The University of Maine at Presque Isle is looking for community projects that need completing as part of its Engaged Learning effort, which matches faculty expertise and the skills students are learning with the needs of the community.
Engaged Learning is a hands-on type of learning that utilizes partnerships with agencies, organizations and whole communities outside of the classroom to help students apply the material they are learning in the classroom, according to Kim-Anne Perkins, chair of the Center for University Programs, which oversees the University’s Engaged Learning Center.
Engaged Learning can take many forms, although it must always include an assessment of student performance. It can be a service learning project, an experiential learning field trip, or even a project that evolves over the course of several semesters. Two examples of past Engaged Learning projects are Management Information System students who created a new web page for a community organization and History students who helped a local historian to gather information and publish a book on Presque Isle’s past.
