Browsing by Subject "Community engagement"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    2024-2033 Minnesota Drinking Water Action Plan Community Engagement Feedback Report
    (2024-03-01) Mahr, Heron
    The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is developing a ten-year Drinking Water Action Plan that will guide Minnesota’s drinking water management from 2024-2033. The aim of this plan is to regulate safe and reliable drinking water supplies throughout Minnesota, with an emphasis on equitable access. The Drinking Water Action Plan is being created with input from drinking water professionals and consumers. This report details the feedback collected from consumers during community engagement sessions across the state. The objective of these sessions was to further water equity in Minnesota by gathering public opinions through survey questions and engaged dialogue.
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    Crossing boundaries: understanding what factors encourage undergraduate students to interact with people different from themselves
    (2013-11) Kuhl, Michelle Wittcoff
    This study examines factors that are related to openness to diversity among undergraduate college students. Openness to diversity is increasingly viewed as a desirable student-learning outcome in universities. The factors investigated here in relation to students' openness to diversity are level of academic challenge and community engagement. Four institutional samples from the 2009 National Survey on Student Engagement were analyzed. Results show that both academic challenge and community engagement, as well as some personal characteristics, are related to being more open to diverse people. This study contributes to the understanding of how universities can use curriculum, policy and best practices to develop experiences that will help students to become more open to diverse people.
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    Engagement: Outreach librarianship and connecting with your community
    (2019) Chew, Katherine V
    Outreach librarians connect with a wide range of people. They serve a variety of people based on the environment, community and the population which their library seeks to serve. Understanding what outreach means is the first critical step in a successful library outreach program. All parties involved need to have a clear concept of what outreach means to their staff and institution, whether it is raising awareness of library services and resources, educational, or creating community. Successful outreach initiatives often include groups that would not or cannot come to the physical library for library services, reaching those in need at their off-site locations. This session will cover the various definitions of library outreach, both public and academic, how to develop goals around outreach programming and the types of library outreach (there are at least six) including non-traditional approaches to outreach. The session will also cover what goes into planning an outreach program and methods of assessment and if time permits, funding and connecting with community partners.
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    Equity, Joy, And Genius: Creating Culturally Responsive Mathematics Inspired by the North Minneapolis Community
    (2022-08) Forrester, Jessica
    There is an increasing demand for change in mathematics education to combat deficit-based assumptions towards students of color and promote culturally affirming learning environments (Celedón-Pattichis et al., 2018). Equity-centered mathematics research provides a powerful opportunity to resist these deficit constructions towards marginalized youth and encourage the development of educators who appreciate diverse cultures, implement inclusive teaching practices, and imagine strategies for challenging existing barriers (Rubel, 2017; Samuels, 2018). This qualitative study centered culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2002), asset-based community development (Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993), and community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) to contextualize mathematics learning for an after-school tutoring program in North Minneapolis, Prepare2Npsire. The aim of this research was to use a community-based participatory action research approach to: 1) explore the culture wealth of North Minneapolis, 2) create culturally responsive mathematics activities for Prepare2Nspire, and 3) observe and engage with students while they complete the activities. Kretzmann and McKnight’s (1993) asset-based community development framework was utilized to categorize community assets into individuals, citizens’ associations, and local institutions. One connecting theme throughout the data was community support for youth. Two activities were developed to center community assets and youth empowerment. The goal of these activities was to strengthen community, curriculum, and classrooms by intentionally connecting students’ multidimensional identities with mathematical learning. The emphasis on participatory, community-based, and action-oriented practices in this study encouraged the disruption of deficit-based assumptions of communities while also creating joy-filled learning opportunities for Prepare2Nspire attendees. The findings, implications, and future directions suggest that acknowledging community assets during mathematical teaching and learning can impact students’ identity development, skills development, intellect, criticality, and joy. Educators must take the necessary steps to strengthen their practice through culturally, historically, and community responsive teaching practices to affirm the beauty and brilliance students bring to the classroom.
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    Green Stormwater Infrastructure Code Audits: Updating Local Regulatory Structures for a Changing Climate
    (2024-03) Carlson, Jessy R; Hinds, Juli Beth; Rodman, Madison G; Sprague, Tiffany A
    The impacts of climate change, such as increasingly intense storms and more frequent floods, mean regulatory frameworks designed to manage stormwater runoff in previous decades may no longer be effective; codes and ordinances may inadvertently prohibit or inhibit the use of nature-based approaches to managing stormwater runoff. To adapt to current and projected climate change scenarios, local governments need updated regulatory frameworks that effectively manage stormwater runoff in a changed climate. Adapting local regulations to promote systematic use of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and other nature-based solutions is a key strategy that can contribute to the development of resilient, climate-adapted communities. We worked with ten urban and rural municipalities across the Duluth area to conduct code audits and assist with designing and accomplishing community-specific GSI objectives, and we are currently expanding this project to include Lake and Cook Counties. These participating communities display a diverse array of geographical and demographic characteristics. However, after working with these communities’ technical staff and elected representatives to assess their regulatory structures and internal policies for areas that could be updated to prepare for increased heavy precipitation events, we have noted some important themes regarding needs, challenges, and opportunities that cut across the region. This poster will share what we are hearing from these communities and whether these themes point to emerging climate adaptation needs in Northeast Minnesota.
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    Waging Relevance, Black Studies and Community Engagement
    (2023-08) Steele, Vanessa
    The current trend among conservative politicians to erase Black history and ban books by Black authors from public schools and libraries in states like Florida and Texas is the latest in a long history of assaults on the civil rights and education of Black people. Laws like Florida’s Individual Freedom Act, (H.R. 7/S.B. 148, 2022), commonly known as the Stop WOKE Act, illuminate the persistent need for Black studies in P-16 schools and in community spaces. According to Senator Bobby Powell (District 24), “[the law] essentially prohibits instruction on race relations or diversity that imply a person’s status as either privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by his or her race, color, national origin, or sex” (Powell, 2023, p. 1). Under this law schools and workplaces are ban from, “subjecting any student or employee to training or instruction that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individuals to believe specified concepts constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin” (Individual Freedom Act, H.R. 7/S.B. 148, 2022). As Black studies celebrates more than 55 years in the academy, the role that community engagement plays in the field’s sustainability and relevance to local Black communities is an important consideration. The impact of external and internal forces on the field’s formation and expansion are important to consider when examining its relevance and sustainability over time. Understanding the ways in which community engagement manifests in Black studies is vital to understanding the field’s role in Black education and in addressing real world problems. This dissertation research study examines the relevancy of Black studies at the local level by exploring community engagement in one Black studies department in the US. The following research question guides this study: What is the role of engaged praxis in sustaining the relevance of Black studies units to local Black communities as well as in their universities? For the past two decades, Black studies scholars have been challenging the field to transform into a new phase of globalization and collaboration, a phase that facilitates diasporic scholarship and engagement (Alkalimat, 2022; Manning, 2000). To capture the depth and breadth of this transformation, investigating formations of the field and conducting comparative studies are paramount (Bracey, 2011; Rogers, 2012; Vargas, 2008). A predominance of the literature on Black studies ignores the praxis of community engagement to focus more on theoretical exchanges about scholarship and activism. An interrogation of the role of Black studies in the broader context of education and how it generates meaningful engagement in local Black communities is in order. The purpose of this study is to broaden and deepen frameworks for community engagement in higher education at the unit level, explore the experiences of university and community-based partners who perform the work of engaged praxis, and consider Black studies units as relevant “counter centers” within higher education institutions that can engage Black communities in authentic ways to address problems that matter to local community members (Rojas, 2007). An examination of how Black studies units wage and negotiate their relevance with local Black communities is critical for understanding the field’s impact and sustainability. The study utilized a theoretical framework to center engaged praxis, the unique ways in which Black studies units perform community engagement and examines how a Black studies unit in the Midwest has negotiated its relevance in local Black communities. Qualitative methods were used to center the experiences and perspectives of Black studies professors, staff members, alumni and community-based partners that were involved in engaged praxis projects. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews (Rubin & Rubin, 2012), archival documents and newspapers. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Miles, et al., 2019). The study findings reveal that engaged praxis is vital for the Black Studies unit in this case to achieve and sustain relevancy within its local Black community and university in differing and sometimes conflicting ways. The findings reveal a greater complexity to the relationships that inform engaged praxis work between universities and Black communities. This study serves to broaden and deepen frameworks for reconsidering Black studies as relevant organizational “counter centers” (Rojas, 2007, p. 220) that engage authentically in Black communities in ways that matter to local community members and address real-world problems. The study has implications for future models and methods for community engagement and Black studies.