Community Engaged Learning at MacEwan University is a project-based, teaching-learning strategy that connects classroom theory to challenges experienced in the “real world” by our Community Partners.

Are you interested in contributing more to areas like gender equity, environmental sustainability, and cultural vitality but don’t know where to start? Do you have an idea on how your organization can contribute to a sustainable future but can’t find enough time to get started?

Sustainability 301 is a unique interdisciplinary course that allows students from different backgrounds and areas of study to learn about sustainability challenges. Students in Sustainability 301 are developing their skills of systems thinking, project planning, evaluation, and communication as they relate to sustainability challenges. In order to expand their experience, we are looking for community partners who are interested in engaging with sustainability and specifically contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but are either unsure of where to start or have limited capacity to get their actions started.

To learn more about the UN SDGs, please check out the short video An Introduction to the UN SDGs (1:57) If your project/organization is selected, the students will work to provide you with: ● A project or proposal for your organization to implement to contribute to at least one SDG. Please note, that while general budgets will be considered and documented where possible, the course does not equip students to develop detailed budget plans.

Challenge statement 

The major learning outcomes of this project include(course learning outcomes translated to plain/business language) :

● Apply systems thinking to identify all areas of a sustainability topic including cultural vitality, social equity, economic integrity, and environmental responsibility.

● Discuss controversial and sensitive historic, social, cultural, political, and economic factors that influence sustainability challenges.

● Integrate alternate perspectives into a new coherent and more inclusive framework with which to analyze a topic.

● Collaborate effectively to develop a plan to address a complex sustainability challenge.

Project Planning Information

Students work in teams of three to five for the semester. The students come from different disciplines and programs of study. This is, at minimum, their second sustainability course. 

What Kind of Work Are the Students Expected to Complete?

The students have assignments that they complete individually to support their team project. 

• Reviewing resources related to the project. For example, students creating an anti-racism toolkit may review similar kits that are available that they can use for ideas, they may do a small literature review to learn about effective anti-racism training and the effects of racism on workplaces, they may review related podcasts or videos, and/or they may speak with a leader in an organization who is leading this work. 
• You are welcome to recommend some resources for the students to review; however, they should go beyond just looking at the organization's website, program guides, etc. The intention is that they are seeking new information that can benefit the organization.

The students also complete team assignments. The most relevant for you are:

• Project Plan. This will be a detailed plan of what the students are going to do to complete the project. It will include goals and objectives, key stakeholders, and deliverables. While there will be some information that is not of interest to you in this plan, it is helpful if you can review the goals, stakeholders, and deliverables, as well as any other relevant sections, to ensure that the plan meets the needs of your organization. The more work done at this stage by everyone involved tends to lead to more successful projects in the end.
• Draft Project. Teams submit a draft version of their project to you, the instructor, and engage in peer review. This is an important milestone as it provides a chance to provide feedback before the students complete the project so that it is as beneficial as possible to you.
• Final Project. Teams submit their final version of their project at the end of the semester. At this point, there should not be any major changes required – but please flag them if there are concerns. If applicable, students should provide an editable version of the final project so that your organization can engage in future updates. 

How Many Hours Will the Students Contribute to the Project?

This varies based on the number of students in the group and the grade target that each student has set. On average individual students will contribute 25-35 hours to the project over the course of the semester. However, it is important to remember that students are learning how to work on projects like this, so their productivity level will likely be lower than a professional already working in the field. 

How Will I Communicate With the Students?

There is one required online meeting with the students (see schedule above) and one optional meeting (see schedule above). In between, one student will be designated as the community partner communicator. They will connect with you via email to follow up on any questions or concerns that arise.

Online Meetings. Online meetings will occur through a platform called Kaltura Virtual Classroom. This platform functions best through Chrome. Other browsers may require you to download an application to support the program. You will receive an email from your student contact a few days prior to the meeting with a link to join the meeting. I will also send out a meeting invitation which will be updated with the link so that it is in your schedule in advance.

Email Communication. Some students excel at sending professional emails already. Others are still developing this skill. While this course does not teach email etiquette, students have been provided with sample emails that they can modify when reaching out. This does not always get implemented by the students.

I ask that you and the students cc me (munrot@macewan.ca) on emails so that I can keep track of what is happening as well and hopefully address concerns.

Other Notes

These notes are from my experiences with running this course over multiple years. While they don’t have a specific category, they may help you.

Can students produce physical items like resource kits or posters?

Generally speaking, the projects should be digital with the potential for your organization to create or purchase any physical items that are required. The students do not have funding to create physical items. If this is desired and the organization will provide the funding please discuss it with me so that we can figure out the best approach to this.

I started the project with students but cannot continue, what should I do?

If possible, please connect the students and me with an alternative contact person for the project. It is helpful, if you are able to provide an overview for this new contact of what the project is and what point it is in. 

If there is nobody else to take over working with the students, please contact me as soon as possible so I can find another option to allow the students to complete the project.

I’m going to be away during a key date, what should I do?

See above.

I haven’t heard back from the students, what should I do?

Remember, the majority of students are managing full course loads. In addition, a large majority of MacEwan students work up to full-time hours and have commitments outside of school such as family obligations. Therefore, it may take them a bit longer to reply than you would expect from a colleague or professional. I ask that you give the students some allowance for this. At the same time, they are learning to be professionals and should be taking that into consideration. If you feel that you have not heard from your student team for an extended period, please reach out to me.

I have concerns about the direction the students are taking the project, I’m not sure that the project will meet our needs, what should I do?

The ultimate goal is that the students will create a project that meets your needs and engage in meaningful learning. However, things can get in the way of this goal. Providing feedback on the project plan and draft project is vital. If you have done this and brought your concerns to the student contact and you feel they have not responded appropriately, please reach out to me sooner rather than later.

I had a plan, but the students have raised some concerns I disagree with, what should I do?

This can happen. The students are learning about many different topics and concerns within and beyond sustainability. Sometimes, they do have more up-to-date information or more awareness about potential concerns than we do. And sometimes, they are missing expert or implicit knowledge that would help them understand why you want something done in a particular way. The goal is to create a safe space for them to raise their concerns and discuss. I am happy to participate in these discussions as well to provide another perspective.