The Experiential Learning Continuum at Williams

The Williams approach to experiential learning is inclusive, academically rigorous, and holistic. We encourage and support the use of any of the experiential learning approaches in the college’s curriculum (problem-based learning (PBL), community-based learning (CBL), cooperative learning, etc,) as long as they are employed in academically rigorous ways. Williams’ homegrown version of experiential education, understood as “uncomfortable learning,” is also promoted by a specially selected faculty member, the Gaudino Scholar, with the support of the College’s Gaudino Fund.

We also encourage students to think of their community service and other work experiences as informal learning opportunities which can help prepare them for curricular experiential learning. The following continuum provides a visual representation of these practices, arraying experiential opportunities involving no formal analysis at the left moving to those in which formal analysis is of primary importance on the right.

Community Service |

Museum Associates |

Department-sponsored Summer Internships |

WSP Courses / Independent Studies involving fieldwork and research |

Protocurricular

Curricular

| OCC Summer Internships

| Williams Instructional Technology Program

| Summer Research Work

| Regular semester-length fieldwork / research-intensive courses

Community Service

Opportunities to apply creative energy and initiative abound in community organizations in the Williams College area. Service ranges from tutoring or building homes with Habitat for Humanity, to working with developing non-profit organizations such as Chrysalis, an advanced-stage AIDS residence.

For more information, go to the Lehman Community Service Council or contact Rick Spalding, College Chaplain and Coordinator of Community Service.

OCC Summer Internships

Summer internship opportunities are available to interested students through the Office of Career Counseling (OCC). Information about OCC’s Williams College alumni-sponsored summer internships can be found on its website or by contacting Ron Gallagher, Assistant Director of Career Counseling, Stetson Hall.

Community Scholars Project 2007: The Community Scholars Project is a pilot summer program which will provide 8 students the opportunity to intern during the summer of ’06 with a Northern Berkshire County community-based non-profit organization and develop related research and analytical skills. Community Scholars receive 8 weeks of college housing, a 10 meal/week board plan and small living stipend along with the opportunity to earn a $1000 Americorps scholarship. Click here for information and opportunities.

Museum Associates

The Museum Associates Program of the Williams College Museum of Art provides students an opportunity to broaden their knowledge of art and art history, to learn about the field of museum education, and to develop valuable communication and public speaking skills while working with the public. The only academic requirement is the completion of ART101-102. Applications are accepted every spring. For more information, contact Barbara Robertson, Director of Education, at 413-597-2038 or by e-mail.

Williams Instructional Technology Program

Williams Instructional Technology (WIT) is a summer technology intern program at OIT. For 10 weeks in the summer, 12 student interns work in teams of three on 12 - 16 projects for faculty from various disciplines. The projects vary and can involve video / audio creation and editing, graphic design, web development, and 3D VR objects.

Department-sponsored Summer Internships

A wide variety of summer internship opportunities are available to interested students through the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) and the Economics Department.

Information about CES’s summer internship opportunities can be found online or by contacting Sarah Gardner, Assistant Director of the Center for Environmental Studies, Kellogg House.

Information about the Economics Department’s Kershaw summer internships is available from Kathy Butterfield, Assistant to the Economics Department Chair, at 413-597-2476.

Summer Research Work

Visit the Summer Research Program section on the Dean of the Faculty website to learn more.

WSP Courses / Independent Studies involving fieldwork and research

Consider taking a Winter Study course involving some form of fieldwork or create your own independent winter study project (WSP 99) under the guidance of a faculty sponsor. For help sorting out your options, contact Paula Consolini, Coordinator of Experiential Education.

Regular semester-length fieldwork / research-intensive courses

Explore the many semester-long courses involving experiential learning.