Bringing Theory to Practice Grant Project

    BTtoP_LogoJuly 15th, 2010 to July 14th, 2011
    St. Olaf received a Bringing Theory to Practice grant from the Association of American Colleges and Universities to assess and strengthen academic civic engagement at St. Olaf. The grant supports a learning community that consists of eight faculty and Nate Jacobi (Associate Director for Civic Engagement in the CEL) in developing and enhancing academic civic engagement (ACE) courses, assessing the impact of ACE courses on student learning (especially civic and vocational development) and exploring opportunities for St. Olaf to strengthen and expand academic civic engagement.  See here for more information about ACE at St. Olaf.

    Project Title:
    Advancing civic engagement: Utilizing a faculty learning community to examine the relationship between course-based civic engagement and students’ civic and vocational development

    Faculty Participants:
    Mary Carlsen (Social Work), Bruce Dalgaard (Asian Studies/Economics), Eric Fure-Slocum (History), Dana Gross (Psychology), Dan Hofrenning (Political Science), Naurine Lennox (Social Work), Paul Roback (Statistics), Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak (Political Science/Asian Studies).

    Project Director:
    Nate Jacobi, Associate Director, Civic Engagement, Center for Experiential Learning

    Project Activities:

    • Summer workshop and monthly conversations
    • Develop Intended Student Learning Outcomes associated with ACE
    • Course development and redevelopment
    • Assessment of ACE courses
    • Faculty survey
    • Exploration of strategies to strengthen and expand ACE at St. Olaf
    • Dissemination of findings

    ACE Assessment and Evaluation Results:

    Narrative Summary of Assessment Results

    Faculty Survey on ACE and Community-based Teaching
         87 responses; administered February 2011

    ACE Student Survey Report: Executive Summary
         239 out of 264 student responses from 14 ACE courses offered during 2010-11

    ACE Student Interviews

    Authored by team of six students in a Qualitative Research Methods course (SOAN 373) after conducting interviews with 41 students who had taken ACE courses in previous semesters.

    Please contact Nate Jacobi (CEL), <jacobi@stolaf.edu>, for more information about this project.