • What communities are we engaging with? 
    • What historical or systemic issues shape these communities? 
    • How do students’ own identities shape their role in community engagement? 
    • How can students act in solidarity, not charity? 

• Request a Class Visit or Orientation 

  • The Faculty Engagement & Experiential Learning (FE&EL) team can visit your class (in person or virtually) to provide a CEL orientation, which can include: 
    • Ethical engagement practices 
    • Principles of reciprocal community partnership 
    • Introduction to community asset mapping and anti-deficit frameworks

To request a visit or resource session, email Nora Bashir at [email protected]. 

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) at MSU Denver is not only an academic and civic experience—it’s also a powerful professional development opportunity. CEL gives students real-world exposure to workplace skills, team-based problem solving, and career exploration in sectors such as education, public health, environmental sustainability, and more. 

Faculty are encouraged to help students make the Classroom to Career (C2) connection by: 

• Identifying Essential Skills practiced in CEL (e.g., teamwork, leadership, professionalism, oral communication). 

• Asking students to reflect on career-relevant experiences during class discussions and assignments. 

• Encouraging students to add CEL projects to resumes, e-portfolios, and LinkedIn profiles. 

• Partnering with the Classroom to Career Hub (C2 Hub) for career advising, mock interviews, and professional development workshops. 

Want help integrating this into your course? Reach out to the FE&EL team or the C2 Hub to co-design a brief “career framing” module or reflection prompt tailored to your discipline. 

Resources for Students & Faculty: 

• Essential Skills Framework – MSU Denver 

• C2 Hub for Students 

Sample prompt: “What professional strengths did you demonstrate in this project, and how might you explain this to a future employer?” 

These details should be clarified in advance with both students and community partners. Depending on your course design, you may handle these directly or in partnership with FE&EL and your community partner. 

Classroom Resources 

• Learning Through Serving, A Student Guidebook for S-L and Civic Engagement Across Academic Disciplines and Cultural Communities (Cress, 2013) – Chapter 1, What are Service-Learning and Civic Engagement? 

• Difficult Stories: Service-Learning, Race, Class, and Whiteness (Green, 2003) 

• How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service (Dass & Gorman, 1985) 

• Identifying Community Assets and Resources (Community Toolbox online, University of Kansas) 

• Sit Down, Be Quiet, Pay Attention (Sigmon, 1995) 

• The Impossible Will Take A Little While, Perseverance and Hope in Challenging Times (Loeb, 2014)– Excerpts 

• What We Don’t Talk About When We Don’t Talk About Service (Davis, 2006) 

• – Chapter 1. Imperatives: Why We Do Community Engaged Learning 

• Whatever It Takes (Tough, 2009) – Chapter 1. The Lottery 

• Why “Servanthood” Is Bad (McKnight, 1989) 

Recommended Videos 

• “Sustainable Community Development” – Cormac Russell, 2016 (TEDx) 

• “Want to Help Someone? Shut Up and Listen!” – Ernesto Sirolli, 2012 

• “Why It’s Worth Listening to People You Disagree With” – Zachary R. Wood, 2018