Warren Wilson College was featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education special publication entitled “Hands-On Career Preparation—Experiential learning to engage students and meet employers’ needs.” Section 2 of the report, “Experiential Learning in the Classroom,” includes insights from President Damián Fernández, Provost Jay Roberts, and student Luke Wheelan, and celebrates that WWC “bakes experiential education into every facet of its operations, from academics and extracurriculars to keeping the campus running smoothly.”
The publication emphasizes WWC’s connection between hands-on learning, career-readiness and today’s college students. Excerpted from the report:
“Fernández says the approach is based on research showing that students learn better when they’re engaged in the practical application of a theory. ‘It sticks better in the brain,’ he says. ‘The connection between hand and heart and mind enhances not only learning but purpose and problem solving.’
The philosophy is good for business, too. In recent years, administrators like Fernández have stressed to students and their families that experiential education will make them more world- and career-ready in addition to providing a degree. ‘We need to enhance our value proposition,’ he says. ‘And this is a way to do just that.’
He also says there’s never been a better time for higher education to embrace experiential learning, which is tailor-made for a generation that ‘wants to be actors in their own destiny. … They don’t want to be sitting receiving the knowledge. They want to be co-creators of knowledge.’”
The article tied the learning model at the College to the students’ reaction to Hurricane Helene, which flooded large parts of the College’s 1,000+-acre campus, nearby communities, and many other areas of western North Carolina. The article reads:
“The moment the storm passed, Fernández says, students sprang into action with no prompting from faculty members or administrators.
…
Jay Roberts, the college’s provost and dean of faculty, says the students’ response to Hurricane Helene didn’t surprise him. Author of the 2016 book Experiential Education in the College Context: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters, Roberts says relevance raises the stakes for students. …
‘We can talk about employability, but I think students want meaning. Experiential learning provides one of the best ways to make education meaningful,’ (Roberts says.) … When their work actually affects lives, ‘you see the engagement go way up because now it matters to somebody besides just them and the instructor.’”
The inclusion of comments from Luke Wheelan, a music major from Marin County, California, who serves on the College’s Landscaping Crew and was essential to the College’s recovery from Hurricane Helene, stressed the confidence that hands-on learning provides students. The article reads:
“Luke Wheelan from the Landscaping Crew, chainsaw in hand, spent day after day clearing downed trees from roads. Nobody asked him to. He just figured it was a way to be helpful. ‘I knew there weren’t a ton of people on campus who’ve had chain-saw training,” says Wheelan…
But there was also something else at play: Through his courses and his work on the Landscaping Crew, Wheelan says he forged a deep connection to the College, where he has developed the kinds of skills employers value, including teamwork, resilience and communication.”
The publication is available for purchase at store.chronicle.com.