If you're a student....

        Ask yourself, "What is the meaning of my education in the larger social context?  How does my learning matter to me and to my fellow human beings?"  Watch for listings and announcements of CLI courses.  Check out the new minor in Community Action, a curricular path to an integrative understanding of community learning in its many forms.  Remember, too, that your learning about the world is not limited to courses; use your spare time to volunteer through community outreach. 

How to enlist a professor into Community Learning

Example of a student integrating Community Learning into her education

If you're a professor...

        Ask yourself, "Is there an application of my course material that can show my students its import and potential to address societal problems?  Are there collaborations with the community that can inform deeper analyses for students in my course?"  The CLI can help conceptualize and implement course-based community collaboration, working with you before (in planning), during (the logistics), and after (the essential reflective integration of field and classroom experience).  A Community Learning teaching assistant can help oversee your project as well.  Theoretical (and humorous) timeline for planning a CLI course.

If you're a community organization...

        Ask yourself, your group, and your clients, "What do we need to know that Trinity students can research for us?  What do we need to do that Trinity students can do with us?"  A CLI course creates learning through action.  The action can be research and writing or something more direct.  Whatever its nature, such community engagement simultaneously serves the community and provides students the opportunity to observe the real world application of their course learning.  Projects can be brief or as long as a semester.  However, the best projects are often those that create a lasting relationship between a student and a  community partner.