CBL Faculty Fellow Named

Patricia A. Wisniewski, Ed.D., OTR/L, is a faculty specialist in the Department of Occupational Therapy at The University of Scranton. Over the past 10 years, she has taught an occupational therapy course that has community-based learning as a component/requirement within the course. She earned an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in educational technology from the University of South Carolina and is a certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialist and a CarFit trainer, event coordinator and technician.

Dr. Wisniewski partners with multiple organizations, and during her fellowship will be focusing on building upon an ongoing community based learning collaboration with the Autism Collaborative Center for Excellence for her OT 575 Community Practice in Occupational Therapy course. Graduate occupational therapy students provide community-based skill development groups for pediatric and/ or adolescent/young adults who have autism or other related disabilities.

Patricia A. Wisniewski, Ed.D., OTR/L

“Engaging in CBL projects transformed my occupational therapy students’ worldviews about existing societal issues that prevent individuals and populations from achieving health and wellness, provided actionable insights for the community partners, and gave the students a new perspective on what navigating spaces may be like for community members with diverse needs. The occupational therapy students learned about the importance of resolving health and social disparities in the community and embraced their moral civic and professional responsibility to promote occupational justice by advocating for occupational rights that respect individuals’ and populations’ dignity, humanity and inclusion.”

Participation in the Community-Based Learning Faculty Fellow program is open to all full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members with up to four faculty fellows selected each academic year. The selection of faculty fellows is based on the merit of the community-based learning component of the proposed course or project, the service/scholarly/teaching credentials and/or promise of the faculty member, the ability of the faculty member to contribute to strengthening the University’s community-based learning initiative, the degree to which the faculty member will benefit from the fellowship, and the extent to which it benefits the external community.

Community-Based Learning Faculty Fellows commit to attending a series of monthly meetings and presenting on their course/ project. The fellowship offers faculty an opportunity to modify an existing course, design a new course, or create a curricularbased/discipline-oriented project with a community-based learning component. Over the course of the year, faculty fellows have opportunities to build strong relationships with their community partner organizations, engage in scholarship on community-based learning, present on their experiences, and serve as communitybased learning mentors to other faculty members.

Applications will be available again in winter 2023 for the 2023-2024 academic year. For more information on the Office of Community-Based Learning and the Community-Based Learning Faculty Fellows program, please visit www.scranton.edu/CBL or email Community-Based Learning Faculty Coordinator Dr. Debra Fetherman at debra.fetherman@scranton.edu.