51ÁÔĆć

If you are a department that is interested in hosting a conversation about experiential learning in your discipline or area, please consider this Experiential Learning Discussion Facilitators Guide, and let us know how the conversation goes.

Not sure you are ready to facilitate the discussion? Invite the co-conveners of the 51ÁÔĆć Experiential Learning Working Group, Paul Roebber from Innovative Weather Center and Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and/or Laurie Marks from the Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research. We will work with you to schedule the meeting when one of us can be there.

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Facilitators Guide to lead a discussion within an academic or administrative department on experiential learning at 51ÁÔĆć

51ÁÔĆć sits in Wisconsin’s urban and economic center, and thus we are surrounded by corporations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and school systems that can serve as a “classroom” outside of the classroom for our students. Further, 51ÁÔĆć is already deeply rooted in the Milwaukee community, and leads the way amongst Milwaukee institutions of higher education in terms of community partnership.

This positioning offers a real opportunity for 51ÁÔĆć to become a destination campus for student looking to do various forms of experiential learning such as internships, practicums, applied research, service learning, cooperatives, artist residency programs, field placements, and more. So much of this currently exists on our campus, however it is currently not packaged and presented in 51ÁÔĆć’s marketing material as part of our overarching identity, and we do not provide departments opportunities for professional development to ensure best practices in EL.

Making 51ÁÔĆć a destination campus for experiential learning can:

• Increase enrollment
• Increase student retention
• Make our students better connected and networked in professional communities
• Increase our roll in meeting Milwaukee’s workforce needs
• Provide our students with better professional soft skills upon graduation

Each department at 51ÁÔĆć should discuss how they can be part of this important and growing pedagogical practice by discussing the following:

• What does/might experiential learning look like in our field?
• Who is doing it in our field? How? Are there other related fields that are doing it?
• Are we doing EL in our department/program? If so, who and how?
• If not, is it a good idea for us?
• What could be done to integrate EL more into our academic programming?

Kolb’s Theory of Experiential Learning

(Adapted from )

According to David Kolb, “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (1984, p.38). One of the important cornerstones of experiential learning is the process of “reflective observation”, where a learner consciously looks back on the experience. Kolb offers a theoretical framework for the experiential learning cycle, as shown and described below.

1. “Do” – The learning has a CONCRETE EXPERIENCE, where they actively experience an activity (field work, for example).
2. “Observe” – The learner consciously REFLECTS back on the experience.
3. “Think” – In stage three the learner engages in ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALIZATION, where they attempt to conceptualize a theory or model based on what has been observed.
4. “Plan” – In the last stage the learner engages in ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION where devise a way to test a model or theory or plan for a future experience.

Reference

Kolb, David A. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Types of Experiential Learning

• Apprenticeships – Apprenticeships provide students an opportunity to try out a job, usually with an experienced
  professional in the field to act as a mentor.
• Internships – Internships provide students with an opportunity to test the waters in a career field and also gain some
  valuable work experience. Internships can be for credit, not for credit, paid, or unpaid.
• Field Experience / Placements – Field work allows students to explore and apply content learned in the classroom in a
  specified field experience away from the classroom. Field work experiences bridge educational experiences with an
  outside community that can range from neighborhoods and schools to anthropological dig sites and laboratory settings.
• Fellowship – Provide tuition or aid to support the training of students for a period of time. They are usually made by
  educational institutions, corporations, or foundations to assist individuals pursuing a course of study or research.
• Practicums – Practicums often a required component of a course of study and place students in a supervised and often
  paid situation. Students develop competencies and apply previously studied theory and content, such as school library
  media students working in a high school library or marketing majors working in a marketing research firm.
• Simulations / Gaming – When used as part of a course, simulations and gaming/role-playing aim to imitate a system,
  entity, phenomenon, or process. They attempt to represent or predict aspects of the behavior of the problem or issue
  being studied. Simulation can allow experiments to be conducted within a fictitious situation to show the real behaviors
  and outcomes of possible conditions.
• Service-Learning – course-based, credit-bearing educational experience that allows students to (a) participate in an
  organized service activity that meets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to
  gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic
  responsibility.
• Student Teaching – Student teaching provides candidates with an opportunity to put into practice the knowledge and
  skills they have been developing in the preparation program. Student teaching typically involves an on-site experience in a
  partner school and opportunities for formal and informal candidate reflection on their teaching experience.
• Cooperatives – competitive industry leaders and higher education institutions “cooperating” with one another to provide
  hands-on work experience to full-time actively enrolled students within a degree seeking program, while simultaneously
  receiving vital assistance from student interns to complete company projects and initiatives.
• Study Abroad – Study abroad offer students a unique opportunity to learn in another culture, within the security of a host
  family and a host institution carefully chosen to allow the transfer of credit to a student’s degree program.
• Clinical Experiences – Clinical experiences provide hands-on experiences of a predetermined duration directly tied to an
  area of study, such as nursing students participating in a hospital-based experience or child development and teacher
  education students participating in day care and classroom settings.
• Undergraduate Research – Undergraduate research is increasingly common at universities across all disciplines. With
  strong support from the National Science Foundation and the research community, scientists are reshaping their courses
  to connect key concepts and questions with students’ early and active involvement in systematic investigation and
  research. The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical observation, cutting-edge
  technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions.
• Course-based, Applied Projects – Class projects that allow students to work independently or in groups in an applied
  manner, often with real-world application.