ERIC Number: EJ854006
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1528-5324
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Constructing Experiential Learning for Online Courses: The Birth of E-Service
Strait, Jean; Sauer, Tim
EDUCAUSE Quarterly, v27 n1 p62-65 2004
Productive, frequent interactions, both teacher-student and student-student, are essential to the online course environment. Instructors are examining ways not only to foster these interactions but also to engage distance students in their local communities through experiential learning opportunities. Experiential education is a general term used to describe academically related work experience. In addition to preparing students academically, institutions of higher education are called upon to prepare students for the complex issues they will encounter in the workplace. It provides a bridge between learning in the classroom and learning on the job. Over the past decade, colleges and universities have embraced a form of experiential learning called service-learning. Service-learning is a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs and have structured opportunities to participate in activities designed to promote their learning and development. By providing structured opportunities designed to promote student learning through engagement in the community, service-learning fosters students' critical thinking and interpersonal skills. As the face of higher education evolves with the advent of online formats, it becomes difficult to develop experiences for distance students that continue to provide work-based experiences and engage them as members in their local communities. The challenge then is how to provide a quality experience in service-learning while meeting the needs of multiple students in multiple communities. This type of distributed service-learning is called e-service. This article describes a teacher education program known as DLiTE, or Distributed Learning in Teacher Education, offered by Bemidji State University, a midsize state university in Minnesota. DLiTE is a WebCT-enhanced teacher education preparation program that serves the state of Minnesota. Currently, students in the DLiTE model have service-learning infused into courses beginning in the second semester. They have at least one course with a service-learning experience each concurrent semester thereafter. (Contains 3 endnotes.)
Descriptors: Teacher Education, Higher Education, Community Needs, Teacher Education Programs, Online Courses, Service Learning, Work Experience, Learning Experience, Teacher Student Relationship, Academic Achievement, Interpersonal Competence, Models, Mentors, Distance Education, Reflection
EDUCAUSE. 4772 Walnut Street Suite 206, Boulder, CO 80301-2538. Tel: 303-449-4430; Fax: 303-440-0461; e-mail: info@educause.edu; Web site: http://www.educause.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Minnesota
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A