Colleges and universities categorize learning outside the classroom in multiple ways. Some call it project-based learning. Others use terms such as place-based, community-based, or work-based. Some refer simply to student internships.
Whatever the terminology, the basic idea is the same: supplementing traditional classroom education by giving students opportunities to apply their academic learning in practical, hands-on ways, typically in an off-campus setting.
Erin Dolan, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Georgia, has her own favored term for the concept. “The phrase I would use is experiential learning,” she said. “Problem- and research-based learning in the context of real-life experiences.”
Dolan is a nationally recognized expert in out-of-classroom education. In 2012, she co-founded CUREnet (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences), a network of academics who help colleges integrate off-campus research experiences into undergraduate science courses.
Experience-based learning isn’t limited to scientific research, however. At Ohio’s Antioch College, students go into nearby schools to offer local pupils lessons in nature and civic engagement.
At Manhattan College in New York, criminal justice students spend time at Rikers Island detention center, counseling criminal defendants. And the work-based education initiative at North Carolina’s Piedmont Community College connects undergraduates with local employers in businesses that align with students’ academic interests.
The concept appeals not just to students, but also to faculty, who embrace alternatives to conventional lectures. And, though becoming more widespread, the idea isn’t exactly new. The practicum, after all, has long been a fixture.
Most experts see experienced-based learning as an increasingly important educational supplement, not as a replacement for traditional classroom
instruction. Still, education beyond high school is becoming more hands-on—an undeniable trend for at least a decade. In fact, it may be difficult these days to find a college or university that doesn’t offer some kind of practical learning.
Erin Dolan supports that trend.
“There is certainly value in lectures and familiarizing students with content related to skill sets and core ideas in the field,” she said. “But the ability to learn those things in a real-world context is both motivating and, in many ways, more relevant to the lives of students. It is an opportunity to see how the learning applies and how it can make a difference.
“Students exposed to the purpose or utility of a subject are not only more motivated in class, but the experiential learning is applicable to future situations they’ll face in their lives and occupations,” said Dolan, who facilitated the 2019 rollout of Course-based Undergraduate Research at Adams State University in Colorado.
Though relatively new at some colleges and universities, experiential learning has long been a mainstay at others. For example, project-based education forms the academic core at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, a pioneer in off-campus research.
“We believe that engaging students in active types of learning is more effective, long term, than classroom lectures,” said Kent Rissmiller, associate dean of the Global School at Worcester Polytechnic.
Numerous studies bear Rissmiller out.
A report from the University of Nebraska’s
Center for Transformative Teaching concludes: “Place-based learning has been shown to foster a sense of belonging, increase student learning, improve student academic persistence, and narrow equity gaps.”
The report states that, though some students expressed initial concerns about leaving classroom settings, most reported positive feelings about their field experiences, with many responding that they “thoroughly enjoyed” them and “wanted to go again.” Most students also said such experiences increased their understanding of the course content. The report also notes that, according to instructors, place-based learning fostered higher student engagement than did classroom lectures.
A 2018 City University of New York study offers further evidence of the effectiveness of off-campus projects. CUNY students who were introduced to marine wildlife at the Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center reported deeper engagement with the course material than through more traditional classroom approaches, the study said.
Citing a University of Texas report, Dolan credited experiential learning for helping boost the success of students who struggle with introductory courses in science, technology, engineering, and math. The findings showed a jump in graduation rates of between 65 percent and 85 percent among students enrolled in course-based research during their first two semesters. Among STEM majors who participated in project- or place-based learning, persistence and graduation rates rose 70 percent to 95 percent.
The positive outcomes generated by project-based learning at Texas, Adams State, and Worcester Polytechnic are sparking widespread interest in the out-of-classroom approach, Dolan said.
“I think there’s definitely a move in that direction as far as instruction goes,” she said. “It’s not always about getting an A. Sometimes the B students and the C students are better at navigating the uncertainty, ambiguity, and the failure that is inherent to experiential learning or research. With information at their fingertips, they no longer have to sit in a classroom to learn content.”
