Module 4: Out of the Classroom and Into the Community
This module will outline the challenges and benefits of learning outside of the classroom. Community partnerships often require us to rethink our assumptions and reconsider our ways of interacting with people and groups who are different from ourselves.
Module 4 Learning Objectives
By the end of Module 4, learners should be able to:
- Identify and explain the challenges and benefits of learning outside the classroom
- Examine and question their assumptions and biases that would affect interactions within a community
- Analyze the needs of a community and criticize and dissect supports already in place
- Predict what problems or challenges might occur when using community-engaged learning
- Evaluate how the principles are being used, and defend or critique a case study’s practices of community learning
Going out into the community or working in the classroom or at home with a community partner brings new challenges and benefits to student learning. One of the areas of growth is in working with workplace expectations and learning about the work subcultures of community partners. This requires a high level of observation and self-awareness. In this module, we suggest things you can do before your engagement, during the engagement and following the engagement to improve the experience for you and your community partner.
