MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Experiential Learning, or EXL, is highlighted in the April edition of “Out of the Blue,” Middle Tennessee State University’s television magazine.
Program director Carol Swayze talked with show host Andrew Oppmann, vice president of the university’s Division of Marketing and Communications, to outline details of MTSU’s EXL Scholars Program.
Watch the segment:
EXL encompasses various high-impact practices that incorporate elements commonly found in traditional internships as students transition from the classroom setting. Students get “hands-on” learning such as co-ops, study abroad, lab courses, teacher education and research as part of coursework.
“We have many different types of courses that count as Experiential Learning,” Swayze said. “So it’s all across the university. We have courses in every college.”
Faculty choose whether it’s a one-week project, a monthlong project or the entire semester, she explained.
“We have one program where the students go and actually do activities with senior citizens and this has been an ongoing partnership for over probably 15 years or more,” Swayze said.
Students are rewarded for their EXL coursework.
Those who meet the required credit hours then take the capstone ePortfolio class. Once completed, they will earn an Experiential Learning Scholar distinction for graduation that includes cords, a certificate for framing, notation on their transcript and a digital badge; graduate students receive a medallion.
“We found that many of our students get job offers as part of this. Some of them already have jobs based on their ePortfolios once they leave the university,” she said.
To learn more about EXL, visit https://www.mtsu.edu/exl/.
“Out of the Blue” is available anytime on the university’s YouTube channel, the True Blue TV channel, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. It also airs on Murfreesboro cable Channel 9 daily at 6 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; NewsChannel5+ at 6:30 p.m. Sundays; and streamed on the MTSU Jazz Network through WMOT.org at 7 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month; and on other cable outlets in Middle Tennessee, so check local listings.
It is also available as a podcast on iTunes and Google Play and as individual interview segments on Spotify at https://spoti.fi/453hxg3.
Watch previous episodes of “Out of the Blue” at https://mtsunews.com/out-of-the-blue.
— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)
COMMENTS ARE OFF THIS POST