Experiential Learning at S-CAR

On December 5, 2012, the Undergraduate Experiential Learning Project (UELP) in collaboration with the Applied Practice and Theory (APT) course on Experiential Learning hosted a workshop and discussion on topics surrounding experiential learning in the classroom. The workshop began with an activity designed to get practitioners talking about themselves and their experiences with experiential learning activities in their classrooms. After breaking the ice, the participants gathered for an informational presentation on the goals, achievements, and future of the project, led by S-CAR professors Dr. Susan Hirsch and Dr. Agnieszka Paczynska. Graduate Research Assistants who are working on the project also provided their insight and offered their assistance as points of contact for specific experiential learning activities (ELAs) that are being used in the classroom. After the introduction, the workshop continued forward into a focus group activity led by Dr. Andria Wisler, Executive Director at the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown University and the project’s external evaluator. The final section of the workshop attempted to synthesize our experiences through a roundtable discussion on the integration of experiential learning in the classroom.

In addition to this workshop, members of the APT and the UELP teams have been conducting ELAs in classrooms at GMU and other universities. So far, ELAs have been conducted with Lutheran College Washington Semester, a program for visiting students from Lutheran colleges, Northern Virginia Community College (the second largest community college system in the country and a source of many GMU transfer students), Pace University in Brooklyn, and Salisbury University in Maryland. The Salisbury program, directed by Dr. Brian Polkinghorn (an S-CAR graduate), and their team members were able to meet with us to discuss experiential learning and how the two programs might collaborate in the future. There are plans in the fall to continue working with other universities around the country, especially community colleges, to conduct ELAs with students in a variety of programs.

On February 15, 2013, the UELP in collaboration with the APT hosted a workshop and discussion on field-based experiential learning. The workshop was held on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University and was attended by practitioners and educators from both S-CAR and other local institutions that are leading similar courses. The overarching theme of the workshop was to explore how and if theory informs practice, as well as how and if practice informs theory in field-based experiential learning initiatives.

The workshop began with an introduction to the S-CAR model of field-based experiential learning, known as the Service Learning Intensives (SLI), explained by S-CAR faculty member Dr. Patricia Maulden. Specific themes of discussion included dialogue on pedagogical theories, frameworks, challenges, power dynamics and relationships within partnerships in the field, preparing for and coping with stress and emotion during field-based experiential learning trips, and ethical consideration and dilemmas encountered in practice. The remainder of the workshop was split into three sections of discussion groups: pedagogical theories, partnerships in the field, and ethics and stress in the field. The workshop concluded with a group discussion on the future of field-based learning, facilitated by S-CAR faculty member Dr. Arthur Romano. Afterwards, the APT team created a deliverable for participants several weeks after the conclusion of the workshop in the form of a concise blueprint summary of the insights and questions from the workshop and a ‘call for action’ based on the input.