Portfolio

Portrait of Keenan Jackson, a smiling white bald middle-age man with pink glasses.

Keenan Jackson (he/they)

Let’s connect if you’re building learning experiences that need clarity, structure, or a fresh perspective.

✉ keenan.edu@proton.me

Cohort-Based Digital Course

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Community-Engaged Research @ Harvard Medical School

Digital collage of video series set in red, blue, and orange color blocks, and another video still on the right with the text 'community-engaged research' on screen, with a Harvard Catalyst logo below.

I operated the Community‑Engaged Research course from 2022 to 2024, supporting a program designed for both researchers and community partners. The course builds skills for effective collaboration, explores community‑oriented research aims and practices, and creates space for shared discussion on trust, challenges, and equitable engagement.

What I Built

The course prepares participants to engage in research that reflects community priorities and strengthens trust between academic institutions and the communities they serve. My work focused on improving the learning experience, refining content based on data, and supporting faculty and teaching fellows in delivering a consistent, accessible offering.

  • Operated the course for three consecutive years (2022–2024)
  • Delivered year‑over‑year gains in satisfaction and retention
  • Refined content to better support both researchers and community partners
  • Strengthened alignment between faculty, teaching fellows, and operations

My Role

  • Led course operations, including timelines, LMS setup, and learner communications
  • Recruited, coached, and managed teaching fellows
  • Collaborated with faculty to refine content and instructional approach
  • Implemented data‑informed improvements to structure, pacing, and assessments
  • Ensured accessibility, clarity, and consistency across modules

Course Structure

The course consists of three self‑paced online modules taken over two months. Each module includes short instructional videos, participant discussions, and applied activities that help learners understand how to design and conduct research in partnership with communities.

  • Video lectures with guided questions and transcripts
  • Discussion‑based activities that surface shared challenges and perspectives
  • Applied exercises focused on collaboration, ethics, and community partnership
  • Perspectives from researchers and community members on inclusive research
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Select Course Practice Resources

Worksheets and Planning Aids 
Harvard Medical School

The course includes select printable take‑aways designed to support applied learning and real‑world collaboration. These resources give participants structured ways to plan engagement activities, reflect on partnership dynamics, and translate course concepts into practice.

These resources are available as downloadable PDFs within the course and are designed for use by both researchers and community partners.

Impact

  • Consistent increases in satisfaction and retention across 2022–2024
  • Clearer, more accessible learning experience through iterative refinement
  • Improved alignment between faculty, teaching fellows, and course operations
  • More actionable exercises supporting real‑world community‑engaged research

How It Scales

  • Structure supports future modularization or on‑demand conversion
  • Teaching fellow workflows can be reused across similar research‑focused courses
  • Data‑informed improvement model applies to other digital offerings
  • Content architecture supports expansion into additional community‑engaged topics

Links

Community-Engaged Research enrollment page