Hands-on learning is a central part of a UVM education and is ever-present in the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE). One of the best demonstrations of this is the wide variety of service-learning courses available in the department.

Service-learning collaborations are designed to apply the skills and knowledge students learn in the classroom in the real world. This can take place through student-led research and entrepreneurial projects and direct collaborations with local non-profits, community organizations, and media outlets. Through a semester-long partnership, students develop holistic social entrepreneurial skills and build connections all while providing material support to their community organizations.

The CDAE Department has one of the highest numbers of service-learning classes at UVM. As a socially conscious, transdisciplinary social science department within Vermont’s land-grant university, service and betterment of community are at the heart of a CDAE education.

Department Chair Jane Kolodinsky spoke about how in the early days of service-learning at UVM, CDAE’s solution-oriented model and mission were foundational in the development of a more formalized service-learning curriculum at UVM.

“Our department is extremely entrepreneurial and we strive to be ahead of the curve when it comes to curriculum and setting students up for successful, multi-faceted careers,” Kolodinsky explained.

Vermont is home to a wealth of non-profit organizations who are willing to partner with UVM students, providing a unique opportunity for the community-minded courses in CDAE. 

“At least half of service learning at UVM is project-based,” said Susan Munkres, director of the Community-Engaged Learning Office (CELO), UVM’s home for academic service-learning. “Students work with community partners directly to create deliverables.”

Such service-learning courses provide a powerful avenue for students interested in directly applying the skills they learn in CDAE majors: Community Entrepreneurship, Community and International Development, Community-Centered Design and Public Communication. Explore a few examples below.

Conducting Research for the Community

Applied learning is the central focus of CDAE 250: Advanced Research Methods, a course offered with a service-learning option taught by CDAE Professor David Conner. In the course, students develop skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather and analyze data, and develop a final report based on the research for their community partner.

Last fall, the class partnered with the UVM Career Center and explored how they could optimize the Center’s resources to expand student engagement. Students compiled literature reviews, conducted surveys, and created data visualizations on their research findings.

In this case, students were both the consultants and stakeholders for the project. Vivi Treese ‘23, a Community-Centered Design major, said she was “more interested and engaged with the research because the results could affect my fellow students and me.”

Learning the Ropes of Entrepreneurship while Supporting Nonprofits

Learning by doing is at the heart of CDAE 166: Intro to Community Entrepreneurship, a course taught by Assistant Professor Trisha Shrum which focuses on building sustainable businesses and non-profits for people and the planet. Students in the course are tasked with developing and running a pop-up business for the semester that raises money for a nonprofit community partner of their choosing. Through this experience, students learn marketing, accounting, and community-building skills along the way.

"The application of the theory of practice is the heart of this course," explained Shrum in a recent UVM article about the class. "By using a unique hands-on learning approach, students apply their classroom learning to the challenge of creating and operating their own business. Working in teams, students discover the rewards and challenges of entrepreneurship while supporting a local community organization in the greater Burlington area."

In the Fall of 2021, the class raised nearly $3,000 for their non-profit partners. One enterprise, Waffles Al-Fresco, which flipped made-to-order Belgian waffles outside of the Howe Library entrance, raised the most money for their community partner in the program's history, with over $750 going to Feeding Chittenden, which alleviates hunger in the Burlington area and beyond.

Developing Purpose-Driven Writing Skills

Students take a similarly hands-on approach in CDAE 120: Strategic Writing for Public Communication taught by Lecturer Ben Dangl. The course teaches students how to write in a variety of formats, including news articles, profile stories, press releases, and social media campaigns.

Throughout the course, students work with local non-profit, media, advocacy, and educational organizations to support their writing needs, such as creating outreach and fundraising material, profile articles highlighting member work, journalistic articles, social media content, and more. Recent partners with the class have included Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom, Migrant Justice, Very Merry Theatre, and The Intervale Center.

Community and International Development major Magali Stowell Alemán collaborated with the workers’ rights organization Migrant Justice in class this semester. Alemán said that working with Migrant Justice has helped her develop “really tangible skills in communication, organization, and management,” and apply “the skills learned in class as well as the learned knowledge they’ve been able to pass on to us.”

Vermont Digger’s Underground Workshop is also partnering with the class, enabling students to write and publish their own news stories for one of Vermont’s leading media outlets.

“I was able to engage thoughtfully with the process of researching and collecting information, writing, rewriting, and publishing a news article,” said Amelia Berlandi, a Public Communication major who worked with VT Digger this semester. “It also gave me a chance to collaborate with one of my peers, and we were able to learn from and feed off of each other. “

Savino Barile is a junior public communication major with a concentration in community media and journalism and a minor in film and television studies. This article originally appeared in the Spring 2022 CDAE newsletter.