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Office of Experiential Learning
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ExpLearn for Faculty and Staff

Experiential Learning is a pedagogical tool to promote student learning, development, and growth. UNF uses the Florida Board of Governors, adopted from the National Association for Colleges and Employers, definition for Experiential Learning:
Experiential Learning engages students beyond the classroom and provides practical insight into world readiness while building knowledge and skills and establishing professional connections. Experiential Learning encompasses a wide variety of enriching opportunities for students, including service-learning, faculty-led research, study abroad, student employment, cooperative education, and internships. When engaging in these applied experiences, students can reflect on their unique value to the world or work and gain confidence in their career direction.
  • Internship

    What is an Internship?

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    An internship is a paraprofessional work experience in the appropriate field for a student’s major, field of study, or occupational interest. Internships require a time commitment from host sites, student supervision by a qualified professional, and student learning outcomes. Internships can be for-credit or not-for-credit, paid or unpaid. Additional examples of activities in this category include field experiences, practica, clinical, student teaching, and apprenticeships.
  • Career & Professional Experiences

    What are Career and Professional Experiences?

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    Career and professional experiences allow students to develop competency attainment that occurs as an extension of the classroom. Examples of activities that qualify for this category are mentoring, credentials, micro-internships, and job shadowing and externships.
  • Creative, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial Activity

    What are Creative, Innovative, and Entrepreneurial Activities?

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    Creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial activities are substantive applications of academic preparation in real-world settings outside and inside the classroom through creative projects not captured through academic research. Experience must include disseminating or sharing the creative, innovative, or entrepreneurial project. Some examples include capstone projects, curating an art show, recital or exhibition of creative works, and entrepreneurship or innovation projects.
  • Undergraduate Research

    What is Undergraduate Research?

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    Undergraduate research is collaborative research opportunities between a student and faculty, staff, or professional. This collaboration involves a four-step learning process:

    1. identification of and acquisition of a disciplinary or interdisciplinary methodology,
    2. setting out of a concrete investigative problem,
    3. carrying out of the actual research, and
    4. dissemination of research findings.

    Activities that count toward this experiential learning activity include research assistantships, honors in the major theses, directed independent study/independent research, and community-based research.
  • Global or Sociocultural Learning

    What is Global or Sociocultural Learning?

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    Global or sociocultural learning is sustained engagement with and study of cultures other than one’s own. This experiential learning can take place inside as well as outside the traditional classroom. Activities included in this category are intensive study abroad experiences, gap year fellows, domestic study away programs, and global scholars.
  • Leadership

    What is Leadership?

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    Leadership is engaging in a substantial, immersive leadership experience or participating in leadership training activities outside the traditional classroom. These can be curricular, co-curricular, or extracurricular. The goal of these activities is to learn how to leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals or to use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. Examples of activities that meet this standard are peer leadership/mentoring experiences, resident/community assistants, student leadership roles in clubs, organizations, and student government, and leadership training, summits, and retreats.
  • Community-Based Learning

    What is Community-Based Learning?

    Outline of high rise buildings with a tree in the foreground and a shining sun.

    Community-based learning is intentionally designed, coordinated, and executed learning experiences in community-based settings that enhance participants’ academic learning, contribute to their personal growth, and increase their civic engagement while concurrently benefiting the community or communities in which these activities are embedded. Examples of this category include service-learning, volunteering, community service projects, living-learning communities, Days of Service, and civic engagement (course-based, for-credit).