A tale of two students and an experiential PhD program that works for all
Location
3035
Format Type
Paper
Format Type
Panel
Start Date
13-1-2017 11:00 AM
End Date
13-1-2017 12:00 PM
Abstract
Experiential learning, where students engage holistically in the curriculum, has gained increased attention in higher education settings (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). The University of Tennessee's Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement PhD program in the college of educational psychology is no exception. The design of this program, with its focus on internship experiences, authentic assessment, and community collaboration, allows students of varied backgrounds and experiences to thrive. In this session, two students enrolled in the program reflect on the successes they are experiencing as PhD candidates in a real-world experiential designed curriculum. One student, transitioning directly from an undergraduate program to a combine masters and PhD path, reflects on the ways these hands-on experiences with evaluations are helping to build his confidence and knowledge-base for interacting with stakeholders. Another PhD candidate, returning to graduate school after 20 years of experience in educational leadership and evaluation, reflects on the importance of the guidance she is receiving from professors in these experiential learning projects, helping to polish her technical skills particularly in quantitative analysis. Authentic assessments tools, such as the use of portfolios (Popescu-Mitroia, Todoresu, & Greculescu, 2015), reflective journals, and peer editing, are an additional design element to this program. Attendees to this session will have the opportunity to view and interact with sample portfolios and journals, as well as view course design outlines and internship logs. A design template for effective experiential learning modules for higher education will also be shared along with examples of effective experiential learning techniques for higher education.
A tale of two students and an experiential PhD program that works for all
3035
Experiential learning, where students engage holistically in the curriculum, has gained increased attention in higher education settings (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). The University of Tennessee's Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement PhD program in the college of educational psychology is no exception. The design of this program, with its focus on internship experiences, authentic assessment, and community collaboration, allows students of varied backgrounds and experiences to thrive. In this session, two students enrolled in the program reflect on the successes they are experiencing as PhD candidates in a real-world experiential designed curriculum. One student, transitioning directly from an undergraduate program to a combine masters and PhD path, reflects on the ways these hands-on experiences with evaluations are helping to build his confidence and knowledge-base for interacting with stakeholders. Another PhD candidate, returning to graduate school after 20 years of experience in educational leadership and evaluation, reflects on the importance of the guidance she is receiving from professors in these experiential learning projects, helping to polish her technical skills particularly in quantitative analysis. Authentic assessments tools, such as the use of portfolios (Popescu-Mitroia, Todoresu, & Greculescu, 2015), reflective journals, and peer editing, are an additional design element to this program. Attendees to this session will have the opportunity to view and interact with sample portfolios and journals, as well as view course design outlines and internship logs. A design template for effective experiential learning modules for higher education will also be shared along with examples of effective experiential learning techniques for higher education.
Comments
In this session, we elaborate on the reflections of two PhD candidates: one returned to school after nearly 20 years in the workforce and the other is transitioning directly from an undergraduate degree into a combined masters and PhD path. Their program of choice, Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement PhD program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, focuses on an experiential curriculum design with the goal of immersing students in real world application of skills (Kolb & Kolb 2005) to promote purposeful engagement in evaluations and confidence in their professional abilities. Hear how your PhD program can be turned into a meaningful and engaging experience for students of all ages and work experience. Enhance your department and promote your university by learning experiential program design techniques that will encourage applicants and stimulate students.
Experiential learning, where students engage holistically in the curriculum has gained increased attention in higher education settings (Kolb & Kolb, 2005). The University of Tennessee's Evaluation Statistics and Measurement PhD program in the college of educational psychology is no exception. The design of this program, with its focus on internship experiences, authentic assessment, and community collaboration allows students of varied backgrounds and experiences to thrive. In this session two students enrolled in the program reflect on the successes they are experiencing as PhD candidates in a real-world experiential designed curriculum.
One student, transitioning directly from an undergraduate program to a combine masters and PhD path reflects on the ways these hands-on experiences with evaluations are helping to build his confidence and knowledge base for interacting with stakeholders. Another PhD candidate returning to graduate school after 20 of experience in educational leadership and evaluation reflects on the importance of the guidance she is receiving from professors in these experiential learning projects that is helping to polish her technical skills particularly in quantitative analysis.
Authentic assessments tools such as the use of portfolios (Popescu-Mitroia, Todoresu, & Greculescu, 2015), reflective journals, and peer editing are an additional design element to this program. Attendees to this session will have the opportunity to view and interact with sample portfolios and journals as well as view course design outlines and internship logs. A design template for effective experiential learning modules for higher education will also be shared so that attendees can take away examples of effective experiential learning techniques for higher education.