Students in Dr. Lisa Baker's lab learn about neuroanatomy through the dissection process.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—It may be summer, but Dr. Lisa Baker's lab is filled with the excitement of discovery as undergraduate students venture into the unknown, dissecting cow brains to expand their classroom knowledge in neuroanatomy and behavioral neuroscience.
Dr. Jacob Berglin's project partners with community organizations such as the Kalamazoo Children's Chorus, Gilmore Piano Festival and Kalamazoo Public Schools to engage student teaching artists from education, performance and composition majors to support and collaborate with K-12 students outside of the school day.
It's one thing to read about best practices in a textbook; it's another to immerse yourself in your chosen career and experience the challenges and rewards firsthand.
"Experiential learning isn't just a resume or portfolio builder; for me, it's an amazing guide to the right career path, and it builds comfort through discomfort," says kinetic imaging student Natalie Wiersma.
Western is ramping up opportunities for the latter, making a significant investment in experience-driven learning with its inaugural Experience-Driven Learning Venture Grants.
"We're continually striving to level up how we meet our students' learning needs," says WMU President Edward Montgomery. "Our unwavering commitment to offer a relevant and high-quality education 'so that all may learn' is more than just a slogan; it's actually who we are as a University. It's our credo. It's our North Star."
Supported by funding from the Empowering Futures Gift, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, University Advancement, Office for Business and Finance, and Division of Student Affairs, 22-faculty led projects are underway with the goal of enriching the student experience and ensuring Broncos are career-ready when they graduate.
"The benefits of these efforts will be manifold," Montgomery says. "Experiential education complements our excellent classroom instruction, providing students with opportunities to practice what they learned in applied settings, be it through internships, research collaborations with our faculty or service-learning. This practical application not only deepens their learning but also boosts their skills, abilities and competencies."
The first cohort of grant recipients represents a diverse array of disciplines from nearly every college. Their projects create transformative experiences by igniting innovation, scaling up professional experience, cultivating community impact, expanding research opportunities and bolstering educational programming.
"These projects are student-centered and put experiences in reach for students who may otherwise not have the opportunity. Some lean on students to help develop new efforts. Many of these projects will make an impact on our local community through community storytelling, assistance for local nonprofits and supporting school districts in need of talent," says Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Immersive Curriculum
The Experience-Driven Learning Venture Grants aim to prepare a new generation of agile professionals. Projects span disciplines from upgrading to the latest virtual reality and motion-capture technology in kinetic imaging to creating a cutting-edge makerspace to explore how artificial intelligence and robotics can transform social interactions and digital interfaces in the XDesign Lab. Other projects, such as the IDEAS Collaboratory, add new avenues for research while creating a framework for the cross-disciplinary pollination of ideas between science and art, engaging students and faculty in collaborations involving field, laboratory and studio-based work.
Product design student Ryan Stock's team envisioned an innovative hazardous waste kiosk in their Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact project.
"To cross discipline boundaries, students need to communicate at higher levels rather than getting caught up in the details of their fields," says Jacklyn Brickman, assistant professor of kinetic imaging and co-project leader of the IDEAS Collaboratory.
"Big picture conceptual thinking promotes idea generation, leadership and creativity that empowers students with meaningful and critical skills, regardless of their career path, making their research more relatable to others. This sets students up to succeed in an ever-changing employment landscape."
Building on the concept of cross-discipline collaboration, the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact received a venture grant to expand marketing efforts and increase engagement. The yearlong program charges teams of students to imagine solutions to sustainability problems and pitch their concepts to a panel of sustainability professionals. Judges say it gives students a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving industry.
“These students are going to graduate and be light years ahead. I think colleges like Western that can get in front of that cutting edge and really help inform this next generation are going to be so important to our sustainability efforts in the future," says challenge judge Laura Evans, director of environment, social and governance for Cirba Solutions.
Impactful Partnerships
Experience-driven learning has the power to not only build student skills and resumes but also make a difference in the communities Western serves.
Through the "Grant Writing for Social Impact" project, students will engage in service-learning with clients while preparing submission-ready grant proposals for community health nonprofit Lori's Hands.
Students developed a historic guided boat ride to spur tourism in Idlewild, which was once a thriving resort community for African Americans. The Lewis Walker Institute has also created History House Coffee, a mobile coffee shop that will be staffed by local youth as well as WMU students.
In "The Emergence, Decline and Revitalization of the Historic African American Lake Community Known as the Black Eden" project, students will run a purpose-driven coffee company to employ teens in the community of Idlewild while also developing a historic guided boat ride to spur tourism.
"Learning about the history of Idlewild and the fact it was meant as a resort for African Americans during the Jim Crow era made me realize how important it is to keep the legacy of this place alive for years to come," says Arise Rock, a theatre student from Detroit.
The experience inspired Rock to begin an interview project that she plans to turn into a documentary-style movie to raise awareness about Idlewild.
"It's always a beautiful thing to get out of your comfort zone and explore other traditions, cultures and places," says Rock. "Actually being in the place you're studying gives you a much more well-rounded perspective and leads to conversations that feel much more productive than if you were looking at photos in an old history textbook."
"It's no wonder 93% of graduates participate in experiential learning," says Vasquez Heilig. "What Western offers students is remarkable, and we want to keep building on that success." ■