Junior Year Experiential Learning Requirement

The experiential learning requirement engages students in the first-hand discovery of knowledge through observation and participation in activities in an unpredictable setting, usually (but not exclusively) off-campus. Students are asked to reflect on what they have learned about themselves, others, and a larger social context given the connection between course content and their experience. To do this, they may have contact with a community, an international setting, a workforce environment, or take on a role in the classroom or laboratory that is substantively different than that of student, such as model the professional behavior of a researcher or teacher.

Courses may be offered in a student's major, and can meet both major field and liberal studies requirements. Students who complete one course to fulfill both major field credit and liberal studies credit, will complete an additional domain elective (from outside the major). The third language course of the modern language option can fulfill this domain elective.

The following types of courses will fulfill the junior year experiential learning requirement:

1. Internship and Cooperative Education
   Courses taken in conjunction with internship and cooperative education programs offer students the opportunity to apply concepts learned in the classroom to worksite experiences: workplace ethics and activities, diversity, values-based leadership, hiring processes, communication networks, organizational culture, etc. In addition to intellectual growth, students gain career awareness and develop work-related skills. There are several internship and co-op programs and courses available to students: University Internship and Co-op Program, college-specific programs, and department-specific programs.
   
   
2. Study Abroad
   Study abroad and domestic travel programs emphasize social, political, historical and cultural understanding through intensive or extensive immersion in the lives and histories of people outside the socio-cultural context of Chicago. Although the majority of programs are completed in one quarter, some study abroad programs range in duration from two weeks to a complete academic year. Programs for less than one quarter are taught by DePaul faculty who help students link the experience of travel (either abroad or domestic) with particular topics or content. Longer programs abroad provide students with an extensive immersion experience that reinforces and compliments classroom learning with teachers and students at foreign institutions.
   
   
3. Community-based Service-Learning (CbSL)
   CbSL courses engage students in responsible and challenging experiences in community organizations that relate directly to the topic of the course in which they are enrolled. CbSL courses offer students the opportunity to explore issues of social inequality and injustice, as well as the powerful work conducted by community-based organizations. CbSL courses are found throughout the undergraduate curriculum. Students have the opportunity to reflect upon what they have learned through their community service during class discussions. Information on service learning opportunities is available through DePaul's Steans Center for Community-Based Service Learning at cbsl.depaul.edu.
   
   
4. Academic Practicum
   This category includes courses such as scientific laboratory research which involves extensive field or laboratory work or student teaching where students apply pedogical theories in the role of educator in a classroom environment under their charge. All academic practicums must be closely supervised, evaluated and graded by a faculty member.

Learning Outcomes and Writing Expectations
Approved by the Liberal Studies Council, Spring 2006

Learning Outcomes:

Students in Junior Year Experiential Learning courses will:

1. apply particular concepts from readings, lectures, etc. to an analysis of lived experiences in the settings provided by the course;
2. use the experiences provided by the course to construct and articulate the impact of their experience on their understanding of course content;
3. use their new understanding to make decisions and solve problems related to the course, whether at the setting provided by the course, or in other assignments.
   The experiential learning component is recommended for the junior year because much of the learning necessitates foundational knowledge and the ability to work independently. However, some students may complete this requirement in the sophomore or senior year.

Writing Expectations:

Experiential learning courses should include written reflections, which could be in the form of a journal, short reflective essays, and/or longer papers. These reflections should not merely recount a student's experience but should be rooted in and draw from material in readings and lectures, relating the experience to the course's academic content. Furthermore, writing assignments should address the EL learning outcomes by:

1. applying particular concepts from readings, lectures, or other course material to an analysis of a lived experience in the settings provided by the course
2. using the experience provided by the course to construct and articulate the impact of their experience on their understanding of course content
3. using their new understanding to make decisions and solve problems related to the course. For example, in a course where students develop software for a community-based organization, their written reflections should connect what they've seen and learned from the CBO for whom they're developing software with larger societal issues like the digital divide or Chicago's segregated neighborhoods. Similarly, students in an internship or study abroad would be expected to reflect on how their respective experiences in the workplace or abroad connect with relevant course readings and discussions.

Recognizing the broad range of courses approved for EL credit, the quantity of writing required in each EL course must be appropriate for the course. For example, a studio-based or product-oriented course may require 5-7 pages of substantive, reflective writing since learning outcomes are also being met through the deliverable course products or artwork. A humanities based course, on the other hand, may require 8-10 pages of substantive, reflective writing to adequately address the EL learning outcomes.