Blog Contributor: Bridget McGlynn

The ESRC is continuing to expand our educational offerings at Brock University through the creation of an open access undergraduate level course entitled “Building Sustainable Communities: The Impact of Engagement”. This course was built in collaboration with Dr. Derek Armitage and Ella-Kari Muhl from University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability. The course also greatly benefited from the input of Indigenous educator Jodi Johnston.

Much of the research conducted at the ESRC is operationalized through community partnerships as a mechanism to promote transdisciplinary research and community engagement. Effectively engaging people is essential to navigating contemporary challenges. This course, Building Sustainable Communities: The Impact of Engagement, prepares learners, conceptually and practically, to effectively engage actors as a key aspect of building sustainable communities. The course content encourages a reflective, dynamic, and ethical approach to building sustainable communities at local and global levels. Students will garner a greater understanding of what may characterize a sustainable community; the importance, benefits, and challenges of community engagement; and essential ethical considerations embedded within community engagement.

The online social sciences course explores theories and practices to engage people for three common and critical purposes: information gathering and sharing; collaboration; and, monitoring and evaluation. The course consists of five modules, each self-contained in Pressbooks:

Module 1: Introduction to Community Engagement

Module 2: Information Gathering and Sharing

Module 3: Collaboration

Module 4:  Monitoring and Evaluation

Module 5: Creating Connections for the Future

Regardless of their major, the content included within each of these modules will provide learners with novel course content, countless ancillary resources, and critical thinking exercises to develop the knowledge and skills to assist in creating a more sustainable future.