Experiential Learning: How To Build & Grow Collaborative, Next-Level Project-Based Programs

Description  Challenge - Creating a collaborative program for your students How can we influence the shifting focus from academic learning to career education so that students will benefit from the best of both worlds? Academics can take the initiative to “sell” the idea of collaborative projects to students and the institution. How can we get started by navigating the obstacles and taking these often seemingly impossible first steps? What best practices help instructors project courses to run smoothly, efficiently, and most effectively? What results can we expect from switching a course to this model? Projects and project courses may have size or time limitations. How can we scale them? New course designs need new support systems. What best practices can help us handle logistic, scheduling, legal, curricular, evaluation, and assessment challenges? How can we contribute to a systemic improvement in educational effectiveness? Key Takeaway  Participants will learn about collaborative, project-based education trends and why they are increasingly becoming a significant part of undergraduate and graduate curricula. In addition, participants will examine practical approaches and learn best practices to efficiently build, run and grow client-based multidisciplinary project courses, foster and scale the pedagogic approaches and structures that these projects rely on, as well as receive tips on how to ensure that students and graduates fully capitalize on such project experiences. Overview We’ve been inundated with news about higher education in trouble; we may feel at the mercy of changing cultural trends and public perceptions. Truth be told, Academia has not been known for its agility to pivot – and recently, popular opinion and major players in the media and private sector have further deepened the dismissive attitudes of students and parents toward higher education, often beyond what seems reasonable to us. But are they wrong about the decreasing value of a diploma? Department of Education data shows a narrowing gap between employment metrics of young adults with and without a Bachelor’s degree. How could we shape the future of education so it will improve the measurably practical outcomes for graduates and, with that, also regain the public’s total trust in the value of a diploma?Project-based courses are at the core of the curricula of many novel education models. However, the more advanced learning-by-doing models do not add to lectures and lab work; instead, they uniquely morph with them and make soft-skill development more effective and engaging. Should the central focus from course modalities shift to how we structure the content?The curricular shift toward courses that develop skills relevant to real-life practices is inevitable – whether professional or soft skills – the systemic change is slow but underway. Instead of rejecting or struggling to keep up with this change and risk getting stuck in an outdated traditional academic system, how can we contribute to its advance by leading the change? Are there alternatives to government officials driving this process by defining new academic targets and how institutions can reach them?During this webinar, you will hear about the challenges, outcomes, and takeaways from the first ten years of a Silicon Valley prototype of a continuously-running project-based teaching model. Some of the dilemmas that will be answered: How can curriculum designers, department directors, and faculty, even with limited support, turn a traditional skill-development course into a collaborative, multidisciplinary project that will engage students beyond anything else we have documented? How can academics get more support from the administration to achieve and expand course learning outcomes? What does it take for a college to develop, run and scale such potent courses? How can administrations harness the results of project courses in ways that will grow the institution’s prestige and gain social respect? And most importantly, how can we ensure that students immediately benefit from project-based learning programs, collaborative, multidisciplinary projects, client-based projects, etc., during their studies and even after graduation? Objectives Learn about the forces shaping the trend of a shifting focus from academic learning to career education. Learn about methods that allow teaching students in advanced project courses without weakening the focus on academic learning. Examine ways to “sell” the idea of collaborative client projects to students, the institution, and partners. Receive tips on how to get started with building advanced collaborative projects and manage the obstacles that often arise during this initial phase. Learn about best practices that help such projects run smoothly, efficiently, and effectively. Explore how to incorporate soft skill development into the subject areas that your students are naturally most drawn to. Examine how you can scale the size and duration of project courses. Discuss best practices to help handle the logistic, scheduling, legal, curricular, evaluation, and assessment challenges of advanced project courses. Investigate how we can all contribute to shifting the focus to achieve systemic improvement in educational effectiveness. Who Should Attend Administration Enrollment Management Faculty Online Learning Department or Program Directors Provosts & Curriculum Designers Any educator interested in learning more about collaborative project-based programs