At the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, our focus is on “education for active citizenship.” We support student and faculty efforts to become engaged in communities and civic life. Our goal is to prepare effective public citizens who will take an active role in addressing the core problems of society throughout their lifetimes, whatever professions they choose.
Community-based Learning
Community-based learning moves beyond the traditional placement model of work based learning to learning from experience, in a community context, with mutual benefits to both student learning and partner organizations. Generally, definitive products are one of the direct outcomes. Project ideas are typically identified by a community organization or grow from students’ experience through prior community exposures such as volunteering.
While the language of community-based learning can be overwhelming and confusing at times, below are some clearly defined terms that can assist faculty, staff and students.
Community
Community can be used in a number of ways to apply to almost any group of individuals. It is often used to describe a geographic group whose members engage in some face-to-face interaction. The term community can also be used in a more meaningful sense to emphasize the common bonds and beliefs that hold people together.
Community co-educator is the term developed by partner community members of Tufts that represents the person supervising a student in community engaged work. Other variations of this name include community supervisor, community partner, etc.
Community Service
Community service is volunteerism that occurs in the community—action taken to meet the needs of others and to better the community as a whole. Programs of all types, like scouts, schools or YMCAs, often perform "community service."
Experiential Education
Experiential education is emotionally engaged learning in which the learner experiences a visceral connection to the subject matter. Good experiential learning combines direct experience that is meaningful to the student with guided reflection and analysis. It is a challenging, active, student-centered process that impels students toward opportunities for taking initiative, responsibility and decision making.
Reciprocity
A central component in service-learning and community engagement that suggests that every individual, organization and entity involved in service-learning functions as both a teacher and a learner.
Reflection
The critical component of successful service-learning programs is "reflection." Reflection describes the process of deriving meaning and knowledge from experience and occurs before, during and after a service-learning project. Effective reflection engages both teachers and students in a thoughtful and thought-provoking process that consciously connects learning with experience. It is the use of critical thinking skills to prepare for and learn from service experiences.
Volunteerism
The performance of formal service to benefit others or one's community without receiving any external rewards; such programs may or may not involve structured training and reflection.
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