Walking Field Trips: Mapping Outdoor Instruction Opportunities

The research question addressed in this project was the following: How can upper elementary educators in a rural school district utilize walking field trips and outdoor instruction to support achievement of state academic content areas and to integrate principles of environmental education? The project extends upper elementary school instructional settings to public lands, open spaces, parks, trails, river access points, and beyond in order to enhance the academic experience. It is informed by Sobel’s place-based education theory and Lieberman and Hoody’s proposal of using outdoor settings to connect multidisciplinary content areas. A walking field trip map was produced for a rural school district that charted local outdoor community resources within one mile of each school. Additionally, an instructional guide for how to replicate and utilize this strategy in other school districts was completed, detailing the benefits, selection of suitable routes, best practices, and logistical recommendations for before, during, and after the walking field trip. The author describes the advantages and limitations of this model and concludes that: 1) the use of walking field trips is a widely replicable technique that can be scaled and grown to fit other school districts and environmental settings; 2) the model provides potential advantages for students and teachers, including development of a sense of place, increase in environmental literacy, promotion of higher-test scores in state academic content areas, provision of real-world examples of curriculum themes, demonstration of healthy lifestyles, and heightened student engagement; 3) walking field trips complement local, statewide, and national efforts to connect youth to the outdoors and to provide meaningful environmental education opportunities

Improving Career Readiness and Employability of College Graduates

Research shows that current college graduates are lacking in skills related to career readiness and employability upon graduation. Due to this, college students are entering the workforce and are landing in jobs that either do not require a college degree or are not the role that they hoped for upon graduation. In relation, career development as a whole is lacking in the college experience. This project will discuss the current state of employability and career readiness of college graduates. It will dive into potential methods and strategies for improving career readiness and career development of college students within higher education settings. This includes but is not limited to solutions within the academic context as well as big picture solutions such as industry advisory boards, the implementation of a career development assessment, and increasing involvement of faculty and employer partners

Innovative Approach to Training Sustainable Engineers

Oguz han Engineering and Technology University of Turkmenistan is a higher education institution, which specializes in training engineers with innovative views. Training of future professionals that “Engineer a Sustainable World” requires not only new competencies, including creative learning and thinking, complex problem-solving interdisciplinary and international cooperation, and a code of ethics, but also challenges a change in engineering education itself. In our approach, we suggest innovative ways to develop a deeper working knowledge of technical fundamentals while simultaneously learning personal and interpersonal skills, and product, process, and system building skills. For analysis of interrelated arrangement of modules for effective acquisition of knowledge, a supportive alignment of disciplinary courses was studied and a wide range of skills required in professional areas were mapped throughout the curriculum. Moreover, we created a new learning context that provides an opportunity to implement both theoretical and practical knowledge to conceive, design, implement and operate real-world systems and products. In this approach, we developed integrated methods of gaining active learning experience that forms a basis for carrying out challenging capstone projects. As a result, our innovative approach that focuses on modification of education and research improves all aspects of comprehensive training of sustainable engineers

Jackson Creek Arts and Trails, LLC: Museum Travel Immersion Programs

Museums have become increasingly oriented towards reaching new audiences, encouraging visitor loyalty, and informing the public about their overall relevance. Innovation in programming is a centerpiece of this effort, including a provision of programs for all age groups and demographics. At the same time that this transformation occurs in the museum world, similar changes are taking place in the leisure, travel and tourism industries. A continuously rapid increase in globalism and cultural access contributes to an atmosphere in which travelers can expand their goals and purposes within the context of a travel experience. This report will demonstrate that these trends should encourage the development of adult programs that combine museum and travel experiences with specialized cultural and aesthetic education. The project connects the field of museum studies with the educational benefits of travel immersion in order to expand the boundaries of adult programming. The proposed programs would engage participants in ten-day travel immersion workshops based on a museum collection or exhibit and its cultural context. The following report analyzes the feasibility of such a program in the context of adult programming, museum education, and motivational theory. It also explores the potential of such a program to contribute to participants’ individual transformation and growth. The report concludes with a detailed proposal of an organization that organizes and implements museum-based travel immersion programs for adults

Exploring Service Learning in Study Abroad: An Evaluation of The Umbra Institute’s Urban Spaces Course

Over the proceeding decades, service learning programs combining academic study with community service have been growing in popularity at U.S. institutions of higher education. This growth has been equated to service learning’s ability to assist students with achieving personal and academic goals, as well as broader goals of civic engagement for communities. With these programs occurring in an increasingly interconnected world, that is also seeing growth in study abroad participation, it is only natural that students would seek out similar service learning opportunities in their international destinations. Today more than 80% of students enrolled at The Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy, participate in one or more of its service learning course offerings each semester. Participation in such offerings can lead to deeper understanding of course content, facilitate long lasting personal transformations, increase global awareness and intercultural understanding, and encourage the development of civic awareness and active citizenship. With higher education directing increased attention to assessment of these service learning outcomes this study proposed the following question: In a global world, how can international service learning initiatives be better developed to capture the values and expectations of its stakeholders? To answer this question, The Umbra Institute’s ESUS 310: Urban Spaces: Rebuilding Community in Perugia course was utilized as a case study. In this multidisciplinary study, research examined literature and studies on service learning, international service learning, civic education, global citizenship, and community relationships

Unpacking capabilities underlying design (thinking) process

Engineering graduates must know how to frame and solve non-routine problems. While design classes explicitly teach problem framing and solving, it is lacking throughout much of the rest of the engineering curriculum and is often relegated to capstone classes at the end of the students’ educational experience. This paper explores problem framing and solving through the lens of experiential learning theory. It captures core problem framing and solving approaches from critical, design and systems thinking and concludes with a table of learning outcomes that might be drawn upon in designing an engineering curriculum that more fully develops the problem framing and solving capabilities of its students

Characteristics of Quality Agricultural Magazine Capstone Courses Based on the Five R\u27s Model

This study sought to assess students\u27 and instructors\u27 perceptions regarding the value of an agricultural communications magazine capstone course at three universities that were identified as exemplary in an effort to describe the characteristics leading to the course\u27s success. Using a qualitative survey methodology, the investigator administered an open-response survey, conducted personal interviews with purposively-selected students in each course and the instructors, and made field observations. Both the interviews and the surveys consisted of six, in-depth questions crafted after Andreasen\u27s (2004) of a successful magazine capstone course. Based on students\u27 and instructors\u27 perceptions through the lens of Andreasen\u27s (2004) model, this course met students needs for experiential learning and provided students with the opportunity to transition from college students to professionals. The investigator came to the conclusion that providing students with a real-world experience and positive reinforcement is essential to these courses. Students felt expectations for deadlines, quality of work, and attendance was similar to what they would expect in the workforce. In turn, they thought this would help them prepare to enter into a career. Also, students also reported a strong appreciation for positive feedback. Because capstone courses often serve as a rite of passage, students need positive reinforcement to make it through key moments in the course (Durel, 1993, p. 223). These moments of positive reinforcement helped students gain confidence in their skills as professionals. The results also lead to the recommendation of modifications to Andreasen\u27s (2004) five R\u27s model to better fit the agricultural communications discipline with changes focusing on the concept of noise and feedback. Following the recommendations of Rhodes, Miller, and Edgar (2012), it is recommended that future versions of the model include noise throughout the model and feedback outside the inner-workings of the model

Increasing Joy and Motivation Through Experiential Art Curriculum

This Capstone is a collection of visual art lessons for elementary students aged kindergarten through 5th grade. These lessons explore the question, In what ways can experiential learning methods increase joy and motivation in art education? This curriculum provides students the opportunity to explore the human experience through art with joy. By utilizing experiential techniques, these lessons focus on increasing motivation and joy in students. The curriculum is supported by research which draws on theories in art education, motivation, and experiential learning, along with brain­based research on the correlation between happiness and success. Additional ideas explored include the connections between happiness and alertness, curiosity, motivation, and creativity. In order to increase student well­being and joy, these lessons focus on techniques which foster happiness such as positive environments, meaningful work, social experiences, and constructive play. By placing joy as a goal in learning, this Capstone seeks to establish a lifelong love of the arts