Bonner Center for Civic Engagement

Community-Based Learning

Community-based learning is much more than substituting an "experience assignment" for a more traditional assignment. CBL courses fully integrate classroom and community elements. Faculty design projects to respond to community-identified needs, and the community partners often become co-educators. Students in CBL classes also act as co-educators rather than passive recipients, engaging in the community, reflecting on experiences, and adding their insights to the educational content of the course.

Faculty find community partners in many ways. We invite community organizations to consider how they might connect with our community-based learning program. Contact Terry Dolson for more information.

Feature Stories

Ciana Young, '17
Bonner Scholar crosses the privilege line through her community service

Ebonee Crosby, C'18
Local teacher integrates community-engaged learning into classroom

Maddy Dunbar, '17
WGSS class inspires student to pursue career in early childhood education policy

Research at Reedy Creek
Biology students use research to help solve a Richmond city issue

Liz Nigro, '17
Senior to pursue career in teaching and education policy after exploring education inequities as an undergraduate

Disaster, Memory, and Popular Culture
Living-learning course takes an interdisciplinary look at disasters and memory

Out of Eden
Class in slow journalism brings together different disciplines

Mary Allen, '16
Scholar-athlete gives back to her Northside Richmond neighborhood through class and volunteer work

Leadership on Stage and Screen
Community-based-learning course teaches students how to lead on the stage and in life

Learning from the Dead
Interdisciplinary Education in Richmond's East End Cemetery

Transit historians
Students build an exhibit on the history of Richmond's public transit.

Storytelling, Identity, Social Change
Inside the razor-wire fence surrounding Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center, students learn how storytelling can incite social change

Public Art and Social Change
Beyond the walls of the classroom to a wall on Cary Street

Community-Based Learning for a Day
Community-based learning takes the classroom into the world

Amaury Perez, '16
Cuban immigrant works for social justice in his new country

From San Juan to Richmond
Living and learning in urban America

Writing Richmond
City provides a backdrop for students exploring the writing process

Anna Sangree, '15
Geography student ponders spatial-justice issues

Biology of the Chesapeake Bay
Students get their feet wet in Chesapeake Bay course

Katie Lambeth, '13
Study abroad and community work inspire student to address educational inequities

View more related articles

Community-Based Learning at UR

Community-Based Learning at the University of Richmond

Community-Based Learning, Spanish in the Community

In Carlos Valencia’s Spanish in the Community class, students practice language skills while getting a deeper look at issues facing the city's Hispanic community.

Bonner Center for Civic Engagement

Community-Based Learning

Community-Based Learning

Questions about CBL?

Feature Stories

Community-Based Learning at UR

Community-Based Learning at the University of Richmond

Community-Based Learning, Spanish in the Community