Click on the links below to find out more about courses that take students out of the classroom and into the community.
Fall 2009 CSL Courses at UMass
Click on these links for information about the CSL courses being offered in Commonwealth College in Fall 2009.
CSL Capstone
The Commonwealth College Capstone Experience is designed to provide all Commonwealth College students with the opportunity to integrate their undergraduate experiences and prepare for their careers-professional or academic-and lives as informed citizens. The CSL Capstone presents Commonwealth College students with an option of making Community Service Learning an integral component of the Capstone Experience. Students work closely with at least one community organization to complete a project that is defined as important to the organization.
Click here for specifics on the CSL Independent Capstone...
CSL Capstone: Capturing Stories for Community
In this two-semester Capstone course, students will engage in a community-based research project with one of four partnering community organizations. Students will volunteer with an organization for 30 hours per semester and conduct research on issues that are facing the organization’s participants. In addition to engaging in service, students will collect oral histories and digital stories from people served by the community organizations.
Click here for specifics on Capturing Stories for the Community...
CSL Capstone: Information Technology
The course organizes seniors from any major into multidisciplinary Teams, to address real world community needs through technology. It is a Community Service Learning experience that engages students in mutually beneficial partnerships with non-profit organizations. The multi-faceted projects are determined by each Team in conjunction with the assigned partner organization, based on the skills of the Team members and the needs of the organization. They could include customized databases
Click here for specifics on IT Capstone...
CSL Honors Seminar
As part of the CSL Honors Seminar curriculum, students contribute at least 18 hours of service with community-based organizations in Holyoke, MA. This integration of service with learning allows students to see how social issues play out in real people’s lives while providing an opportunity to meet community needs.
Click here for specifics on CSL Honors Seminar...
Engaging with the Community: An Introduction to Community Service Learning
This course introduces you to the practice of Community Service Learning—including how to engage effectively with a community through its people and organizations and how to learn deeply from that experience. In this course you will encounter and learn from people who have different experiences, opinions, racial and ethnic and class backgrounds from yourself and you will get to know yourself better. You will develop skills for experiential learning and for taking charge of your own education—including observation, journaling, and learning circles—that you can use during your UMass education and beyond. This course fulfills the Interdisciplinary and U.S. Diversity Gen. Ed. requirements.
Click on each section title for more specfics...
Section A: Hunger and Food Security in the Pioneer Valley
In this course you will get to know—and get involved with—people, places, and organizations that address issues of food security and hunger in the communities near UMass. You will explore topics from food banks to community gardens, from farmers markets to nutrition education, and more, including a historical perspective on hunger and community in the Connecticut River valley. The core of the course is your commitment to a weekly community service experience at a site of your choosing. In addition, a variety of field trips and service opportunities—including farm work and serving community meals—provide a larger perspective on the community and the issues.
Click here for specifics on this section...
Section C: Kids/College
In this section, students will participate in a local afterschool program to provide an early intervention for youth who are primarily from low-income, immigrant families, and families of color. The program will provide a vision of college for children who, even though they live in a University town, may not ever see college as a real destination for themselves. Students in this course will work with youth in an after school program at Crocker Farm Elementary School. Based on the college students' skills and interests and those of the kids participating in the program, UMass students will have the opportunity to create and implement a fun and enriching afterschool curriculum.
Click here for specifics on this section...
Section D: Mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters
Do you have a little time to make a big difference in the life of a child? Would you like to learn more about mentoring? In this course you can do both! You will study the history of mentoring and consider theories of youth development and best practices in mentoring. You will also critically examine your own assumptions and beliefs in order to better understand your interactions with your Little Brother or Sister and their family. Through this course, you will develop skills as a mentor and for working in a variety of social service settings.
Click here for specifics on this section...
Click on this link to access the Fall 2009 list of Community Based Learning courses being offered at the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges and UMass Amherst).
