Abstract
While stakeholders agree on the value and importance of experiential learning, it is up to individual institutions and programs to set goals and create structures and offerings to support them (Alamri, Lowell, Watson, & Watson, 2020). Community members, partner-agencies, foundations, and industries are all eager to tap into the best that students can offer. As such, employers are prioritizing customized student experiences (Pitt, Bell, Strickman, & Davis, 2019), recognizing that uniform degrees are no longer sufficient to evaluate potential, and wanting evidence of applicants’ worthiness for professional investment. As a new way of thinking, a new experiential learning (NEL) and a “customized student experience” with an emphasis on “doing”, create a new, dynamic, and flexible structure that places undergraduate students at the center of their learning—empowering them to explore and access the full breadth of relationships, expertise, and engagement with potential employers in the community. After efficiently tracking and analyzing students’ learning successes and retention through an optimized engagement and capacity building through community service, internship, research, and study abroad opportunities, the results of this program confirm previous findings and provide new information about the functionalities that comprise a uniquely comprehensive model for high-impact experiential learning.
Presenters
Dan NyarongaProfessor, Psychology and Human Development, SUNY Empire State University, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Adult, Community, and Professional Learning
KEYWORDS
Experiential, Learning, Community, Service, Internship, Study, Abroad, Student, Experiences
