Education Commons^™

Enriching The Vision Of Campus Kitchen: A Recipe For Justice, Bryan W. Sokol, Melissa A. Apprill, Liam D. John, Ashlei Peterson

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Campus Kitchen provides an environment that is ripe for community-based, experiential-learning experiences, especially on the topic of Eco-Justice. Student volunteers have substantive opportunities to investigate and promote various food justice and hunger advocacy initiatives, as well as form meaningful personal relationships with those whom they serve. Volunteers are encouraged to learn everything from the practical skills of food preparation to the social forces that underlie food insecurity in the community. Still, many Campus Kitchen participants remain unaware of the seriousness of food waste and “throwaway” cultural attitudes that perpetuate hunger. This paper presents data illustrating the different levels of understanding …

Experiential Learning Across Borders: Virtual Exchange And Global Social Justice, Deniz Gokcora, Raymond Oenbring

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

As the populations of college and university students become more diverse and have more demanding lifestyles, postsecondary institutions are showing greater interest in unconventional and innovative ways to offer students international experiential learning. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), also known as virtual exchange, connects students in two different countries to investigate global realities from a cross-cultural perspective. With international exchange experiences no longer limited to those in certain majors or with financial means, COIL creates more equitable and sustainable access to international engagement. In this study, we describe a COIL exchange between ESL students at the Borough of Manhattan Community …

Designing Service-Learning To Enhance Social Justice Commitments: A Critical Reflection Tool, Michaela Stith, Treniyyah Anderson, Dane Emmerling, David Malone, Kathy Sikes, Patti Clayton, Robert Bringle

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

The COVID-19 pandemic—coupled with ongoing prominent injustice related to race, poverty, healthcare, and education—has highlighted the interlocking and reinforcing nature of systemic oppression. Now more than ever, facilitators of experiential learning are galvanized to explore and deepen their understanding of systemic change and to enhance their teaching of justice concepts, perspectives, and skills.

Advancing social justice was a part of the original vision for service-learning (Stanton et al., 1999). However, scholars have long identified the ways in which service-learning can perpetuate inequitable social hierarchies, be miseducative in teaching simplistic understandings of solutions to social problems, and not equip students to …

Democratic Community As A Public Of Others: Combating Failed Citizenship In Refugees, Susan Haarman

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Excerpt

Fadi¹ was a surgeon for 15 years before he and his family were resettled from Syria to Chicago. Since arriving here, he’s been able to take work as CNA in a nursing home and has been trying to figure out what of his education may be able to transfer so that he can enroll in nursing school. His wife, formerly a CPA, has had more success with gig economy jobs, but her choppy English has led to several failed interviews for full time work. “She’s absolutely fluent in French, but alas we did not arrive there,” (Haarman, 2020). …

Using Liminality To Understand How Identity And Temporary Status Influence Interns’ Vulnerability, Michael A. Odio, Christopher M. Mcleod

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Viewing internships as a transitionary stage (i.e., a liminal space) where interns are shedding their student identity and developing their professional identity provides a useful lens for understanding the experiences of interns and holds implications for social and economic justice. As interns adapt to the temporary and transitionary space of the internship they experience powerlessness, ambiguity, and, in many cases exploitation, sexual harassment, and abuse. The stress and precarity of this status are compounded for interns from marginalized or underrepresented groups that must also conform to the (typically white male and middle class) hegemony of the workplace, all of which …

Promoting Educational Equity: Embedding Transformative Social And Emotional Learning In Experiential Learning, Christine P. Li-Grining, Amanda Roy, Marbella Uriostegui, Maria Radulescu, Zahra Naqi, Amanda Boyer

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Although college enrollment rates among Black and Latinx students have risen, inequities in graduation rates across racial and ethnic groups persist. Guided by the integration of strength-based frameworks, the proposed manuscript will discuss how experiential learning and teaching may serve a dual purpose: helping students enact social change while simultaneously reaching their education goals. The proposed manuscript will integrate the culturally engaging campus environments model with the transformative social-emotional learning (T-SEL) framework. Also, drawing from the existing literature, the proposed manuscript will describe a range of experiential learning activities and how they may involve T-SEL. We then conclude with implications …

Moving From Dialogue To Deliberation About Campus Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion, Chad Raphael

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Campus communities continue to become increasingly diverse as the U.S. grows more sensitized to, yet polarized over, issues of social justice. In response, many institutions of higher learning are placing greater emphasis on students’ experiential learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in co-curricular experiences such as new student orientation and in coursework. Experiential educators can help students forge links between learning about DEI in the co-curriculum and curriculum, and to move from intergroup dialogue to deliberation, which allows student learning to inform institutional learning. This article describes the design, outcomes, and implications of a course on dialogue and deliberation …

Building An Ecosystem Of Diversity Talent Development Through Experiential Learning, Marianna Savoca, Kimberly Dixon, Urszula Zalewski

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Access to professionals and insider knowledge of industry is often limited to students from privileged families, yet most academic support programs focus solely on persistence to graduation. Career readiness through experiential learning has not yet reached strategic importance for these programs. One public research university in the northeast which enrolls a highly diverse student body has created a portfolio of programs to connect underrepresented students with industry partners for career development, experiential learning, mentoring, and networking.

Social Justice Through Service-Learning In Parks & Recreation Management Education, Anne L. Demartini

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This practice-based approach argues service learning can teach social justice in parks & recreation management education. The US parks system creation and history is rooted in injustice. Use of US parks and park service employment remain inequitable today. Significant work must be done in the provision of recreation and park services to all members of the community, including those who have been traditionally marginalized or underserved. The industry requires recreation and parks professionals at all levels who are informed and intentional about inclusion and social justice, which starts with parks and recreation management education.

Service-learning, a form of experiential learning …

"Agents Of Change" – Lessons Learned From The Nation’S First Undergraduate Civil Rights Advocacy Clinic, Kath E. Rogers, Olu K. Orange

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

How can universities support their students in pursuing civil rights activism? In doing so, how can universities prioritize students from marginalized communities who are most affected by justice issues? This paper will explore lessons learned from the nation’s first civil rights clinic at the undergraduate level. Responding to the urgency of our time, the University of Southern California, Dornsife College, launched "Agents of Change: Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative” in January 2021 to support students in addressing civil rights challenges in the Los Angeles community. This paper will discuss the importance of the civil rights activism clinical model at the college …

Fostering Self-Authorship And Changemaking: Insights From A Social Entrepreneurship Practicum, Anke K. Wessels, Sarah J. Brice, Kelsey P. Chan, Emily S. Desmond, Deana Gonzales, Chelsea Lee, Ryan J. Stasolla

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

The question we are explore in this paper is how a collaboration between a practicum-based course and a social enterprise encourages students to examine, discuss, and apply complex social justice concepts and frameworks. We also investigate how this fosters in them a sense of self as changemaker, a form of self-authorship that includes the confidence to tackle justice issues in collaborative and practical ways. Applying the framing of Baxter Magolda’s Learning Partnerships Model, we first describe our experiential pedagogical practice and then illustrate outcomes by drawing exemplars from student reflections. These reflections confirm that a community-based learning practice can support …

Reimagining Scripts For Human And Environmental Justice In Experiential Learning, William F. Heinrich, Benjamin Lauren, Sandra Logan

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This article shares a case study of an experiential learning framework designed specifically for supporting learning in courses focused on human and environmental justice. We argue that our educational practices must substantially change to be accountable to each other as we address social issues and explore societal solutions. Findings from qualitative analyses of student reflective writing led us to a new framework and repeatable pattern for planning and implementing courses with justice-oriented outcomes. Implications for the ways we engage and empower students are considered in light of dominant scripts of power and control in classrooms.

Developing Community Partnerships To Promote Social Justice-Related Learning Outcomes, Hilary Rasmussen

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This case study advances two primary arguments about the relationship between experiential learning and social justice-oriented learning objectives: 1) a first step toward developing strategies and practices that foster justice-related learning outcomes is to partner with organizations that pursue social justice, and 2) effectively teaching social justice in a service-learning experience calls for classroom practices to embody an ethos of social justice in which students sustain a dialogic relationship with the community partner with both parties mutually contributing to the project. I elaborate on best practices for how to achieve clearer assessment of whether students have internalized the goals of …

Fundamentals Of Anthropology As Effective Experiential Learning Strategy To Promote Social Justice, Chelsea G. Abbas

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Experiential learning (EL) as it relates to the social sciences, involves going out into the community to conduct field studies or work with different groups who provide new approaches and collaborative perspectives to student learning. EL relies on the fact that students can communicate with distinct populations and oftentimes bridge cultural, linguistic, racial, generational, or geographical divides. As we emerge from a pandemic-induced social isolation into an increasingly siloed and divided political world, creating generative dialogue and skill sets to promote social activism and empathy for the common good is of utmost importance, especially for college students. Two EL experiences, …

Justice Isn’T One-Size-Fits-All: Working Toward Justice In Service-Learning Courses, Chelsea Lauder, Becca Berkey

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Service-Learning is a form of experiential education and a teaching tool that can both enhance student learning outcomes and contribute to community goals. When this type of learning intersects with social justice education, or liberatory education, different types of student outcomes may arise; specifically, those contributing to the development of social and critical consciousness. In this thought piece on praxis, we conduct a content analysis of multiple first- and second- year service-learning courses to determine if there is an observable difference in the development of student social consciousness and commitment as it pertains to the extent to which justice is …

Implementing An Experiential Learning Program Focused On Civic Leadership To Produce Social Justice Outcomes, Glenn A. Bowen, Courtney A. Berrien

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This article describes a civic learning and leadership development program aimed at cultivating civic mindedness and preparing students for social change roles in community settings. Participating students tackle social issues as viewed through a systemic change lens; they explore the root causes of specific social issues and then work collaboratively with community partners to address those issues. The program’s student learning outcomes assessment has shown that participants generally become civic-minded graduates, with the demonstrable capacity and desire to work with others for social change. The authors explain the practice-based approach to the program, summarize social justice outcomes, and delineate program …

Editorial Board

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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Making Explicit Connections Between Experiential Learning And Justice: New Approaches To Teaching And Learning Through An Imagination For Justice, Patrick M. Green

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Excerpt

Beyond simply being a form of active learning, experiential learning, in its many iterations, has been promoted as a philosophy, a community development model, a theory, a professional skill training opportunity, a global education and civic development approach, and a pedagogical strategy that leads to deep, high impact learning. Indeed, experiential learning has become increasingly specialized in the last several decades with the evolution of numerous sub-fields, such as study abroad and global immersion programs, outdoor education programs, community-based learning (both domestic and global service-learning), internship and work-integrated learning, undergraduate research experiences, and a myriad of other high-impact learning …

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Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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The Experiencing Scale: An Experiential Learning Gauge Of Engagement In Learning, Karen L. Stock, David Kolb

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

A major premise of experiential learning practices is that experience is necessary for learning, yet our understanding of the concept of experience and its role in learning remains unclear. This study examines the experiencing process in experiential learning and formulates a conceptual foundation for the experiencing concept that integrates insights from four contemporary traditions of experiencing research: Focusing, Flow, Mindfulness and Absorption. Empirical validation is tested with the construction of The Experiencing Scale, a self-reported gauge of one’s level of experiencing in a given context. The Experiencing Scale instrument was distributed to undergraduate students following participation in an experiential classroom …

Building Cultural Competency Among Emerging Public Health Professionals: Student Experiences In Panama, Matthew Fifolt, Meena Nabavi, Erika L. Austin, Lisa C. Mccormick

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

One of the prerequisite skills of effective public health and health practitioners is cultural competency. Cultural competency, however, requires a deep and profound understanding of individuals who are shaped by different life experiences than one’s own. Previous authors have described study abroad and service-learning as established strategies for enhancing cultural competency among emerging health professionals. This article describes how students made meaning of an international study abroad experience in Panama through analysis of student-produced work including reflective journal entries, blog posts, and photo journaling.

In summer 2019, 13 undergraduate and graduate students participated in a four-week travel course to explore …

Communities Of Practice In Academic Administration: An Example From Managing Undergraduate Research At A Research-Intensive University, Sophie Pierszalowski, Gabs James, Grace Fetherstonhaugh, Itchung Cheung, Patrick Chappell, Jennifer Engels, Dwaine Plaza, Stephanie Ramos, Daniel López-Cevallos

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Inspired by the need to connect virtually during COVID-19 operations, a community of practice for facilitators of undergraduate research experiences was initiated at our university. Weekly virtual meetings quickly expanded to fill an unmet need for cross-campus support of research experiences more generally, including clarification of liability concerns, best practices for crafting inclusive application materials, culturally competent mentorship, and the abrupt transition to online research experiences. The resulting synergy of ideas also yielded significant new initiatives including an anti-racist research curriculum, federal grant proposals, and campus-wide outreach activities. The community of practice has continued to evolve with a sustainability focus, …

Exploring The Catalyst Energizing The Kolb Learning Cycle, Marc Behrendt, Krisanna Machtmes

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

This paper reveals an interconnectedness of three unrelated free-standing but validated models: Kolb’s model of experiential learning, Hidi and Renninger’s model of interest development, and National Research Council’s ecological framework of an experience. The physical, academic, and social aspects define the quality of the experience. The interest stimulated by the experience drives Kolb’s learning cycle. The learning cycle will continue as long as interest is maintained. Together, these three models describe the quality of the experience, the cyclic processing of the experience to create knowledge, and the force driving the cycle.

Coaching And Experiential Learning In An Mba Leadership Certificate Program, Stephanie Thomason, Kamilla Andersen

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

In turbulent economic times, tuition-driven universities often search for impactful ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Differentiators may be particularly important in MBA programs, which are among the more lucrative academic offerings. The present study tracked participant reflections from the coaching component of an MBA leadership certificate program through Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (concrete experience, reflections, abstract conceptualizations, active experimentation) and the coaches’ roles during the cycle as educators. We paired participants with professional coaches and community leaders so they could create and achieve their goals and action plans. During their time meeting with their coaches (concrete experiences), 70 …

Entrepreneurship Education And Experiential Learning In Higher Education, Sophia N. Koustas, Elham Shahidi Salehi

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Entrepreneurship education (EE) and experiential learning can be delivered in several ways depending on the program design, the course's purpose, and the learning outcomes. With the distinct stages of doing, observing, thinking, and planning, Kolb's experiential learning theory is favored in EE. Additionally, EE programs and courses can be categorized in the three instructional themes of teaching about, for, or through entrepreneurship. Each theme offers a particular purpose, unique learning objectives, specific teaching methodology, and different student engagement levels. Due to the various references to EE, this exploratory qualitative study presents five selected entrepreneurship project course examples at Southern New …

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Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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Table Of Contents

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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Editor's Note, Mario D'Agostino

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

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