The Steans Center of DePaul University provides an academic bridge between the university and communities of Chicago that supports student learning, community development, and faculty teaching and scholarship.
We support faculty through faculty workshops and a certificate program, one-on-one consultations, conversations on experiential education, and
funded research opportunities.
We can help you
- Develop strong partnerships with community members and organizations.
- Connect with other faculty members who are interested in community-based service learning.
- Employ an asset-based community development approach to teaching and scholarship
"The Community-based Service Learning Certificate Program provides a space for faculty to learn from each other and the community. It has deepened my understanding of asset-based approaches to community-based service learning and I look forward to integrating ideas and experiences from the certificate program into my experiential learning courses"
Jennifer Whitelaw
Professor of Instruction and Coordinator of Basic and Intermediate Spanish
Community-based Service Learning
Community-based Service Learning is a form of experiential education that engages students in addressing issues of social justice while reflecting on their academic work in structured ways; service-learning pedagogy is built on developing authentic relationships between students, faculty, and community partners.
The Steans Center offers numerous resources to instructors interested in using community-based service learning as a dimension of their teaching.
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We support development of courses that integrate meaningful service with academic learning.
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Everything faculty need to do to run and maintain a Service Learning Course.
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Information on opportunities to pursue interests in community-based research, grants, conferences and more.
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.jpg "Service Learning students lead yoga at Jugan Terrace")
Additional resources to assist you in creating a compelling teaching strategy informed by community engagement.