Call for Contributions: Help Us Expand the Community-Engaged Learning Toolkit
My colleagues, Drs. Nathalie Jones, Melanie Sage, and I are excited to invite submissions for an expanded edition of the Professionalism for Community-Engaged Learning Student Workbook and a new Educator’s Guide. This expanded resource will enhance teaching and learning by offering structured assignments, reflective activities, and instructional strategies that prepare students for professionalism in community-based learning.
About the Project
The Professionalism for Community-Engaged Learning Student Workbook is part of the Professionalism for Community-Engaged Learning Toolkit. This Toolkit provides resources and learning activities emphasizing the practical skills and knowledge necessary for novice student learners to thrive in community-engaged learning projects (such as volunteering and service learning) in higher education.
Drawing from Social Work Education and applicable to other fields, this workbook is designed to assist student learners in developing the knowledge and skills essential for a professional demeanor during community-engaged learning projects, concentrating on behavior, appearance, and communication in oral, written, and electronic formats. The workbook includes three sections:
- Before—This section includes assignments based on the knowledge and skills that students will need before engaging with a community-based setting.
- During—This section includes learning activities students can complete while actively participating in volunteering or service learning.
- After—This section includes assignments to help students maintain connections and build a professional portfolio after working in a community-based setting.
The materials focus on key professional competencies such as:
- Professional Online Presence & Digital Literacy
- Workplace Communication & Email Etiquette
- Time Management & Organization
- Teamwork & Group Collaboration
- Giving & Receiving Feedback
- Consulting with a Community-Based Supervisor
- Emotional Awareness & Self-Regulation
- Building a Professional Portfolio & Network
We Invite Submissions in the Following Areas:
We welcome tested assignments, lesson plans, and instructional strategies that align with the workbook’s three phases:
- Before – Preparing students for professionalism in community settings.
- During – Engaging students in active learning and reflection while in the field.
- After – Supporting students in career preparation and long-term professional development.
Submission Types:
✔ Experiential Assignments – Interactive activities designed for service-learning, fieldwork, or community-based projects.
✔ Reflective Prompts & Journals – Guided reflections that help students connect experience to professional identity.
✔ Case Studies & Role-Playing Scenarios – Structured exercises for problem-solving in professional settings.
✔ Technology-Enhanced Learning Activities – Assignments integrating digital tools, online collaboration, or social media for professional engagement.
✔ Assessment Tools – Rubrics, self-assessments, and peer evaluation methods to measure student progress.
Who Should Contribute?
- Faculty teaching service-learning, internships, or professional development courses.
- Educators in social work, public health, nonprofit management, education, and related fields.
- Community professionals who support student learning in applied settings.
Submission Guidelines
📌 Submission Guidelines:
Each submission should adhere to the structure outlined in the Professionalism for Community-Engaged Learning Student Workbook.
- Description of Assignment (50–75 words): Provide a brief overview of the assignment, highlighting its purpose and detailing how it helps students develop professional skills.
- Learning Objectives (2–3 objectives) – Clearly articulate what students will learn and demonstrate after completing the assignment.
- Pre-Check Activity – A short activity or series of questions intended to assess students’ prior knowledge or promote reflection before beginning the assignment.
- Assignment Instructions: Provide clear, step-by-step directions for students and any prompts, questions, or resources necessary to complete the task.
- Self-Check or Reflection – Questions or activities that assist students in evaluating their learning and growth after finishing the assignment.
- Further Reading – Recommended readings, research articles, or online resources that enhance or broaden the assignment topic.
📖 Required: For the Educator’s Guide, please also include:
- Why Is This Assignment Important? (100-200 words) – Discuss its significance to community-engaged learning and the development of professional skills.
- What Are You Teaching with This Assignment? (100-200 words) – Identify the key concepts and competencies covered.
- How to Teach the Assignment (100-200 words): Best practices, instructional strategies, and recommended teaching methods for both online and in-person delivery.
- Practical Tips for the Classroom (100-200 Words) – Advice on implementation, potential challenges, and adaptations for different learning environments.
📅 Submission Deadline: June 30, 2025
📩 Submit via: https://forms.gle/V7A6uA2pWGJb5PNi7
About the Editors/Authors:
Nathalie Passion Jones, PhD, MSW, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at Tarleton State University. Her research interests encompass healthy aging, the mentorship of women in academia, and the use of technology as a teaching tool. In 2017, she was awarded the Kenneth L. “Rock” Clinton Study Abroad Award for her applied learning initiative through service learning in Costa Rica at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Laurel Iverson Hitchcock, PhD, MPH, LICSW, is a Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her work focuses on social work education, technology and social media, interprofessional education, and service-learning pedagogy. In 2012, she received the SAGE/CSWE Award for Innovative Teaching for incorporating social media into her social work courses.
Melanie Sage, PhD, LCSW, owns Sage Training and Consulting, where she trains agencies and their staff to incorporate evidence-based practices in social services, including trauma-informed motivational interviewing, technology, and other best practices. Her career in social work spans 12 years in academia and practical experience in child welfare, the Veterans Administration, crisis hotline work, hospital psychiatric social work, and private practice. As a community-engaged leader, she hosts several MSW students each year for field practicum at her agency.
Writing Tips
- Avoid jargon. Write clearly and use language that a general audience can understand.
- Use active voice to make your writing more engaging and direct.
- Do not worry about formatting for a workshop; we will take care of that.
- You can use AI tools for editing, but ensure your authentic voice remains prominent throughout your responses.
- Responses that are fully AI-generated or lack an engaging narrative may not be chosen for publication.
Ethical Writing
- Adhere to ethical practices when writing your submission—integrity, attribution, competency, and so on.
- Be generous in how you speak about social work scholars, practitioners, and students.
- Where appropriate, provide citations, references, acknowledgments, and links. We use APA style for in-text citations and a reference list.
- Strive for intellectual honesty, balance, and accuracy in your writing.
The fine print
- Grant of Rights: You grant the editors and publishers of “Developing Professional Skills for Community-Engaged Learning” (hereafter referred to as “We” or “Us”) the worldwide, irrevocable right to use, edit, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute your contribution in any format or medium, whether now or hereafter developed.
- Editorial Discretion: We reserve the right to edit, modify, or omit all or any part of your contribution as we deem necessary or appropriate. We are not obligated to publish your contribution in whole or in part.
- Warranties: You warrant that your contribution is your original work, does not infringe on any third party’s rights, and that you have the full right to grant us these permissions.
- Compensation: You understand and agree that you will not receive any monetary compensation for contributing to or having your work published in “Developing Professional Skills for Community-Engaged Learning.”
- Consideration: As consideration for your contribution, if accepted, you will receive one (1) free electronic copy (e-book) of “Developing Professional Skills for Community-Engaged Learning]” upon its publication. This e-book is for your personal use only and may not be resold or distributed.
- Ownership: While you retain the copyright to your original work, you agree that we may use your contribution as described above without additional compensation or attribution beyond what is provided in the published work.
- Release: You release us from any claims related to our use of your contribution as permitted by this agreement.
- Confidentiality: You agree not to share any previews or unpublished content of the book with third parties. This includes your own entry and any other parts of the book you may see during the review process.
By submitting your contribution, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms.
Recognition & Publication
Your byline will be included with your entry and in the table of contents.
We look forward to your contributions and collaboration in shaping this essential resource for community-engaged learning!
Sample Assignment from the Student Workbook:
Dressing as a Professional
Description:
This assignment will teach students to create a dress code for professional settings. It aims to help students identify appropriate dress in various settings, such as the classroom, volunteer placements, and practicum placements.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the assignment, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate professional demeanor in appearance and behavior related to professional dress.
- Use reflection to assess professionalism when presenting in social work settings.
Pre-Check:
The purpose of this pre-check is to enhance your understanding of the importance of appropriate dress in professional environments. Answer the following questions to assess your understanding of how to dress in professional settings:
| Why is it important to dress in a particular manner in professional settings? |
| What are some of the dos and don’ts of dress codes in professional settings? |
| What are some potential situations that might dictate the need to dress more professionally than usual or less professionally than usual when volunteering or engaging with community-based agencies? Consider issues such as safety, hygiene, who you will come in contact with, and the tasks you might be asked to perform. |
| What questions might you have for the agency about appropriate dress in a setting where you might volunteer or engage in practicum activities? How and when would you ask them? |
Assignment:
For this assignment, you will create a generic dress code for students at your institution or your practicum/field placement. Complete the following tasks:
- Conduct an internet search for student dress codes in various professions, including law, nursing, business, public health, teaching, medicine, and occupational therapy. Choose a dress code that appeals to you, as well as one that you do not prefer.
- Identify what parts of the dress code are appropriate for volunteering or participating in a service-learning experience.
- Is there anything you would add to a dress code you did not see in your review? Write down what you learned about dress codes from this review.
| 1. Observations from the dress code I liked: |
| 2. Observations from the dress code I did not like: |
| 3. My additions: |
Write your own dress code for students at your institution to use when volunteering at community-based agencies. Your dress code criteria should include an introduction and examples of appropriate and inappropriate attire. You can use bullet points along with complete sentences.
| 4. My dress code: |
After completing your dress code, share it with a classmate for feedback and offer feedback on their dress code.
| 5. What was the main feedback that you received about your dress code? |
| 6. What was the main feedback you gave about your partner’s dress code? |
Next, using the feedback from your classmate, update your dress code.
| 7. My revised dress code: |
Self-Reflection:
After completing all the other components of the learning task, write a brief reflection (at least 200 and no more than 500 words) answering the following questions:
| What did you learn about professional dress from completing this assignment? |
| 2. Why do you think your instructor asked you to complete this learning task? What is the most important takeaway from this assignment? |
| 3. How can you apply this learning to your future field of interest? |
Further Readings:
Cardon, P. W., & Okoro, E. A. (2009). Professional characteristics communicated by formal versus casual workplace attire. Business Communication Quarterly, 72(3), 355-360.
Lane, J., Rankin, A., Capps, G., Rann, S., & Basel, J. (2019). Closing the gap between college students’ professional attire needs and career readiness. The International Undergraduate Journal for Service-Learning, Leadership, and Social Change, 8(2), 37-44.
Educator’s Note: Dressing as a Professional
Why teach this assignment?
- Students need to identify appropriate dress in various settings – the classroom, volunteer placement settings, and practicum placements.
- Students must know the policies on professional dress at their community-based agency and be prepared to dress professionally.
What are you teaching with this assignment?
- Best practices for dressing professionally while serving with a community partner.
- How to ask questions about the community-based agency’s dress policy.
- Identity basic knowledge related to unprofessional vs. professional dress and exceptions to the daily dress code.
How do you teach the assignment?
- Consider assigning a reading or other resource for students to review before completing this assignment. See the Additional Resources section at the end of the book for suggestions.
- For the pre-check, you can ask students to write out their answers in the workbook or submit them as part of an online assignment. Consider discussing their responses during in-person, large, or small group discussions or as part of an asynchronous discussion forum.
- In advance, know how to access your institution or program’s dress code or locate another dress code. For the assignment, try the following steps: 1) ask students to read through the directions either individually to themselves or out loud as a small group; 2) show students the dress code and how you found it; and 3) ask the students to complete the assignment in the workbook. After completing the assignment, as a group, ask students to share one item from their revised dress code (Item #7).
- For a submission, students should turn in their completed worksheet answers. They can be scanned or submitted as screenshots.
- Students can complete the self-reflection portion of the assignment in class or outside of class.
Practical Tips for the Classroom
- Completing this assignment may cause students to debate the difference between professional and unprofessional dress.
- For online classes, create two discussion forums – one for the precheck and one for responding to the assignment. The reflection can be done as a journal entry. For synchronous online classes, use breakout groups for small group discussion.
- We encourage instructors to consider engaging students in a discussion about how race, ethnicity, and/or gender influence ideas about professional dress. Additionally, ask students to consider the ways that professional dress policies are implemented or enforced.
