Project Investigator(s): Will Valley, Senior Instructor, Food and Community (Land & Food Systems); Stephanie Lim, Department of Educational Studies
Project Description
Since 2005, Land and Food Systems undergraduate students must take two required courses (LFS250, 350) that offer our academically diverse students a common, interdisciplinary, integrative, and progressively more complex experiential learning foundation. LFS250 students facilitate a low-risk, highly-structured school food literacy workshop, while LFS350 students collaborate with a community partner on a complex, community-generated project. Fourth year students may then choose from an array of experiential learning courses (e.g. LFS450, LFS496, FNH425, FNH473, SOIL402). This project seeks to identify, analyze, and measure impacts of LFS’ scaffolded, community-based experiential learning approach on students and alumni, to inform and strengthen teaching and learning practices.
Research Questions
- How does this pedagogical approach to teaching and learning inform post-graduation choices for UBC LFS alumni (career, research, etc.)?
- How can we use this analysis to strategically inform future iterations of the program infrastructure and curricula?
- Can we provide a model and relevant data to colleagues engaged in similar teaching practices, in order to support the “scaling up” of this program infrastructure?
- Can findings from this project strengthen the LFS tri-mentoring program and/or other Faculty mentoring initiatives?
- How do the LFS findings reinforce and/or add complexity to Professor Henry Yu’s 2019 SoTL project findings on experiential learning and ACAM alumni?
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
A greater understanding of the long-term impacts of LFS’ experiential learning approach will be relevant for programs such as ACAM390A, Go Global seminars, CCEL programs, and other faculty looking to engage students in ethical community-based research work. This project may offer innovative methods to model ethical and reciprocal community-based research and learning, and has the potential to nurture a robust and engaged alumni community. A longitudinal study and analysis of LFS alumni experiences will help shape curriculum design, program structures, resourcing and supports, and university-community relationships. This will contribute to stronger student research and learning, and successful transitions after graduation.