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IN/CO Grant on Experiential Learning

April 25, 2018 by CAA Admin

To kick off the Innovate/Collaborate (IN/CO) Grant Program, a $40,000 grant was awarded to a team of faculty and staff from Drexel University, the College of Charleston,University of North Carolina Wilmington and the College of Charleston in Summer 2017. This grant project, titled “Tracking Experiential Learning Outcomes Across Three CAA Campuses,” was awarded to support development of a validated instrument and database to enable careful assessment of experiential learning across multiple types of experiences and campuses.

Background

Among the challenges of measuring the educational impact of experiential learning is that a diverse array of experiences–from course-based projects to study abroad to internships, to name but a few–can all be considered as experiential/applied learning . Typical approaches to assessing experiential learning include assessments of students’ perceptions of the value of the experience. This project team seeks to develop a richer understanding of the specific learning and student development that takes place in experiential learning opportunities, as well as the impact on student learning in subsequent coursework, academic programs, and further applied learning settings.

Updates & Progress

Drexel University hosted the first post-award grant team meeting in November 2017. During this session, the project team discussed existing experiential learning assessment tools and practices on each campus, the infrastructure required (e.g., offices involved, systems used to collect data, availability of existing data), the instrument development process, and grant sustainability. University of North Carolina Wilmington convened the project team for a second in-person meeting in February 2018, focusing on the identification of common student learning outcomes and the logistics of piloting the instrument across all three campuses. College of Charleston hosted a third in-person meeting of the IN/CO grant team in April 2018 to review the draft instrument; examine platforms, delivery, and timeline; and follow up on mining current data. Opportunities for future funding and project sustainability were also discussed.

Over the next academic year, the draft instrument will be piloted with a diverse range of students who have participated in experiential learning opportunities. Focus groups will be conducted with participating students to gauge both student perceptions and the efficacy of the instrument in capturing data. The project team will also present on this grant at the fifth annual Drexel Assessment Conference (September 12-14, 2018).

Meet the Experiential Learning IN/CO Grant Team 

Principal Investigators 

Adam Fontecchio, Ph.D. | Director, Center for the Advancement of STEM Teaching & Learning Excellence (CASTLE); Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering | Drexel University
Paul Townend, Ph.D. | Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Studies; Professor, Irish & British History | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Elizabeth Meyer-Bernstein, Ph.D. | Director of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities; Associate Dean of Honors College; Associate Professor of Biology (neuroscience) | College of Charleston

Project Team

John DiNardo, Ph.D. | CASTLE Faculty Fellow; Professor of Physics | Drexel University
Jennifer Stanford, Ph.D. | Co-Director, CASTLE; Associate Professor of Biology | Drexel University
Jason Silverman, Ph.D. | Co-Director, CASTLE; Associate Professor of Mathematics Education | Drexel University
Eric Brewe, Ph.D. | Associate Professor of Physics and Science Education | Drexel University
Bill Mongan | Teaching Professor, Computer Science | Drexel University
Alyssa Martin, Ph.D. | Assistant Director of Assessment, CASTLE | Drexel University
Mark Freeman, Ph.D. | Vice Provost for Institutional Research, Office of Enrollment Management | Drexel University
Mary Quigley | Assistant Vice President, Academic Information & Systems | Drexel University
Thomas DeChiaro | Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer | Drexel University
Jess Boersma, Ph.D. | Director of ETEAL; Co-Director of SURCA; Associate Professor of Spanish | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Diana Ashe, Ph.D. | Director, Center for Teaching Excellence & Center for Faculty Leadership; Associate Professor of English | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Van O. Dempsey III, Ph.D. | Dean, Watson College of Education | University of North Carolina Wilmington
James DeVita, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor of Higher Education; Program Coordinator, M.Ed. in Higher Education; ETEAL Senior Fellow | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Kristin Bolton, Ph.D., MSW | Associate Professor of Social Work; MSW Coordinator; ETEAL Assistant Fellow | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Colleen Reilly, Ph.D. | Professor of English; CTE Applied Learning Faculty Associate | University of North Carolina Wilmington
Divya Bhati, Ph.D. | Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning | College of Charleston
Mark A. Staples | Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer | College of Charleston
Zach Hartje | Director of Teaching, Learning, & Technology and Deputy CIO | College of Charleston
Jim Posey, Ph.D. | Associate Vice President for Institutional Research, Planning, and Information Management | College of Charleston
Susan Anderson | Assistant Vice President for Research; Director, Office of Research & Grants Administration | College of Charleston
Denise Ciccarelli | Director of Corporate and Foundations Relations | College of Charleston
Lynn Cherry | Associate Provost for Curriculum and Institutional Resources; Associate Professor of Communication | College of Charleston

Not pictured: 

  • Robert Hicks | Social Research Assistant for ETEAL | University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Lea Bullard | Assistant Director of General Education Assessment, College of Arts & Science | University of North Carolina Wilmington
  • Karin Roof | Director of Academic Assessment and Strategic Planning | College of Charleston

Interested in what Alliance institutions are saying about these grants? Check out the following: 

http://today.cofc.edu/2018/03/13/cofc-joins-colonial-academic-alliance-members-research/

https://uncw.edu/news/2018/02/uncw-awarded-80,000-in-caa-innovatecollaborate-grants.html

Filed Under: Featured

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