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Question:
Dear Advisor,

I am a PhD Candidate and instructor at the University of Toronto (Canada). I am designing an undergraduate course on Community Service Learning and Health Policy for the Fall Semester. One of the key areas that need to be included in community service delivery and program evaluation. I am wondering if I could use some of your resources for lectures and in-class activities, and whether or not you could suggest a list of references that I could provide for students.

Thanking you in advance for your time and support,

J. Cristian Rangel
Answer:

Cheers Cristian,
 
Thank you for visiting the Community Tool Box (CTB) and Ask an Advisor, I hope we can provide you with answers that are useful and directly applicable as you design this course. Well, in a word, absolutely, that's what the CTB is designed for, resources you can use as you see fit; it's all there for you and by extension, your students. I have to say this is quite an exciting proposition and it's fantastic that you're getting undergraduates involved in both community work and program evaluation, two of my passions.
 
I think I can best advise you by calling your attention to specific resources from which you can draw course materials; I will say up front that I don't have a list of references at hand, but that doesn't mean they're not in the CTB, you'll have to root around a bit by using the search function - all apologies.
 
First, if you look across the top of our home page you'll notice a number of buttons. The button on the immediate left, "Learn A Skill" provides access to all 46 chapters and 16 toolkits. For your purposes I think the sections entitled: "Analyzing Community Problems and Designing and Adapting Community Interventions- Information about analyzing community problems to design, choose, and adapt interventions for different cultures and communities" including chapters 17 - 19 and toolkits 3 and 7; "Implementing Promising Community Interventions - Information on illustrative interventions using various strategies for change" including chapters 20 - 26 and toolkits 7 and 11; and "Evaluating Community Programs and Initiatives - Information on developing a plan for evaluation, evaluation methods, and using evaluation to understand and improve the initiative" including chapters 36 - 39 and toolkit 12 will be of greatest use - at least a point of departure. Each chapter is divided into specific sections and within sections there are, in many cases, checklists, tools, examples, and a PowerPoint presentation. I won't lie to you, it will take some time to sift through and find what you need, but it will be worth the effort. You can even provide your students with direct access to that which you find rather than handing out course materials.
 
Second, the next button, moving right, is "Help Taking Action." I think a "Model for Getting Started"and "Best Change Processes"would be useful as part of your introductory lectures, To assist you in designing the course or resources for later lectures, the "Database of Best Practices" and our 8 module online course will come in handy. You could, if you wanted, integrate any of the modules directly into your course; why reinvent the wheel if there is a proven resource available?
 
Last, the third button from the left at the top of the page is "Connect" in which you will find our "YouTube Channel" and a resource which really brings community building and development to life called "Community Stories" truth be told, this is my favorite section of the CTB because the stories are so inspiring and illustrate what can be done to improve the human condition; I hope this will hook your students on community work. If you're going to have a Smart Cart in your classroom then either or both resources would be fantastic to inform and stimulate in-class discussions; if I was one of your students I'd be pretty excited about this.
 
Okay Cristian, I hope that helps you and informs your thinking about the curriculum and activities for this most important course. With that, I thank you for visiting the CTB and for your great question. If you don't find our reply satisfactory, please visit us again and we'll work together to come up with a better answer/solution. Be well, take care.
 
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Question Date: Jue, 05/12/2016