It's Just a Jump to the Left: Shifting Community-Based Projects Online

Introduction

In spring 2020, universities in the United States had to abruptly shift their face-to-face classes to online course delivery to combat the quickly rising COVID-19 cases. While these changes impacted all students and faculty, shifting courses that incorporated community-based projects into the syllabus had their own unique problems to address. Not only did faculty have to adjust assignments and outputs, but they also had to adjust to address the needs and capabilities of community partners during the turbulent times. Community-based projects are hands-on, while projects connect students and the university with community organizations. These projects allow students to better understand the course materials by putting textbook material to practice. Successful community-based projects require significant planning in advance to create a valuable learning experience for the student and a tangible product at the end for the partner organization. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in spring 2020, faculty had to quickly alter these learning tools to meet restrictions put in place to protect public health.

This chapter presents a case study outlining the adjustments made to two courses with community-based projects in the political science department. It reflects the personal experiences of the author. The goals of the chapter are to document how COVID-19 changed community-based projects in two courses and to provide other instructors guidance on how they can incorporate community-based projects into their courses. The chapter starts with an overview of the literature of the different kinds of community-based learning. It continues with the principles of civic engagement and student philanthropy, core to the courses being discussed. The chapter also includes a discussion of online learning and its goals and outputs. Next, the section takes a deeper look at the two courses involved in the shift. It outlines learning outcomes and the community-based assignments used to meet these outcomes. The chapter details the timeline of the impacts of COVID-19 and how it influenced classroom decisions. It explores how learning objectives were still met through virtual options. It also identifies challenges faced during the process. The chapter outlines the solutions to continuing with the project, although in an adjusted fashion. Furthermore, it provides recommendations which can guide future course development that includes virtual options for community-based projects from the beginning. Faculty, administrators, and community partners can use this information to design community-based projects.