UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The beginning of the semester also marks a new season of opportunities for Penn State faculty to become more familiar with two of Penn State Sustainability's experiential learning programs: the Sustainable Communities Collaborative (SCC) and Living Labs. These programs promote curricular engaged scholarship by facilitating partnerships between community or campus partners and Penn State classes across the state and at Commonwealth Campuses.
While experiential learning in the classroom is not a new concept, it may require a different approach to teaching as students address community-based projects. To help faculty navigate these partnerships and, for example, implement new forms of student assessment, the SCC and Living Labs have coordinated an Engaged Scholarship Community of Practice. Twice a semester, an online meeting will provide the opportunity for faculty to meet, learn from each other and experts in the field, and determine upcoming agendas.
“The community of practice is intended to be a member-driven endeavor,” said Krista Bailey, Penn State Sustainability’s associate director for campus sustainability, who manages the Living Labs program. “We listen to faculty’s request for information and try to match speakers to address their questions.”
The semester’s first community of practice meeting will take place virtually from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 18 and feature a discussion on assessment with a representative from EPIC-N, an international organization that supports higher education efforts such as Penn State's Sustainable Communities Collaborative (SCC).
“EPIC-N is a terrific resource to programs like the SCC,” said Ballreich, SCC program director and associate director of experiential learning at Penn State Sustainability. “Experiential learning projects are unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. We are delighted to hear from EPIC-N how our colleagues at other institutions have addressed assessment.”
Registration is available here. This meeting also supports the Provost Endorsement for Engaged Scholarship requirements. For questions regarding the community of practice or provost endorsement, please contact Ilona Ballreich at ixb20@psu.edu or Krista Bailey at kbailey@psu.edu.