Wells College has made a commitment to strengthen programs and activities
that encourage students to connect their classroom studies with hands-on,
real world experience. At Wells College, experiential learning is intended
to be integrative, based on the process of making learning experiences
meaningful. The classroom learning is the foundation for further inquiry.
In the classroom, students engage in learning through discussion, case
studies, group projects, and the like. They are then given an opportunity
to test and observe the theories, concepts, and ideas learned by applying
them to the "real world."
Our students learn from their experiences. They are able to apply the classroom
learning to the world in a variety of ways. Many majors require students
to complete an internship, while others encourage them. They participate
in every sector of the workforce. They participate in experiences abroad,
as well as in the local community. They become involved in work that is
directed at enhancing the human condition. Wells students are active participants
in research and work side-by-side with noted scholars. All of these opportunities
emphasize an ongoing conversation about how their experiences of the world
can be most accurately and usefully interpreted. It is through this process
of reflection with faculty members that the knowledge and the experience
are unified.
Our responsibility, as it pertains
to experiential learning, is to create opportunities for relating academic
learning to the wider world, to public issues, and to the personal experience
that would result in this kind of growth.
Last updated 10/04/2005
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