Browsing by Subject "Experiential learning"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The community college baccalaureate and Iron Range Engineering: limiting rural brain drain in Northeastern Minnesota by offering a hands-on baccalaureate degree on a community college campus.
    (2011-05) Janezich, Trent Patrick
    Two educational organizations have collaborated on a nationally recognized, innovative, project-centered engineering curriculum for the third and fourth year of a baccalaureate degree in which hands-on experiences and industry-sponsored projects are the fundamental component of the degree. The Iron Range Engineering (IRE) program curriculum is of a type that has never been attempted in the state of Minnesota. This program creates a career pathway for engineering students in rural northeastern Minnesota in the hopes to help stop rural brain drain in an area of Minnesota losing its young human capital in alarming numbers. IRE also provides access to a baccalaureate degree in engineering on a community college campus of the Northeast (Minnesota) Higher Education District by partnering with Minnesota State University, Mankato. The heart of this curricular innovation is a shift from a conventional classroom learning environment to industry-style learning environments where baccalaureate-level students will work on real-world projects alongside practicing engineers. These projects are not merely internships or field trips. They are in fact the very content of the curriculum, experienced by students in a competency-based, experiential approach never before used for engineering education in Minnesota. This descriptive case study allows the first generation cohort of students to describe in their own words the Iron Range Engineering program. Ten findings that describe the Iron Range Engineering program emerged. Implications for community college baccalaureate delivery are discussed, and future research possibilities are presented.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Practical training in evaluation: how students learn by doing
    (2014-04) Subialka Nowariak, Emily Nicole
    This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of ten students who engaged in experiential learning of evaluation. A grounded theory approach was used to understand what and how students learn about evaluation through these opportunities. This study is important because there is strong support for practical experiences in teaching evaluation and documented success of the strategy in other fields, yet little empirical research on experiential learning specific to evaluation exists (Trevisan, 2004). Findings suggest that students develop technical skills, soft skills, and learn about evaluation context via practical experiences. In addition, practical experiences help students gain confidence and refine their ideas about who they are as evaluators. Peer learning provides an important source of support for students, and mentorship is also important, although a tricky balance exists between providing enough support and providing sufficient room for autonomy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Virtual economies as financial literacy sandboxes: case study in Gaia Online
    (2012-08) Johnson, Barbara Zebe
    Currently, our global economy faces numerous challenges that have adverse effects at every level, impacting both multi-national businesses and the average consumer. A recent report from the Presidential Advisory Council on Financial Literacy (PACFL) strongly linked the recent and continuing economic downturn with a need to improve the financial skills of people in the United States. Unfortunately, financial literacy among people in the United States is generally poor. This is partially because few states require financial literacy education among high school students but also because most financial literacy courses are ineffective. Courses that show learning gains often include experiential learning methods. This five-year single case study of a teen-aged business owner in the virtual world Gaia Online investigates how development of a business in a virtual world can facilitate informal experiential learning and the development of financial literacy among teen and young adult business owners. A specific set of subject domains and a model of types of understanding are used to evaluate financial literacy manifest by the case study participant and evaluate the potential overlap of the financial literacy affordances of Gaia Online with definitions used in the literature and computer games used to teach financial literacy in school and community programs. With the exception of credit and insurance, the case study participant evidenced understanding of standard financial literacy domains. Based on the experiences of the case study participant, this study proposes expanding the subject domains to include property, especially intellectual property. The model of understandings is also modified to separate specialized language from conceptual knowledge of financial literacy. The study also explored experiences that encouraged learning. Changes in the business' status quo, positive or negative, caused the case study participant to seek out advice or resources to help her learn in order to adapt to the changes. This high-commitment, low-stakes environment mirrored the real world economy sufficiently to allow the participant to bridge between virtual experiences and real world formal learning and financial management. Over time, the participant's confidence in managing her virtual business and real life finances increased, and adopted an identity as a financially literate person.