A scalable model of community-based experiential learning through courses and international projects
"Partnering students with community clients can have positive learning and community service outcomes. There are challenges, however, defining and assessing curricula learning goals, evaluating community impact, and achieving significant scale, while not overwhelming faculty schedules. We present a model of engaging students with community clients that we have developed over 20 years and have used in multiple modes. Our model defines the students' roles in consulting terms, which allows us to broaden their perspective. Their goal is to help an organization solve a problem, expanding their responsibilities beyond just implementing a system. Ongoing instruction scaffolds the students' experience."