Experience-Driven Learning Venture Grant Recipients

Animal-assisted interventions involve the incorporation of specially trained animals into settings and practices that increase human well-being (health, education, human services, etc.). Dr. Angela Moe has been working in this area for several years and has been at the forefront of providing therapy dog programming at WMU since the pandemic. She directs the Therapy Dog Clinic, where dogs are incorporated into various aspects of outpatient services at WMU Unified Clinics, and is teaching a new special topics course, HOL 5300 Seminar on Animal Assisted Interventions. Her project, "Animal-Assisted Interventions Course Series," will expand this into a two-part series. The first will be a classroom-based seminar housed within the College of Health and Human Services, in partnership with Dr. Lori Gray, director of the Holistic Health Program. The second will be a practicum, in partnership with College of Health and Human Services as well as with Dr. Andrea Perez, director of Unified Clinics.

The Center for Excellence and Research in Public Service (CERPS) at the School of Public Affairs and Administration bridges WMU students with hands-on learning and career pathways, concurrently delivering essential services to local government, nonprofit and Tribal entities. Through immersive projects, symposium participation and research endeavors, students acquire practical competencies, on-the-ground experience, professional connections and insights into public service vocations. Concurrently, organizations benefit from student assistance across various initiatives such as strategic planning, program assessment, budget management and grant composition. By fostering student involvement within the community, CERPS cultivates the future cadre of public administrators, nonprofit executives and Tribal communities. This mutually advantageous alliance fosters experiential education and generates tangible impacts within Kalamazoo and beyond. Engage with CERPS to mentor aspiring students and fortify your organization's capacity.

This proposal responds to feedback gathered from Idlewild residents during our spring 2023 Study in the States course. Key priorities identified by residents include youth development and increasing community infrastructure. We propose developing History House Coffee (HHC), a mobile coffee business. With HHC, we would be able to employ teens from the community and provide internships for Western students who have an interest in the areas of entrepreneurship, marketing, business management, youth and community development, etc. This unique opportunity would allow WMU students to work on the weekends while also participating in the Broncos Lead professional development sessions on campus during the week. Second, we would partner with the Idlewild Community Development Corporation to develop an Idlewild boat tour experience. The boat tours would allow students enrolled in HNRS 4300 this spring to be able to develop the map’s historical descriptions and tour script for the boat tour.

This experiential-learning opportunity will promote and enhance undergraduate student engagement in behavioral neuroscience research. Students will be invited to apply for a paid summer research internship that will include a tuition scholarship for up to three credit hours of independent study and part-time wages from May to August 2024. Participating students will gain hands-on laboratory experience with neuroanatomy and behavioral neuroscience research methods. They will gain direct experience with various stages of the research process, including scientific literature review, management of computer-controlled behavioral testing and experimental data collection, graphic analysis of experimental data and preparation of research poster presentations. Students interested in pursuing advanced graduate study in neuroscience are encouraged to apply for this opportunity.

Kinetic imaging (KI) is a new program focusing on art and technology in the Gwen Frostic School of Art, offering a Bachelor of Science degree with tracks in animation, game art and video art. Throughout the grant period, KI will implement high-touch, high-tech facilities that are radically accessible and embrace the future of experiential learning and community engagement. We focus on interactive, gestural and responsive approaches for the artistic production and audience participation via virtual reality, motion capture, face tracking and other interactive sensors to create immersive artworks. Additionally, we will install new displays for student exhibitions that will increase KI visibility. With these cutting-edge technologies in place, KI students will leave our program with expertise in a wide range of abilities and be adept at navigating an ever-evolving field of media arts.

Since 2012, Western Michigan University’s Department of English has offered a service-learning undergraduate course that pairs students with community organizations to write grant proposals. These partnerships are immensely successful: Seven different times, the proposals that emerged from this course secured five-figure awards and multiple students have pursued careers as grant writers.

With the support of an Experience-Driven Learning Accelerator Grant, our Grant Writing for Social Impact course will expand to offer undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity for professional training as grant proposal writers as well as for intergenerational teaching and learning.

Students enrolled in this 40-seat service-learning course will partner with Lori’s Hands, a community health service-learning nonprofit that supports independent living and reciprocal learning, to develop submission-ready funding proposals. Key to this partnership is an experiential excursion to the Lori’s Hands chapter in Detroit, Michigan, during which students will meet with leadership and participate in a service project with clients.

The project explores innovative methodological approaches for community-engaged scholarship, specifically focusing on non-extractive and non-intrusive media production practices in documenting and digitizing community stories. The goal of the project is to collaboratively expand on the adoption and implementation of community-engaged learning through the following: expand on high-impact practices in teaching by introducing community-engaged pedagogies into other media production courses; strengthen ongoing community partnerships through hosting more immersive experiences in the community; and create a guide on best practices for non-extractive and non-intrusive community-engaged learning that could be useful for other faculty interested in adopting community-engaged teaching pedagogies in their courses.

Discover a transformative educational experience designed for undergraduate students. This dynamic experiential course combines on-campus sessions with hands-on service work at Kalamazoo Defender, a pioneering nonprofit providing legal defense for indigent individuals in Kalamazoo County. Engaging in 30 hours of service, students will participate in research project design, contributing to data collection and analysis crucial for Kalamazoo Defender's reporting and grant writing initiatives. This immersive experience not only draws upon classroom knowledge but also offers a front-row seat to courtroom proceedings, allowing students to connect with judges, court personnel and the resilient clients of Kalamazoo Defender. Bridging theory and practice, participants gain valuable insights into data analysis and professional writing. Students will receive a stipend upon project completion, cementing this course as a pivotal chapter in their academic and professional journey and empowering them with practical skills and real-world impact. The course is led by Dr. Zoann Snyder, Department of Sociology.

The Unified Clinics TechBoost Project, led by Dr. Michelle Suarez (co-director, Resiliency Center), Dr. Adriana Degani (senior research associate, Resiliency Center) and Kathy Rigley (clinical faculty specialist, College of Health and Human Services/UC), represents a transformative endeavor to enhance experiential-learning opportunities for students through technological infrastructure upgrades at the Unified Clinics. The project addresses the escalating need for expanded technological capabilities in health care education, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the evolving landscape of health care practices. Through acquiring additional Wi-Fi access points and a mobile docking station with laptops, the project aims to bolster Unified Clinics' capacity for remote-learning capabilities, telehealth services, electronic documentation and student research production. These enhancements will enable WMU students to gain hands-on experience in delivering telehealth services to diverse populations, including marginalized communities. Moreover, the initiative underscores WMU's commitment to providing students with cutting-edge learning experiences, contributing to academic excellence and preparing future health care professionals for the demands of the digital age.

The Kalamazoo Autism Center (KAC) provides Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to clients located in Kalamazoo. KAC is owned by WMU, and its psychology program has a world-renowned program in ABA. An undergraduate practicum at KAC offers an introduction to working with Autistic individuals. Additionally, this paid practicum experience will offer students valuable insight into the ABA field and the Autism community early in their academic career. KAC welcomes students from all fields of study for this practicum. This grant will provide an opportunity for WMU students to explore a potential career path, and KAC provides a valued pathway into the ABA field and supplementary fields such as speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, etc.

Undergraduate research has been shown to be incredibly beneficial for both students and universities. Student retention is higher for those who are active in research, and students learn valuable skills for their future education or employment. The WMU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences is implementing a summer research program for computer science, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering and chemical engineering undergraduate students. The objective is to introduce students to research in a way that is accessible to those who cannot or do not traditionally participate. This experience will provide underrepresented students with an opportunity to get a head start on senior design projects.