Community Engagement

Building a Foundation through Service Learning

As part of Tufts' mission to promote civic engagement and community leaders, Tufts Department of Occupational Therapy has community partnerships with local agencies to facilitate students learning through service.

Education for Active Citizenship involves demonstrating a commitment to gaining the knowledge, skills, and values needed to effectively participate in the process of building a better world. Examples of service learning outcomes that can come from civic engagement include:

  • Building ethical reasoning
  • Practicing critical thinking
  • Applying theory to action
  • Facilitating constructive dialogue amongst stakeholders
  • Working effectively as part of a team
  • Considering one's own values, motivations, and passions about being an agent of change
  • Exploring differences
  • Displaying a willingness for continuous learning and improvement

There will be numerous opportunities through coursework for you to actively engage in the learning and growth that emanates from the transformative process of service learning.

Learning in a real-world context allows students to:

  • Develop meaningful collaborative relationships
  • Learn about the population they are serving
  • Add to their knowledge of community systems and service
  • Challenge their creativity and try out new ideas
  • Explore and expand their marketability
  • Apply what they are learning to real-life, practical situations