Project Updates:
I hope the start of this school year is going well for each of you. I’ve enjoyed continued conversations with you in relation to experiential learning at (and beyond) UBC over the past couple of months. A few updates regarding my project:
- New Thought Piece: “Experiential Education and the Politics of Citation: Indigenizing and ‘Communitizing’ our work” – This piece is one that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It pertains to the homogeneity of scholarship and scholars in the field of experiential education. In short form, the “key scholars” in this field who are widely and frequently cited are overwhelmingly White and male. In my examination of experiential learning at a campus as diverse as UBC, I use this blog post to reflect on how we can individually and collectively co-create a more inclusive environment for those who are marginalized from publication & knowledge construction.
- Recent Presentation: “Experiential Learning and University Teaching: Exploring Emotion and Experiential Pedagogies Across Disciplines” Dr. Tara Mayer (Faculty member in History) and I recently facilitated a two-hour workshop for new UBC faculty members at the CTLT’s Summer Institute. It was well attended by faculty and staff from across myriad faculties, departments, and units. To view the slide deck from our session (and others from the Summer Institute), see this UBC Wiki Page. If you’re interested in presenting a session at the Winter Institute, see this call for proposals(due Sept. 21).
- Qualitative Research on Experiential Learning: Next week, I’ll begin a series of interviews and focus groups with faculty members and staff who are deeply involved with experiential learning at UBC. This qualitative data collection process will continue until November/December, at which point I will be switching my focus to analysis and write-up. Thanks to those of you who are involved in this inquiry.
- Survey to Faculty Members: Having recently achieved ethics approval for our collaborative survey to faculty members, we aim to disseminate the survey in the coming month, particularly to those faculty members at UBC who are known to be involved in various forms of experiential learning. The development and planning of this survey has been a combined effort of staff, faculty, and graduate students at UBC.
- Continued Website & Resource Development: I continue to add information to the website as I gather it. Please let me know if you would like to be involved in the co-development of any aspect.
Thank you again for your continued interest and involvement in this project. All the best for a beautiful September.
-Kari