Department website: http://www.wesleyan.edu/slc/index.html

COORDINATOR

• Amy Grillo

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Community-Engaged Learning integrates experiences outside the classroom with an academic curriculum taught within the classroom. As one form of experiential education, community-engaged learning seeks to broaden students’ understanding of course content through activities which are, at the same time, of service to the campus and/or surrounding community. Through structured reflection on their service, students are able to test and deepen their understanding of theoretical approaches in virtually any discipline. 

The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life provides support and resources for faculty interested in incorporating service learning into their courses. Service-Learning Initiative Grants (SLIGs) provide faculty with funds to develop their new service-learning courses. Faculty who teach service-learning courses often work closely with the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships.

Courses Associated with the Cluster

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
AFAM307	Black Middletown Lives: The Future of Middletown's African American Past	1
ASTR430	Seminar on Astronomical Pedagogy	0.25
CHEM241	Informal Science Education for Elementary School Students I	1
CHEM242	Informal Science Education for Elementary School Students II	1
CSPL210	Money and Social Change: Innovative Paradigms and Strategies	1
E&ES260	Oceans and Climate	1
E&ES261	Techniques in Ocean and Climate Investigations	0.5
E&ES281	GIS Service-Learning Laboratory	0.5
ENVS361	Living in a Polluted World	1
HIST216L	European Intellectual History since the Renaissance- Service Learning	1
MUSC463	Teaching Music Lessons to Children in Local Schools	1
NS&B360	Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis in Health and Disease: Molecules, Cells, and Circuits	1
PSYC209	Research Methods in Ecological-Community Psychology	1
PSYC328	Current Research in Early Childhood	1
PSYC355	Psychology of Reading	1
PSYC384	Advanced Research in Cognitive Development	1
SISP245	Ethnography and Design	1
SOC315	The Health of Communities	1.25
SOC316	Community Research Seminar	1.5
THEA115	America in Prison: Theater Behind Bars	1
DANC376	The Artist in the Community: Civic Engagement and Collaborative Dancemaking	1

Courses & Projects

Getting Involved

Wesleyan students have a long history of getting involved in the greater Middletown community.  Much of this is done through volunteer and community service through the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships.  But some academic courses—service-learning courses—also have a service component to them.  In the past, students enrolled in service-learning courses at Wesleyan have:

• Conducted the homeless count required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Middlesex Supportive Housing Coalition;
• Examined the effect of local preschools on preparing kindergarteners to be school-ready, for the Middletown School Readiness Council;
• Studied the North End landfill to determine whether the methane it produced could be harvested economically;
• Taught 20^th century music compositional techniques to Middletown High School students;
• Taught dance classes at the Green Street Arts Center;
• Aided medical research at the Community Health Clinic.

If you think Wesleyan students might be of help in a project your organization or agency is doing, planning, or just imagining, the first step is an informal discussion with the Director of the Allbritton Center. 

Faculty Resources