Learning & Service
The Office of Community Engaged Learning & Service is a one-stop shop for resources related to connecting students, courses, and faculty scholarship to the community. Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is an instructional strategy that refers to community activities that are integrated with course content to provide enriching, experiential learning opportunities that address the public good.
At Drake, we recognize that CEL extends beyond traditional service-learning and may include a field experience, practicum, internship, capstone, research project, clinical, co-op, or co-curricular activity. The experience may be a direct service/activity, or research, or other off-site work that benefits a community partner. See Our Philosophy for specific definitions of service-learning, community engagement, etc.
Our Mission Statement:
The mission of the Office of Community Engaged Learning is to develop and encourage changemakers who know themselves, understand the complexities of the world they live in, and take creative action to solve problems.
Our Learning Outcomes:
As a result of participating in a community-engaged learning opportunity at Drake, students will be able to…
1. Know themselves
- Articulate what one cares about and why, and reflect upon how they present themselves in the world
- Analyze one’s privilege and positionality and its impact on people and communities
2. Understand the world is complex
- Identify social problems and their root causes while reflecting on the complexity of social issues
- Explore and analyze social issues at the systems level while recognizing the historical and social context
3. Take Creative Action – what’s next?
- Articulate that social change must be done in partnership with community stakeholders and fulfill a community-identified need
- Recognize that there are a multitude of strategies needed to create social change and reflect on the effectiveness and utility of strategies
- Take creative action to address social problems, and enable others to act
Commitment to Racial Justice
The Office of Community Engaged Learning & Service affirms our commitment to racial justice. This newsletter shares ideas on how individuals can educate themselves on topics of racial justice and take action to create change. Visit the Community Engaged Learning Resource Library for an Equity-Based Service Learning Toolkit and many other resources.
Looking to participate in a demonstration or counter-demonstration while guarding your safety and health? A little planning can go a long way, visit the Office of Equity & Inclusion Website for tips on How to Stay Safe & Healthy at a Demonstration.
Contact Us
Renee Sedlacek, Director, renee.sedlacek@drake.edu or 515-271-2454
Amanda Martin, Assistant Director, amanda.martin@drake.edu or 515-271-2767
Jazlin Coley, Service Coordinator for Equity and Inclusion, jazlin.coley@drake.edu
Visit Us
We are located at the 25th Street Center with Drake International (1213 25th St, next to the old Varsity Theater). We are also available for virtual meetings.
Follow Us
We are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @DrakeService and use #DrakeServes
