experiential learning

Michigan's World Class

A new website sponsored by the office of U-M's Vice President for Global Communications highlights extraordinary moments in teaching and learning at the university.  Michigan's World Class features stories about courses that involve students in engaged, experiential learning at Michigan--stories showing the myriad ways U-M faculty (in the words of the website) "help students reach their potential to become some of the world's greatest scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, educators, humanitarians and problem-solvers." 

Check out stories about life-changing classroom experiences, inspiring faculty, and service-oriented students reaching out across the globe at Michigan's World Class. A great starting point is this video about the value of experiential learning for U-M students. Readers can also keep up with the series on Twitter at #UMWorldClass.

Submitted by tbraun on Mon, 01/21/2013 - 2:17pm
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Community Engagement

Situating your work

Teaching through community engagement is a powerful exercises for all involved. Thinking through the purpose of a community collaboration, forms of engagement, and desired student learning outcomes helps faculty members clarify the many decisions they make in creating or revising a course with community connections. This page helps instructors become more aware and explicit about the framework of their course, as well as discovering questions and resources that others have found useful.   

Purpose

U-M students, like the faculty, have a broad range of purposes as they explore courses on community engagement. Some are seeking basic information; some want to engage critically with the ideas like community, equity, and power; some are advocates for social justice; and others want to hone skills for activism. These different motivations overlap, and they can lead to one another over time. Being explicit about the different kinds of purposes a course can serve helps students locate their own development, and can generate valuable discussion. Talking about the different kinds of skills that instructors and community members have cultivated also helps students locate themselves on a trajectory toward future work.  Read more »

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