The interest in community-engaged forms of teaching and research in higher ed has been growing for more than a decade in the U.S. In just the past five years at UW–Madison, the number of Community-based Learning courses has increased from an average of 55 per semester to now typically exceeding 70.
With those increasing numbers comes an even greater number of students thrust out into the community — seldom as prepared as community partners might hope them to be. This persistent challenge has been a major area of focus for staff at the Morgridge Center for Public Service for several years, which has resulted in the creation of new curricular tools and supports, as well as strategic professional development offerings to best prepare instructors to engage students in these transformative pedagogies. Such efforts are at the heart of the newly released book, Preparing Students to Engage in Equitable Community Partnerships, written by staff members from the Morgridge Center.
Assistant Director of Community-Engaged Scholarship Haley Madden and Community-Engaged Scholarship Specialist Cory Sprinkel, in collaboration with Emeritus staff member, Beth Tryon, recently co-authored the book, which debuted on shelves this month. Informed by their work in supporting Community-based Learning courses at UW, the book is intended to serve as a guide for instructors and university staff who engage students in community partnerships, whether through an academic course, or community-engaged research, on how to build meaningful course experiences for students, while also preparing them to engage respectfully with community partners. The book emphasizes, among other topics, the importance of practicing cultural humility and addressing power imbalances within community-university partnerships.
In many ways, the work grew out of UW’s 2017 Civic Action Plan, commissioned by then UW Chancellor Blank. One of the top priorities outlined in that plan was to “ensure preparation of UW stakeholders for high quality community-engaged partnership.” That work took shape as a set of curricular materials and student facilitators to support Community-based Learning courses.
The curriculum, designed by Sprinkel and informed by the ongoing work of the Morgridge Center’s undergraduate Community-based Learning interns, was created through community focus groups and vetted by a set of reviewers from local nonprofits that frequently work with UW students. These efforts underscored the importance of infusing an understanding of cultural humility into community-based learning opportunities, but also the need to prepare students to treat community engagement experiences with academic rigor and authenticity
The book is replete with examples and contributions from community-engaged academics, students and professionals from throughout the U.S. Multiple contributions come from individuals affiliated with UW–Madison.
- Bertha Gonzalez, current community engagement preparation graduate assistant detailed her experience and lessons learned as an undergraduate intern with the Morgridge Center in supporting Community-based Learning courses and facilitating reflections with students.
- Kathy Cramer, political science professor shares lessons learned through her work with rural Wisconsin communities.
- Laura Livingston, director of sustainable agriculture and assistant professor of food studiesChatham University, but formerly a Nelson Institute doctoral student, writes about international community engagement through her experiences working with agroforesters in Ghana.
- Maria Moreno and Cheryl Bauer-Armstrong share about their work with UW’s Earth Partnership and how they approach connecting students with tribal communities.
- Merry Farrier-Babanovski, former director of the UW South Madison Partnership provided a contribution highlighting the work of the Partnership and its innovative approach to connecting campus and community and incubating community-university collaborations such as the Odyssey Project and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
The book is now available through Temple Press and other booksellers. The Morgridge Center will be hosting a book launch celebration on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2024. Check back for more details.