Confidential
4
outlined, often requiring the student to identify theknowledge they requireand thenseek it
out themselves, reflectingon their learningas theygoalong.
Mandate
As such, theProvost andVice-PresidentAcademicestablishedaTaskForce,whosemembership
includedabroad rangeof individuals representingall Faculties toconsult broadlywith
Faculties, instructors, andadministrativeunits to reviewcurrent activities and identify strengths
andopportunities togrowEL, considering thecosts andbenefits associatedwithvarious EL
types.
Thecurrentmandateof thecommittee is as follows:
•
Conduct a surveyof ELoncampus
•
AssignEL activities toa typology fromlower tohigher impact
•
Develop recommendations for increasingparticipation inEL
•
Propose recommendations for better documentationof participation inEL fromstudent
and institutional perspective
•
Developa set of benchmarks/best practices (non-binding) for undertakingadditional EL
activities across thecampus
Membershipof thecommittee is listed inAppendixA:MembershipProvosts TaskForceon
Experiential Education.
Rationale for Experiential Learning
Experiential education is an important contributor to the learningenvironment andstudent
experience. Experiential learning isnot simplyabout providing studentswithanexperiential
experience; it is aneducational processwith itsown foundational theoryandpedagogy. As
such, EEprograms require significant investment of humanand financial resources andneed to
beeffectively integrated into thecurriculumor riskbeingunfocusedandunproductive;
however, thebenefits to the learner, educator, andcommunityoftenexceed thecosts. By
bridging theoryandpractice, EL activitiesprovide studentswith theopportunity toapplywhat
theyhave learned in theclassroominhands-onways toenhance their understandingand
knowledgeof themselves and their fieldof study.
Thebenefits identifiedby theTaskForceand researchconductedearlier byHEQCO(see:
Peters, J. 2012) arecommonacross all typesof experiential learning, however, somemaybe
onlyprevalentwithinspecific approaches (i.e., co-opvs. simulatedworkplace). A listingof
selectedbenefits for students, faculty/institutional, andemployers andcommunityare
provided in this section.
