2013 Integrative and Experiential Education Series

This is Real Life: Integrating Experiential Learning into the Classroom

Presenters:

Troy Glover (Recreation and Leisure Studies)
Sharon Mair (Student from REC 220)

Research has shown that students are motivated to learn when they perceive course concepts and theories to be relevant to real-life. Providing students with opportunities to apply concepts and theories learned through coursework is an excellent way to help make course content more meaningful and more easily understood. Experiential learning can help expose and clear up misconceptions, and can facilitate the transfer of classroom learning to problem-solving in different contexts. In this session, Troy Glover described how collaborating with a community partner provided students in his Rec 220: Program Management and Evaluation course the opportunity to apply course theory and content to designing, delivering, and evaluating an actual program. In doing so, students were able to engage with the course material in a way that was personally meaningful to them. Additionally, students were able to demonstrate what they learned in class, moving the assessment beyond simply testing for knowledge.

Resources:

Eyler, J. (Fall 2009). The power of experiential education. Liberal Education, 94(4).
Theall, M. (2012). Idea item # 11: Related course material to real-life situations.

Bringing Experiential Learning into the Classroom: Teaching with Simulations

Presenters:

Veronica Kitchen (Political Science)
Istvan Szepesi (Student)

Simulations and games are one way to bring experiential learning into classroom situations where going out into the field may be difficult or impossible. Like other forms of experiential learning, simulations put students into situations where they must learn by doing, or apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom to new situations. Based on experiences with simulations in an International Relations classroom, Veronica Kitchen discussed how to find or plan simulations, and how to integrate them into your courses. Her student, Istvan Szepesi, discussed how the student experience is changed by the inclusion of games and simulations.

Listen to an interview with Veronica Kitchen

Resources:

Victor Asal (2005). Playing Games with International Relations. International Studies Perspectives 6(3), 359-373.
Chris Silva (2012). The Impact of Simulations on Higher-Level Learning. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(2), 397–422.

Witches, Wives, and Whores: Real Research and Creative Outcomes

Presenters:

Greta Kroeker, (History)
Rebecca McAlpine (History 347 student)
Zoe Miller (History 347 student)

What do an apron, a necklace, a wooden birthing stool, a traditional wedding ceremony, and an Early Modern European witch trial and “burning at the stake” enactment have in common?

They are all artifacts created by students as part of a semester long project in Greta Kroeker’s History 347 “Witches, Wives and Whores” course, a course that examines the lives of women during the time period from 1450 to 1750.

The course is open to both history and non-history students, and the semester long project is driven by the students’ questions and personal interests. Greta has designed course activities that require students to take an active role in their learning, build on their critical thinking and research skills and engage deeply with course content in way that is personally meaningful to them. In an effort to teach students to empathize with others and make history relevant, Greta wanted the course activities to appeal to the student diversity in her class by allowing students to follow their own interests and the things that excite them as a learners and scholars, and to do so using academically sound sources and methods, and then have the students present what they have learned in whatever way they think will work. Her course activities are a blend of traditional scholarship with experiential learning.

Read a Teaching Story about Greta Kroeker