What is experiential learning? It is work experience (paid or unpaid) gained by college students before graduation that is connected to their academic program or career interests. The assignments are in the form of an internship, cooperative education or research. In each case, it is supervised by a domain expert who provides regular feedback to support the student’s professional development.
What is the difference between internships, cooperative education, and research?
Internships are the most common experiential program for college students. It generally occurs during the summer before the junior and/or senior (final) year, functioning as the culminating experience. Students work with either a faculty member or a career adviser to access a job at a company or organization that closely relates to their future objectives. Companies benefit from employing interns in two ways: One, by having students supplement employees on projects. Two, they treat the internship period as an extended interview. Observing a student working on projects for two to three months can provide ample opportunities for the hiring manager to determine if the intern would be a good fit as a permanent hire. Conversely, students can gauge whether they desire to work for the company or in the specific domain.
Research is a laboratory position usually suited for students in the engineering, sciences or health-related fields. Working in a research lab is an exciting opportunity. Professors are conducting groundbreaking scientific discoveries or unearthing emerging technologies. Students will refine their problem solving and critical thinking skills by testing and retesting their research methods. As neophyte researchers, some of their tasks may be redundant (multiple trials) or seemingly inconsequential (cleaning beakers and test tubes), but the overall project and discoveries are the goal. In my professional association with professors, they viewed all team members as critical participants.
Cooperative Education is the least known and available (I would guess that only a small fraction of US colleges and universities offer a formal Co-op program) of the three but, in many ways, the most comprehensive. It is a rotational program where students after their freshman year of college alternate between academic semesters and field experiences acting as a theory/practice pedagogical model. Students learn in the classroom and put the theory to test with hands-on responsibilities in the workplace. This is partially why Co-op programs are seldom deployed on college campuses because there is a tremendous amount of coordination necessary between the academic department, Co-op advisor, and employer to ensure meaningful assignments align with the academic major. Students will engage with companies three, four or even five times before graduation with each appointment lasting three to four months. The multiple assignments will extend college by one year but generally at no additional cost because the student pays only for eight academic terms.
Now that we have defined what is experiential learning and its platforms, let us discuss the why.
As I have mentioned previously (link), many aspiring college students understand they have to or should attend college, but few can predict what will happen after the four or five-year journey. Academic majors, aside from direct to labor market majors such as nursing, accounting, and engineering, are lattices of knowledge, a labyrinth of self-discovery and incubators for nurturing skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing. A career path is not clearly defined at the onset and is often discovered midway or near the end of the formal education. The purpose of college is to explore, discover, and develop the talents necessary for a prosperous career – whatever that may be. However, along the way, a student may want to test their abilities or apply their knowledge practically. These planned bypasses can elucidate the connection between academic majors and career plans, providing the all-important “sense of purpose” often sought by students who are motivated more by function than form.
Irrespective of motivation for scholarship, a practical but important matter enters the discussion – employability. Today, the workforce is far different because job experience and college GPA can carry equal weight when judging new hires. Employers are under immense pressure to bring new products to market or upgrade older models in an attempt to appease the impatient millennials and generation X buyers. Therefore, training programs, apprenticeships, and rotational assignments deemed outmoded or unremunerative are replaced by hiring recent graduates with prior training who can immediately provide impact. Companies are going to seriously consider a candidate who has demonstrated an interest in their field by doing research or previous work. In brief, everything being equal – experience matters. Let me illustrate.
A graduating student from Stevens Institute of Technology, where I worked at the time, recounted the successful hiring process for a plum job at a prominent bank in New York City. He was an engineering management major competing for a role as a consultant and strategist in the bank’s IT development division. After the initial interviews, the ten finalists were assembled in a room and tasked with an assignment. The candidate from Stevens realized quickly that it was a leadership test and immediately started delegating and coordinating the elements of the case. The applicants were observed by hiring managers stationed behind a one-way mirror, and by the end of the process, the Stevens student was offered one of only two positions available. Interestingly, he shared that while waiting for the team exercise to commence, the group chatted amongst themselves sharing their academic background which included attendance at Ivy league or other nationally ranked colleges. In the end, his prior work experience provided an edge since he had witnessed first-hand how supervisors interact with employees as opposed to only learning about leadership in textbooks or from lectures.
I could cite many other examples, but for now, I hope you see the picture. Learning is not circumscribed by just attending classroom lectures, reading textbooks or writing papers. Acquiring knowledge, along with testing those principles are keys to a life of fulfillment. Erudition should never stop when our formal education ends with a bachelor, master or doctoral degree, and the reflex should endure like riding a bike, which is something you never forget. The goal is to seek a college that expands your learning modalities both in and outside the classroom. Challenge theory with practice, test hypothesis with research, and appreciate knowledge for its own sake. That’s what college is all about!
If you have trouble knowing where to start or how to discern an excellent experiential learning program, then contact me. I can help you.
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