Registration is open for the annual Faculty Institute on Community-Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT), where Cornell faculty come together to understand the foundations of community-engaged learning (CEL), bounce ideas off one another and share how they’ve used CEL to deepen student learning and connect with community needs.

Usually a two-day, in-person event, the 2021 CELT is a series of four online Community Conversations, held weekly June 1–22, from 1 to 1:50 p.m.

Staff from the Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) and the Office of Engagement Initiatives — co-sponsors of the institute — will facilitate the discussions, encouraging participants to explore the elements of community-engaged learning, including online pedagogical innovations.

“At CELT, we always see a wide range of disciplines and experience levels. Some faculty are looking to design a new course, some are re-designing an existing course to make community-engaged learning a core component, and they all have something to learn from one another,” says Kim Kenyon, associate director of CTI, who co-facilitates CELT.

In each meeting, participants will examine strategies and examples, share their experiences and spend time creating and revising their course syllabus. Participants are encouraged to attend all four sessions, though it is not required.

“Having a community-oriented aspect in a course helps students feel engaged and committed to the curriculum. CELT was an incredible and easy way to think through the process of doing this in an engineering setting,” said Amal El-Ghazaly, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering. “Kim's insights, as well as those of other instructors, helped me think through all the possible ways of simultaneously engaging students and community in my courses so that I could come up with a concrete plan by the end of the workshop.”

The 2021 CELT will cover:

• June 1: Developing and Sustaining Community-Engaged Learning Partnerships
• June 8: Assessing Community-Engaged Learning
• June 15: Critical Reflection in Community-Engaged Learning
• June 22: Swap Meet! To Share Action Plans

“We’ve designed the sessions to focus on student learning and community voice, both of which are critical to successful community-engaged learning experiences,” says Amanda Wittman, associate director for community-engaged curricula and strategy in OEI, who co-facilitates the institute.

For more information, email CTI at cornellcti@cornell.edu or OEI at community-engaged-learning@cornell.edu.