Education

SUPPLEMENT TO THE FREE PRESS • SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2022 15 EDUCATION GUIDE as medicine, nursing and teaching since the university was founded. More recently, there's been an increased emphasis on pro- viding experiential learning opportunities to students as part of the university's long- term strategic plans, she added. "Yes, we want them to successfully gradu- ate from their program. But we're also look- ing to help them develop their careers and to serve as contributing members of their communities," Usick says. "At the end of the day, it's about helping students in their growth and development and for them to be able to look back one day and see how much they've learned. Conver- sations are often about getting a job at the end of your degree program and that's im- portant, but it's also about learning, think- ing critically, developing new skills and be- ing a good citizen of the world." UM offers a number of experiential learn- ing opportunities in addition to Communi- ty Engaged Learning. They include: • Applied Research: allows students to learn by collaborating with faculty re- searchers and community partners. • Campus Integrated Learning: provides campus and community-based learning opportunities with a wide range of col- laborators and partners. • Co-operative Education: combines ac- ademic programming with paid, full- time work experience. • Creative Works: offers students an op- portunity to produce everything from fine artwork, dance and writing to film- making, music and other forms of cre- ative expression. • Entrepreneurship: provides a chance to engage in the early-stage development of business start-ups and advance ideas that address real-world challenges. • Program-Based Experience: engages students in exploring and practising discipline-specific concepts and com- petencies for academic credit or recog- nition. This can include everything from working at a dental clinic to shadowing a practising lawyer as part of an extern- ship. Usick says it will be easier for students to explore the experiential learning opportu- nities available to them at UM beginning this fall. The university will soon unveil a new digital platform that will be known as UM Connect. It will essentially serve as an online catalogue of all of the university's ex- periential learning programs and will help students to choose which ones best match their interests or needs. As for students who may be interested in experiential learning but aren't sure if it's the right fit for them, Spearman has a few words of advice. "I always say that university is about academic learning, personal learning and emotional learning," she says. "The classroom can only give you one side of that. An opportunity like a Commu- nity Engaged Learning program allows you to accomplish those other two goals of per- sonal and emotional growth. I think all of those bundled together will make your uni- versity experience so much more meaning- ful than if you just have the academic side of it." SUPPLIED PHOTOS I always say that university is about academic learning, personal learning and emotional learning." — Amy Spearman Culturally enriched education for all A C C R E D I T E D C O L L E G E A N D U N I V E R S I T Y L E V E L P R O G R A M M I N G I N F O R T F R A N C E S , K E N O R A & S I O U X L O O K O U T 7 G E N E R A T I O N S . O R G I # M Y S G E I CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

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