2017-18 Experiential Learning Projects Announced

DCAL is pleased to announce the results of this year’s Experiential Learning Seed Grant call for proposals, a highly competitive process which drew a wide variety of project submissions from 20 divisions and departments across the institution. In an effort to expand and enhance experiential learning at Dartmouth, DCAL coordinates resources to engage students, faculty, co-curricular educators, and community partners in the design and delivery of experiential learning opportunities. The following projects, which exemplify the vision for experiential learning at Dartmouth, have been awarded one-year pilot funding for the 2017-18 academic year:

 
Experiential and Inquiry-Based Enhancement of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Curriculum
Students will engage in new laboratory activities using experimental techniques, state-of-the-art technologies, and hands-on experience with human brains, into three existing core courses in the undergraduate neuroscience curriculum. 
Project Team: Robert A. Maue, Ann Clark, Jeffrey Taube, Kyle Smith, Matthjis van der Meer, Michael Hoppa, Psychological & Brain Sciences
 
Graduate Learning Fellows for Mathematics
In partnership with faculty from the Mathematics department, graduate students trained in the best practices of teaching and learning will form pedagogical and mentoring teams to provide skills training, project support, and research assistance to small teams of undergraduate students in five mathematics courses.
Project Team: Scott Pauls, Ann Gelb, Feng Fu, Peter Doyle, Rosa Orellana, Eugene Demidenko, Mathematics

Luso-Hispanic Film Festival
This year-long film festival will integrate with the basic language sequences in Spanish and Portuguese and  include public screenings, panel discussions, content-based student projects, and interaction with the broader Spanish-speaking community.
Project Team: Roberto Rey Agudo, Spanish & Portuguese

Pathways to Medicine Scholars
Pre-health undergraduates from populations underrepresented in medicine will experience medicine in action, work with mentors, and reflect in community. The project will build on the existing Pathways to Medicine initiative.
Project Team: Sarah L. Berger, Valerie Orellana, Zeinabou Daffe, Marcus Gresham, Hanna Sheik, Claude Poux, Student Academic Support Services

Rauner Special Collections Library Student Research Fellowship
Students will take on in-depth research projects within the Dartmouth Library’s special collections and culminate the experience with a final journal article, work of literature, artistic performance, conference paper, or similar accomplishment.
Project Team: Morgan R. Swan, Jay Satterfield, Peter Carini, Sara Holston, Library User Services 
 
Senior Design Challenge
This two-term capstone experience will engage seniors in design thinking methodology with interdisciplinary groups of their peers and faculty mentorship to design applicable solutions to a real-world problem.
Project Team: Peter J. Robbie, Ashley Manning, Devyn Greenberg, Thayer School of Engineering

Transnational Race and Sexuality Studies
Through this embedded domestic study component of the existing Advanced Research in Gender Studies course, students will engage in dialogues and encounters with artists, curators, thinkers, and activists in large cultural institutions and grassroots organizations that were formed by queer of color communities in New York City.
Project Team: Eng-Beng Lim, Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
 

DCAL is thrilled that these projects reflect the wide range of activities that make up experiential learning at Dartmouth, including but not limited to research opportunities, outdoor programs, service for social impact, entrepreneurship, art and performance, clinical placements, internships, project-based learning, and global experiences. Through these projects, students will intentionally engage intellectually, creatively, emotionally, or physically; have opportunities to take initiative, make decisions, problem solve, and be accountable for the results; conceptualize and critically reflect; and engage in direct experiences that are designed to promote their learning and development. Experiences such as these have been shown to positively impact students’ confidence, ability to take risks and learn from failure, work effectively within diverse groups of people, communicate about complex issues, and work across academic disciplines.
 
This is the second full year of the Experiential Learning Initiative at Dartmouth. To date, DCAL has allocated over $750,000 to 37 experiential learning opportunities in 20 academic departments and eight co-curricular centers through this grant program. In addition to the Experiential Learning Seed Grant, DCAL administers experiential learning opportunities through several other funding and support mechanisms. These include the Student Experiential Learning Fund, Stamps Scholars Program, Learning Fellows Program, and beginning in summer 2017, an agile funding stream for faculty and staff to support small-scale experiential learning opportunities in courses and co-curricular programs. For more information, please visit https://dcal.dartmouth.edu/initiatives/experiential-learning.