Call for Award Applications
Innovation in Experiential Education Award
Presented by USD’s Experiential Education Committee
Award Rationale and Purpose
The Experiential Education Committee (EEC) is committed to facilitating student-centered experiential learning, including service learning, internships, classroom simulations, and research. Such activities require great faculty dedication. To encourage, celebrate, and disseminate best practices in the development and implementation of experiential learning, the EEC annually presents the Innovation in Experiential Education Award, which includes a $1,000.00 cash award, to a faculty innovator.
Eligibility Requirements
All USD faculty are eligible. The award will be given for innovative and successful experiential activities that have been developed or implemented in a course during the last two academic years. Examples of recent activities receiving this award are listed below:
- 2002 - Dr. Perla Myers, Math and Computer Science. Student activity: creating workshops for elementary school students and their parents (Family Math Night)
- 2003 - Dr. Barbara Withers, School of Business Administration. Learning project management by executing a 4-day home renovation (The Thanksgiving Project)
- 2004 - Dr. Susan Lord, Engineering. Mastering engineering concepts by presenting them to middle school students
- 2005 - Dr. Lonnie Rowell, School of Leadership and Education Sciences. Working with local counseling centers to prepare and present an annual research conference
- 2006 - Dr. Peter Kanelos, English. Studying Shakespeare and Film by becoming Shakespearean filmmakers
- 2007 - Dr. Leeva Chung, Communication Studies, group work in class and on behalf of community programs
Application Process
Faculty should submit nominations (or self-nominations) by April 1st to the Center for Community Service-Learning, Maher 218. Nominees will be contacted and invited to submit the following information by April 21, 2008 to be considered for the award. Past awardee applications are available upon request.
- A one-page summary that includes your name, title, school or department, and a listing of courses for which the faculty members have developed experiential activities in the past two academic years. For each course, list its number, title, and semester taught, followed by a brief description of the experiential activities used in the course.
- A letter, not to exceed three single-spaced pages, that summarizes the faculty member’s experiential education learning activities. You may give course-by-course summaries or focus on one or two activities to best address these areas:
- Describe the experiential activity and its educational objectives.
- Relevant course syllabi (a maximum of two) and supporting materials, such as class handouts. (Letters of support are optional.)
a. Discuss how these objectives had been accomplished prior to implementing the activity.
b. Discuss student reception of the experiential activity.
c. Evaluate the success of the experiential activity and discuss whether the educational objectives were achieved; cite evidence of success, such as test scores and student evaluations.
d. Discuss the activity’s benefits and limitations with specific attention to how you would modify the activity in future courses.
Questions about eligibility or the application process should be directed to Dr. David De Haan, EEC Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, ddehaan@sandiego.edu, x7932. The EEC committee will select the award recipient. All applicants will be notified of their status by early May 2008. The recipient will receive an award certificate at a luncheon presentation to be scheduled for Fall 2008.
