H&S Strategic Plan, Priority III:  Curriculum and Pedagogy,
Goal #2:

“Encourage and make available experiential learning to all H&S students, including fieldwork, service learning, and student/faculty collaborative research and creative work; support innovative pedagogies, especially those fostering a student-centered learning environment.” 

H&S Experiential Learning Committee

During the fall of 2006, H&S established a small committee, composed of an Assistant Dean and five faculty drawn from different disciplines, to consider Curriculum and Pedagogy Goal #2 in depth and to explore the nature of, and possible directions for, experiential learning in the School. The work of this Committee grew out of the August 2006 Faculty Forum, when nearly 200 H&S faculty were invited to brainstorm about this goal, exploring two questions:  1) What can/does experiential learning accomplish for our students? and 2) What kinds of experiential learning opportunities do we provide to our students?

Determining that student-centered learning environments were already an established part of the H&S faculty’s approach to teaching, the Committee focused its efforts on the first part of this goal—to encourage and make available experiential learning to all H&S students. The Committee determined that what needed to be discussed and developed were key features of effective experiential learning, along with a working definition that recognized the rich variety of learning experiences in H&S. The Committee made its goal for the 2006-2007 academic year the drafting of a working document that would serve as a framework for further discussion and potential program development.  In addition, the Committee planned to conduct a preliminary survey of H&S faculty, both to explore the array of current experiential learning offerings and to collect data to help refine the framework.

Experiential Learning Committee Actions

March 2007:  A working document, A Framework for Experiential Learning in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was drafted and presented to H&S Chairs in March. Information about this “Framework,” including the four models of experiential learning identified by the Committee, is available here.

April/May 2007:  H&S Faculty were invited to complete an on-line Survey to help the Committee collect information about the range of experiential learning activities in H&S.  Survey results would help to extend the discussion about the role of experiential learning in H&S, and to clarify an important aspect of H&S identity.  Survey results were presented to H&S faculty at the Faculty Forum in August 2007.  A Report on the survey results is available here.

Fall 2007:  The Committee co-sponsored, along with the Center for Faculty Excellence, a panel series “Experiential Learning -- It’s Worth Talking About!”  Information about the series can be found here.

Spring/Summer 2008:  The Committee is sponsoring a Pilot Project which will offer several Experiential Learning Curriculum Enhancement grants through a competitive process in the spring.  Information about the Pilot Project and the Curriculum Enhancement Grants is available here.

The H&S Experiential Learning Committee

Karin Breuer, Department of History, kbreuer@ithaca.edu, 274-1489
Patricia Spencer, Department of Writing, pspencer@ithaca.edu, 274-3770
Sharon Stansfield, Department of Computer Science, sstansfield@ithaca.edu,274-3630
Don Tindall, Department of Theatre Arts, dtindall@ithaca.edu, 274-3929
Leigh Ann Vaughn, Department of Psychology, lvaughn@ithaca.edu, 274-7353
Stacia Zabusky, H&S Dean’s Office, szabusky@ithaca.edu, 274-3409