Civic and Community Engagement in the Classroom
Discover how ISU supports civic and community engagement through classroom experiences that build critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and communication skills.
Classrooms that engage students with real-world, community-based, and societal issues serve as powerful spaces for learning. In these environments, students not only deepen their understanding of complex social challenges but also build essential skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. This kind of engagement prepares them not just for their careers and professional success, but also to become informed, ethical, and engaged members of their communities and lifelong learners.
Civic engagement involves developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and promoting the quality of life through both political and non-political processes. There are several ways for students to develop the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that contribute to communities and society. This resource outlines several types of engagement promoted at Illinois State and shares specific classroom examples.
Embed Different Types of Civic Engagement in Course Design
Civic engagement at Illinois State is defined by our colleagues at the Center for Civic Engagement as the development of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to improve community life through political and non-political means. The university classifies civic engagement into nine types and has provided robust examples from actual courses or student projects. It is important to note that these categories are not mutually exclusive and often overlap.
The types of civic engagement outlined include:
Facilitate Deliberate Dialogues
Plan to Monitor and Evaluate Civic Learning
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Assessing civic learning in college involves evaluating how well students develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and participation necessary for informed and engaged community membership. Curricular Assessment and Evaluation resources outlined by the Center for Civic Engagement include the Civically Engaged Learning Goals, assessment tools, and surveys.
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The Campus Compact Syllabus Library features hundreds of courses that integrate civic and community engaged learning across a wide range of disciplines. Campus Compact supports universities to advance their academic and civic missions.
Connect with a Community of Civically Engaged Educators
The Center for Integrated Professional Development, in collaboration with the Center for Civic Engagement, helps faculty incorporate civic engagement into their courses. Services include:
Additional Resources
Center for Civic Engagement
The Center for Civic Engagement helps coordinate the many, diverse civic engagement projects that occur every semester at Illinois State University. It can help connect instructors with learning opportunities in the community. The Center for Civic Engagement also partners with University Marketing to produce Redbird Impact, a biannual publication (in print and online) showcase community engagement.
Colby, A., Beaumont, E., Ehrlich, T., & Corngold, J. (2010). Educating for democracy: Preparing undergraduates for responsible political engagement (Vol. 19). John Wiley & Sons.
Jacoby, B. (2015). Service-learning essentials: questions, answers, and lessons learned (First edition.). Jossey-Bass.
Shaffer, T. J., Longo, N. V., Manosevitch, E., & Thomas, M. S. (Eds.). (2017). Deliberative pedagogy: Teaching and learning for democratic engagement. Michigan State University Press.
Written by Dana Karraker, Assistant Director for Educational Development Programs, Center for Integrated Professional Development. Last updated 10/21/2025