As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, Extension is called upon to modify its programming to meet the needs of its changing constituency. Georgia Extension created a professional development curriculum to assist Extension professionals in crafting effective programming for the rapidly growing Latino population. The study reported here…

Design thinking is a way of understanding and engaging with the world that has received much attention in academic and business circles in recent years. This article examines a hands-on learning model as a vehicle for developing design thinking capacity in students. An overview of design thinking grounds the discussion of the material-based…

This state of knowledge article provides an overview of Adventure Therapy (AT) as it is practiced with adolescents in North America, presenting (a) current findings in AT research with adolescents, (b) critical issues in AT, (c) the need for training and professional development in AT, and (d) professionalization in AT. Implications of current…

Experiential education is often used in entrepreneurship courses, as it conveys both substantive, theoretical knowledge and intangible learning experiences best absorbed through active participation. Starting and operating a business is a unique, educational experience allowing students to apply the substantive knowledge gained in entrepreneurship…

Hands-on educational experiences can stimulate student interest, increase knowledge retention, and enhance development of clinical skills. The Lachman test, used to assess the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is commonly performed by health care professionals and is relatively easy to teach to first-year health profession…

In an effort to reform public child welfare systems across the nation, Title IV-E child welfare training programs were established over 2 decades ago. Participating students typically engage in a customized educational experience as part of their MSW program that prepares them to work in the field of child welfare upon graduation. This article…

Long before empirical neurological research validated her insight, Montessori understood that healthy, full-term babies come equipped with a physiological passion for learning. Brain studies have confirmed that most of the brain's development and inner wiring occurs during the first 2 years of life. A newborn's neurons have sparse, weak…

From an instrumental view, conceptual frameworks that are carefully assembled from existing literature in Educational Technology and related disciplines can help students structure all aspects of inquiry. In this article we detail how the development of a conceptual framework that connects theory, practice and method is scaffolded and facilitated…

This paper reports on a year-long research project that investigated the value of experiential engagement with "alternative" communities which derive a high degree of self-reliance from working closely with their own local natural resources. Opportunities for higher education students to explore these communities were developed and the…

This paper reports on research into the ways in which student teachers' experiential learning is mediated by socioculturally situated narrative resources. The research uses Wertsch's idea of the narrative template as a co-author of individual narratives. This idea is developed to be useful in the particular context of initial teacher education…

This article describes the Energy Transformation 4-H school enrichment curriculum. The curriculum addresses energy efficiency and conservation while meeting sixth-grade science essential standards requirements. Through experiential learning, including building and testing a model home, youth learn the relationship between various technologies and…

Teaching practice is the central activity in testing teaching skills gathered in classroom learning and in preparing professional teachers in any country. The current study investigated student teachers perception and experience on the teaching practice supervisor's treatment, student supervisor pre or post classroom discussion and teaching…

This paper reports on the implementation of a model that infuses service-learning into a four-year foundation phase teacher education programme. We argue for an integrated curriculum design utilising specifically the teaching (laboratory) school of the faculty, not only for clinical experience or work-integrated learning, but also for…

There is growing consensus in states across the nation that the goal of the K-12 education system is to "prepare all students to graduate from high school ready for college and careers". Yet, in all but a handful of states, the priority goals set to drive student performance toward and beyond college and career readiness sputter out…

Adults who pursue postsecondary education often bring with them considerable college-level learning that they acquired from their work, military, or life experience. Through prior learning assessment (PLA), they may be able to have this learning evaluated for college credit. One form of PLA is individualized assessment, in which students prepare a…