Creating a Course

If you have an experiential education course idea or information on an organization or program which may be a good organizational partner for a course involving experiential education, please e-mail or otherwise contact Paula Consolini, Coordinator of Experiential Education.

Students

Students may develop Winter Study Independent Study Courses (referred to as WSP ‘99s’) or a fall or spring semester independent course. Students interested in incorporating an internship or fieldwork into their learning should consult the Winter Study ‘99’ proposal guidelines posted on the Registrar’s website for more information. Students may also develop a fall or spring semester independent study or group course involving experiential learning under the guidance of a faculty sponsor.

Faculty

Below are small and large scale examples of how to use experiential learning within an academic course. For help applying these ideas or applying other experiential education teaching principles and cooperative learning techniques, e-mail or otherwise contact Paula Consolini, Coordinator of Experiential Education, who will provide or arrange for pedagogical training appropriate to your academic discipline.

1. Site visit and tour of Albany County Jail including Q&A with jail managers and guards used in a criminal justice course to enable students to explore political, economic, and social dynamics of jails/prisons in the American criminal justice system.


2. Site visit to nearby Russian monastery, including Q&A with monks and attendance at (4 hour) midnight Easter service used in Russian history Course (HIST 240).


3. Students in an Introductory Environmental Studies Course (ENVI 101) engage in one 4-hour session of community service work to improve understanding of and capacity to analyze political, social and economic dimensions of environmental issues.


4. Students in a public policy course are assigned to teams to engage in political advocacy work (short-term, module-length project) on either side of current local political controversy. Students analyze their experience as advocates.


5. Students in an art history course are assigned to design and teach subtopic to community group (elderly, disadvantaged, youth, etc.).


6. Students in a studio art tutorial course (313T Art of the Public) draw on many disciplines and perspectives to create and mutually critique public art projects.


7. Students in an organizational sociology course, working as interns in local non-profits, design a research project focused on some aspect of their host organization’s structure and/or work.


8. Students in enviromental studies (eg., ENVI 302), political science, economics, or statistics courses work on group consulting projects for clients in local government and area non-profits, applying their academic skills to real world problems.


9. Students Practicing Feminism Course (PSCI/WGST 306) intern at local community agencies, exploring the issues and problems of putting feminism into practice.


10. Students in a Clinical and Community Psychology Course (PSYC 352) work in local social service or mental health agencies throughout the semester, applying the academic psychology they learn to field settings.