Community Engagement in the Earth Sciences

Situated learning posits that all learning happens in context. Applied to earth resilience challenges (e.g., water, climate, hazards), learning should include building the skills, habits, and relationships needed for participatory and equitable community planning and political change. Students should encounter the operational context needed to enact geoscience in communities (e.g., jurisdictional, institutional, political, cultural, information-sharing). This work describes how the geology and environmental science programs at Wittenberg University, a four-year, liberal arts college, use community engagement to deepen student preparation. Together, both programs are recognized as exemplars in civic learning and democratic engagement by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. It especially highlights how community engagement prepares graduates for work in communities by 1) designing courses around community priorities and authentic data analyses and 2) modeling partnering and project evolution as key modes for improving community outcomes.