curricular innovations: experiential learning & community...
TRANSCRIPT
Curricular Innovations: Experiential Learning &
Community Engagement from First Year to Capstone
Dr. Jacqueline Smith-Mason &
Prof. Ann Marie Gardinier Halstead
Honors College
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityHERU, University of Utah, May 2019
Virginia Commonwealth University
Make It Real
Every student must have an experiential learning experience.
New Position - Vice Provost for Relevant Experiential Applied Learning (REAL)
Honors College Alignment
● Strategic plan ● Defining
Experience ● Quickly adapt● Model - Scale Up
Honors College - Culture Shift
Old Curriculum
GenEd replacement
Lacked flexibility
Unpopular
No capstone
Box checkers
New Curriculum
Experiential
First year experience
Capstone
Cohorts
Engagement points
Reflects student input
New Curriculum - SnapshotFirst Year - Cohorts
HONR 200 - Rhetoric
HONR 250 - Expository Writing
HONR 150 - Flourishing
HONR 170 - Humans of
RVA & VCU
HONR 171 - Investigative Inquiry
2nd & 3rd Year
9 credits - honors topic
4th Year - Cohorts
Capstone/Symposium
Engagement
25 points per year
Engaging the Community
● Capital Region Collaborative● Nonprofit Organizations● United Way● Chamber of Commerce● Community Members
CRC Priority Areas
Education Job Creation Workforce Develop. Healthy Community Transportation Social Stability James River Quality of Life Demographics
21st Century Workforce Skills
● Critical thinking
● Creativity
● Collaboration
● Communication
● Information literacy
● Media literacy
● Technology literacy
● Flexibility
● Leadership
● Initiative
● Productivity
● Social skills
21st Century Workforce Skills
● Critical thinking
● Creativity
● Collaboration
● Communication
● Information literacy
● Media literacy
● Technology literacy
● Flexibility
● Leadership
● Initiative
● Productivity
● Social skills
● Cultural Competency
● Grant Writing
*340 students *1 full time
instructor/coordinator
*17 sections *4 adjunct instructors
*55 diverse cohorts *2 social media platforms
*10 student interns *1 course blog
Humans of RVA & VCU
By the Numbers
Sample Cohort Assignment:
Neighborhood Visit
Choose a Richmond city neighborhood to visit, preferably one
that you’re not familiar with. Use the map in the blog if you
need help brainstorming neighborhoods. Walk around the
neighborhood; spend time there. Make observations and take
notes on what you observe. Respond to what you see and feel.
Do not censor yourself...
Neighborhood Visit
~What are your initial reactions/first impressions of the
neighborhood?
~What are your sensory responses, i.e. what do you see, smell,
hear, touch, and taste in this place? (Respond to all that are
applicable.)
~What emotions do you feel while spending time here?
~Describe this neighborhood in three words.
~If you could make a wish for this neighborhood and its residents,
what would it be? (Keep in mind that the residents may not have
the same wish for themselves. We’ll discuss this in class.)
~Are the residents of this neighborhood a community? Why or
why not?
Neighborhood Visit
Investigative Inquiry
Investigative Inquiry
Best Practices
*research/prep work *student prep work
*collaboration *interns
*pilot course
*speaker series
Challenges/Lessons Learned
*75 minutes/week
*cohort size
*student workload(1 credit) *# of students
*my workload
*town/gown
relationship
Challenges/Lessons Learned
*Management
Fall & Spring Admissions
Overseeing projects - incentives
*Cohorts
Students cycle in/out- GPA
Graduate early
*Transportation
Programming Between First Year & Capstone
*Berglund Seminars
*Mocktails
*Capstone Fair
*Topic Courses
*Co-curricular, Explore Richmond
*Humans of RVA & VCU International
Student Interests - Snapshot
Follow Us!Humans of RVA & VCU
Questions?
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