Community-Based Learning

Forming Women and Men for and with Others Through Academic Courses

Community Based-Learning Defined

Community-Based Learning (CBL) can be defined as an academic course-based pedagogy that involves student work with individuals or groups made vulnerable by structural oppression and injustice, or organizations working with and for these communities, that is structured to meet community-defined needs. Critically, course objectives and student community work are fundamentally integrated. The basic aim of CBL courses is two-fold: first, that students’ experiences in community-based work will heighten their engagement with central academic themes and material in the course; and second, that the academic course content will facilitate students’ ability to reflect in deep and constructive ways on their experiences engaging in the community.

Community-Based Learning vs Service-Learning 

While often used interchangeably, "Community-Based Learning" (CBL) is preferred over "Service Learning" to shift the focus away from saviorism and emphasize collaborative partnerships. The term CBL centers on learning with the community rather than doing charity for them, prioritizing mutual exchange and the community's own defined needs. The language of CBL attempts to capture a commitment to working with community representatives in designing CBL courses that value the contributions of both campus and community to the learning experience of the students.

  • Power Dynamics: "Service" can sometimes imply a top-down, "us vs. them" dynamic. CBL establishes a more equitable framework that honors the community as co-educators and experts.

  • Community-Defined Needs: CBL projects are designed in direct collaboration with local groups to solve problems they actually want solved. Service learning can sometimes involve students doing work that the community doesn't necessarily need or ask for.

  • Broader Scope: While service learning usually means hands-on volunteering, CBL can include a wider variety of civic activities—like community-based research, advocacy, or grassroots activism.

  • Institutional Context: Colleges and universities have widely adopted the term CBL to highlight that the learning happens out in the physical, geographic, and cultural context of the neighborhood in which they are located.

Mission Aligned Summary Statement 

Jesuit university community based-learning integrates community engagement with academics, rooted in the Ignatian tradition's focus on developing the whole person for lives of justice and solidarity, using Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (Context, Experience, Reflection, Action, Evaluation) to connect theory to practice and form "People for and with others" committed to serving the marginalized and global society.

Key Components of CBL 

  • Academically Integrated: not just volunteering; it's a required part of coursework, linking readings and assignments to community needs.

  • Reflection is Key: Students analyze their experiences with the community, reflecting on social issues and their own roles.

  • Focus on Marginalized Communities: Programs often partner with vulnerable populations in urban areas.

  • Mutually beneficial relationship: rather than “service provider and service recipient”, the partnership should entail learning from and with those in the community.  

Community-Engaged Learning courses include the following:

  • Learning experiences integrated into the course that engage students outside the classroom such as in a community organization and advances learning goals and community purposes;

  • Reciprocal relationships among students, faculty, community members and community organizations that build capacity among all partners; and

  • Critical reflection of the experiences through various assignments in class that lead to a synthesis of the experience through a final project or portfolio.

What qualifies a course as CBL&E:

  1. The course integrates structured, academically relevant community-engaged learning experiences that connect student service to the course curriculum;

  2. The course curriculum includes clear objectives that relate to the community-engaged learning experience;

  3. The community-engaged learning is based upon mutually beneficial relationships among students, faculty, community members, and/or civic organizations;

    1. The community-engaged learning experience is developed in partnership with and meets priorities identified by community leadership;

  4. The course includes critical reflection of the community-engaged experiences through various assignments in and out of the classroom;

  5. The course assessment and grading includes the community-engaged learning.