Title

Boise State General Education and Experiential Learning

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-16-2018

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

University Foundations

Faculty Sponsor

John Bieter

Abstract

The general education program at Boise State is undergoing improvements that have been designed to create a more effective and worthwhile experience for all students. For the past year and a half, our undergraduate research team has been working to construct a few different initiatives that we believe can make Boise State’s general education program one of the best in the country. We began our process by surveying the academic literature on general education to determine the best practices that had been found. Our team then expanded our research to include current programs run by colleges and universities across the country and the world, specifically institutions that were of comparable size and scope. This past Fall semester, we took an in-depth look at our own history of general education to see what pieces of information we could apply to today. With this combined knowledge, in addition to feedback from students across campus, we have designed, and are in the process of proposing, three different initiatives centered around experiential learning. The research shows experiential learning has benefits for students that include gaining stronger critical thinking skills, greater self-confidence and self-esteem, and deeper connections with faculty. Further, a number of experiential learning programs that are already in place on campus have asked to become a part of the general education curriculum. Through our research, our team has determined that Boise State is ready for an experiential learning program that can provide students with an applied, immersive, and integrated experience through general education.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS