WEEK 8 - "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi

I have a confession...my son lovingly teases me and calls my sabbatical a "paid vacation" as he sees me reading, journaling, interviewing people, reflecting, learning and growing as an individual.  He cannot wrap his brain around what I am doing and why I am getting paid to do this.  I tried to explain that I am gathering qualitative data through the interviews, researching topics in my field of study, and applying them to my life with rich experiential learning stories I can bring back to the classroom/community.  He looked at me with one eyebrow raised and said he wishes his school allowed him to learn this way.  To be honest, I believe this is the way that all learning should take place! 

This week, I received an e-mail asking me to apply for a conference where the focus is exchanging ideas in the realm of entrepreneurship.  Even reading the e-mail got me excited about the possible things I could share and learn.  When I think of business or social entrepreneurship in the classroom, I think of an experiential learning setting like the one I have the joy of participating in through my sabbatical.  Through the application process, I was excited to share what I had been doing the past 5 years and I hope to be accepted as a faculty exchange so I can see what others are doing as well.  In the application process they asked for me to outline what I have been doing.  I went on to share:

I believe it is best practice to engage the whole student in learning through experiences and discipline specific volunteerism in the community. A student who engages in their learning observing how the topic relates the world will walk away with a rich and rewarding educational experience.

In 2009 I was awarded a $10k grant from the UIUC Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Parkland Board of Trustees to redesign my courses with an entrepreneurial approach...learning through doing!

With the new curriculum in my nutrition course, students designed an innovative snack bar. As stated by a student, “I learned so much more from this one class than I did from all my other classes…it gets you involved and makes you proud of what you did.”

I continued designing curriculum with an entrepreneurial and experiential learning focus by working with Booker T Washington Elementary school, Provena Hospital, and my kinesiology students to implement a competitive walking curriculum.  This successful program was also covered by local media (Gift of pedometers has students stepping it up).   My nutrition students and I expanded our local school district collaboration with a challenge to produce healthy lunch options.  It created a lively discussion and news coverage (healthy lunch challenge) on nutritious school lunch programs.          

                                     

Through the above work, I realized students want more than academic knowledge; they need to be engaged.  Further, the community has a real need for positive change, and the students can be effective agents for change.  In response, I incorporated social entrepreneurship into the classroom by requiring my students to volunteer in the community.  In an effort to make data driven decisions, I evaluated the student experiences with the volunteer project using a survey.  I discovered that over 90% recommended that I continue the volunteer requirement, with several citing it as a great addition to their academic resume.  I presented the feedback results in 2013 at a national conference.  I was thrilled that students saw value in the experiential learning and look forward to seeing more classes implement volunteerism in their curriculum.

Social entrepreneurship education and experiential learning should not be limited to business and courses focusing specifically on entrepreneurship. It should cross all disciplines with few limits and reservations. Including community volunteerism as a graded portion in course curriculum allows students to actively engage in the community, participate in experiential learning in the field as well as grow their academic resume.

This past week I had the luxury of stepping back from the business of travel and reflecting at home.  I took great pause when my son shared about how he wants to learn and I am challenging myself through this sabbatical to think about ways I can bring more experiential learning into the classroom and community.