CBL Course Planning Calendar Important steps to consider when creating a CBL course

Several months before the term begins

  • Meet with CBL staff to review your course goals, brainstorm ways CBL can deepen student learning, and identify potential community partners.
  • Meet with community partners to jointly identify:
    • partnership timeline, goals, and deliverables
    • responsibilities of each stakeholder
    • student orientation content
    • communication methods
  • With CBL Office support, consider logistics of the project and draft a community learning agreement.
  • Develop the syllabus, describing learning expectations and how elements of the community-based experience will be integrated and assessed in your course. Be sure to account for student orientation and critical reflection in the syllabus/project timeline.

During the first two weeks of the term

  • Articulate collaboration goals with students and explain how community activities are directly related to content of the course.
  • Set clear expectations about respect and professionalism. (CBL staff can provide resources and/or visit the classroom to help you prepare students.)
  • Consider inviting your community partner to visit the class to contextualize their work/the project.
  • Consider creating a pre-reflection assignment.

Communicate regularly throughout the entire term with your community partner(s) to see how collaboration is going, troubleshoot any problems, understand how students are doing, and make any necessary adjustments.

During the last two weeks of the term

  • Ensure that community partners receive all project deliverables.
  • Share student final reflections with partners as appropriate.
  • Remind students to thank their community partner and the specific people who supported them.
  • Administer the Community Partner Survey, in which community partners evaluate the extent to which students effectively and respectfully achieved the objectives of the collaboration .
  • Administer the Student Survey, in which students self-report on their learning experience.

Set aside time after the term has ended to debrief with your community partner(s) and discuss the outcomes of the collaboration:

  • Articulate the strengths and the challenges each party faced.
  • Share potential modifications/ideas to build upon in the future.
  • Discuss each party's interest/ability to continue the collaboration, or a different collaboration, in the future.