To help encourage Arts faculty to envision and implement practical learning components into Arts courses, a multidisciplinary group has developed a new Practical Learning Strategies web resource, along with an integrated community that offers one-on-one support. The effort is a collaboration involving Arts Work Integrated Education, Arts Alumni, Arts ISIT, the UBC Career Centre and the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT).
In a Q&A with the Faculty of Arts, Julie Walchli, Executive Director, Work Integrated Education and Career Initiatives in Arts shared more about what this resource offers to Arts faculty, and the inside story of why and how it was developed.
What is this project all about?
To start with, ‘practical learning’ is a broad term, and it looks different in different disciplines. But overall, the concept is about enriching student learning with experiences that help students link what they learn in the classroom with the world outside it.
The main goal of this project was to make it easier for faculty members to incorporate practical learning experiences into their courses. To do this, we’ve developed this Practical Learning Strategies web resource that serves as a hub for all kinds of information. Key among the components is a series of ‘teaching stories’: accounts of UBC Arts faculty members who are already using a practical learning approach, which can serve to inspire and guide others who wish to incorporate practical learning in their own courses.
The web page provides one point of contact for faculty members to connect with professional staff who can support them in their efforts. The resource also streamlines the support process to engage the CTLT and the Career Centre experts. It’s important for faculty members to understand they don’t have to figure this out alone: there’s a community ready to work with them.
Visit the Faculty of Arts site to learn more.
Through Strategy 13: Practical Learning, UBC is supporting faculty in expanding online and other accessible offerings in response to evolving demand from working practitioners and lifelong learners, many of whom are UBC alumni.