cooperative education
Edited by GEOFFREY DAVIES ALAN L. MCCLELLAND
professionalwork experience which is an integral part of an academic science program, but the explicit granting of credit for non-academic experience prior to entry into a professional graduate program is much more onusual. Ow author. Dr. Norman Somers. has wide educational experience at a number of colleges and in industry. Since 1975 h e has been Associate Director of the Institute far Personal and Career Development (IPCD) and Adjunct Aisociate Professor of English at Central Michigan University.
Experience and Graduate Level Learning Norman Somers Centrd Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
On October 30 and 31,1980, educators from throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Canada attended a two-day workshop on "Experiential Learning at the Graduate Level." Held in Chicago. Illinois and sponsored by the Institute for Personal andkareer ~ e v e l o p m e n tof Central Michigan University, the program included representatives from the American Council on Education (ACE), the Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL), and the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States (CGS). The workshop addressed the philosophy, practice, prohlems, and womise of the concept of experiential learning which occ& in a variety of settings under the aegis of a graduate school and then specifically looked a t programs and practices of ACE and CMU in evaluating learning experiences which students have had prior to their matriculation in graduate programs. Broad participation in this workshop is evidence for a growing interest in an important aspect of professional training. The experiential learning movement has grown rapidly over the last decade, and CAEL membership now includes some 350 colleges and universities dedicated to developing and promoting high-quality experiential learning programs. These institutions, by and large, recognize two main categories of exueriential learninc: sponsored and unsponsored. The former occurs at an institutiod of higher education where the student is officially registered, and the learning activity is an authorized part of the student's academic program. The latter occurs when learning experiences which a student has had prior to matriculation are evaluated for academic credit after enrollment in a college or university. Examples of sponsored experiential learning programs might include internships or "structured cooperative work experiences" such as those described ureviouslv in this Column.' Uns~onsoredexneriential
course challenge instruments), the method most associated with the experiential learning movement is the preparation of a portfolio of learning experiences hy the student which is then evaluated by faculty for academic credit, CAEL has codified a core of "Principles of Good Practice in Assessing Experiential LearningMzwhich demands of the student the identification, articulation, and documentation of learning, which charges the faculty member with careful measurement and evaluation of the learning experience, and which makes the sponsoring educational institution responsible for the development of faculty handbooks, student brochures, clear and adequate transcription practices and the maintenance of academic analitv. . " American universities have led the way in recognizing the important role of graduate schools in the experiential realm. The development of professional schools, support for the concept of vocational and technical education which achieved honorable status and which culminated in the founding of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1861, and the passage of the Morrill Act in 1862 are conspicuous examples of the important role of experience in graduate education in the united States. John Dewey has stated that "it is not true that organization is a principle foreign to experience. Otherwise, experience would he so dispersive as to he chaotic." 3a Dewey avers that chaos is avoided through ". . .systematic utilization of scientific method as the pattern and ideal of intelligent exploration and exploitation of the potentialities inherent in experience." 3b Dewey cautions against misunderstanding his use of the term "scientific method." He does not mean to call up the snecial technilrues of lahoratorv research, althoueh that possibility in experiences in the sciences which may he suhmitted for experiential learning credit must he considered. What he doesmean to call to our attention is the intellectual necessity for3=
in depth a studeni's joh-related learning experiences, formal training experiences, and other personal experiences which are relevant to the academic degree being sought; the last category, personal experiences, often includes civic work, publications, language skills, and the like. Over the last ten years, especially, it has become more and more common for cdleges ;nd universities to award undergraduate students, particularly adults, academic credit for learning acquired prior to enrollment. Although there are various ways in which credit for prior experience is assessed (e.g., the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) and
. .. keeping track of ideas, activities, and observed consequences. Keeping track is a matter of reflective rewew and summarizing, in which there are both discrimination and record of the significant features of a developing experience.To reflect is tolaok hack
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Davies, G., and McClelland, A. L., J CHEMEDUC.,57, 297,439 718 (1980). Willingham, Warren W., "Principles of Good Practlce in Assessing Experiential Learning," CAEL. Columbia, MD, 1977. Dewey, J., "Experience and Education,'' Macmillan, New York, 1938: (a).p. 102; (b) p. 108; (c)p. 110. Volume 59
Number 3 March 1982
233
lined mind. Despite philosophic& iationales and ACE and CMU adoption of the practice, the CGS nevertheless opposes graduate credit for prematriculation experiences. The CGS policy statement, "Graduate Credit: Its Recognition and Transfer," insists that " . . . no graduate credit should he granted for experiential learning that occurs prior to the student's matriculation in the graduate program," because, the statement continues, graduate credit should be awarded ". . .only when a graduate faculty and dean of an accredited
and/or letters from the organizations or school. Students are also asked to provide course descriptions and syllahi as well as amounts and types of assignments required. Personal experiences include areas other than the work or training experiences described above. These experiences often include volunteer or civic work, special abilities developed by the student, knowledge acquired through ownership of a private enterprise, and publications or unpublished writings. All must be carefully documented.
uates student portfolios and makes the actual award of academic credit. A team member scrutinizes each learning experience to ascertain responsibilities assumed, contributions made, and results achieved. Then the team examines closely the student's documentation to ensure that stated learning learning that has taken place." experiences are supported. Credit is not awarded in blocks but This proscription of practice and the strong helief of many in divisible and comvrehensihle units. Central Michiean faculty that the graduate school exists to conduct highly awards three masters degrees through the IPCD: the ~ a i t e r specialized investigation and research have inhibited the of Arts in Management and Suaervision. the Master of Arts in Community Leadership, and the of Arts in Education. A representative award in . Droerams leadine to a deeree . " in the management area might appear on the student's transcript as: UNV 697 Personnel Administration 2 hours: in .. t t'ul.lit. . \ ~ I I I I ~ I B ~ . I ;I.: ~ .I'KV ~ I I
