Community-Based Learning and Research

• Community-Based Learning Coordinators
• Community-Based Learning Courses
• Community-Based Research

Community-Based Learning Coordinators

Currently the Center for Social Concerns works with six Community-Based Learning Coordinators (CBLCs) in local partner agencies. The CSC understands that the formal education of students who become involved in the local community extends beyond the classroom and that the students encounter people in the community who become their teachers as well as their supervisors. The Community-Based Learning Coordinators who work with the Center for Social Concerns are a great resource to students, and it is a pleasure to introduce students to some of the finest teachers in South Bend. The CBLCs are available to help students find placements in their agencies that meet both the needs of the community-based organization and the student. They are aware of the importance of finding ways to connect the students' real life experiences with their academic work. In addition, they are committed to making reflection a part of the student's experience in their organizations.

In addition to working with students, the CBLCs serve as resources to faculty by assisting them in creating course related community-based learning opportunities. The Center for Social Concerns is able to inform and educate students, faculty, and staff about community service and social action because of this valuable resource. The Community-Based Learning Coordinators are willing and able to find the right placements for students who come to them either individually or as part of a course related assignment.

This webpage lists the sites in South Bend where the CSC partners with Community-Based Learning Coordinators.

Community-Based Learning Courses

Each year at the University of Notre Dame, some 90 different courses engage students in an experiential or community-based learning pedagogy. Some of these courses were initially supported by course development grants offered each year by the Center. Of the total number of courses, about 20 are run directly out of the Center for Social Concerns, in collaboration with faculty colleagues from across the campus. Click on Academic Courses and Programs for more information about these. For information about others offered at the university, the Center publishes a Community-Based Learning Course Booklet each semester before the registration period. This booklet assists students in finding the kinds of classes that lead them into off campus communities as part of their learning. Our definitions for "experiential learning," "community-based learning," and "community-based research," -- the three ways we identify courses in the booklet -- are given in its first pages.

Contact Mary Beckman for more information.

Download the CBLC Course Booklet

Community-Based Research

The Center supports a kind of scholarship that addresses information and research needs in the local area. We refer to this type of scholarship as community-based or community research; it has roots in participatory action research and application scholarship. Our support for this type of scholarship takes several forms.

Ganey Faculty Community-Based Research Award
Given annually to a Notre Dame faculty member who has used his or her scholarly expertise to address a research need of a local organization that lacks the capacity to carry out the research itself.

Ganey Collaborative Community-Based Reseach Mini-Grants
Given annually to one to three research teams made up faculty, student, and community partners and focused on addressing the research need of the community partner organization.

Course Development Grants
The Center is encouraging faculty members to apply for course development grants to incorporate community-based research projects into their academic offerings.

Community-Based Research Project
The Center is currently linking local organizations with undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty interested in working collaboratively to address the organizations’ research needs, while furthering their academic agendas. The Center facilitates the matching of undergraduates who would like to conduct such research as part of an existing course, an internship, a senior thesis, or special studies class. The Center is also working with graduate students who are interested in such research opportunities and faculty members, such as those who have won the Ganey Award or Mini-Grants.