Becoming the national leader in experiential ... - Keuka College

exploring career options and gaining
insight into what it takes to be successful
after college.
Field Period may reinforce a choice
of major…
Biology major Chastity Jock ’97 spent a
Field Period working at the Millstone nuclear
power plant in Waterford, Conn.A contact
there connected her with a professor at the
University of New Haven. He offered her a
job as research assistant, so Jock applied for
study at New Haven and was accepted. She’s
now a geographical information systems manager for an independent
environmental research and consulting firm in Mobile,Ala.
… or to choose another major…
Board of Trustees member Mary Ann Moschner ’74 entered
Keuka with the intent of becoming a teacher. Her first Field Period
found her teaching fifth grade math, and while it reinforced her affection
for math, she didn’t enjoy the classroom setting.After faculty
member Roy Shortt convinced her to consider putting her math acumen
to use in a business career, Moschner set out to find a businessrelated
Field Period her junior year.“At that time, not many women
pursued business jobs,” recalled Moschner. Enter College Trustee Janet
Harrington, who helped Moschner arrange a Field Period in
Wilmington (Del.) Bank and Trust’s systems analyst department.
The following year, Moschner completed a Field Period at an insurance
company and accepted a position at IBM after graduation.
“Field Period gives students insight quickly and often,”
said Burke.“Whether a student views his or her Field Period
positively or negatively, there’s a positive educational outcome.”
Not all Field Periods revolve around career exploration,
however. Field Periods with service learning, crosscultural/diversity
exploration, personal development, and spiritual
exploration themes are also popular (see Page 9).
“These types of Field Periods allow students to explore
themselves and are personally rewarding and helpful in their
careers,” said Sally Berch, associate director of experiential
education.
Burke said students such as LaRocca, who conduct Field
Periods with non-profit organizations, come away with “an
understanding of the importance of service in society.”
While LaRocca concedes that his work at the Yates
County Humane Society could easily fall under the service
learning or personal development Field Period labels, he
stressed that career exploration was involved as well. Prior to
the Field Period, he had narrowed his choice of what to
study in graduate school to animal behavior, zoology, or environmental
chemistry.And now?
“Working with animals is definitely what I want to do,”
he said.
More than Just Field Periods
While Field Period is the centerpiece of Keuka’s commitment
to experiential education, examples of that commitment
can be found across campus.
LaRocca’s
Field Period
cemented
his graduate
Assistant Professor of Education Ellen
study plans.
Contopidis taught the new Remedial
Techniques course at Penn Yan Academy last
fall.
“Site-based education is an extension
of the Keuka College vision of experiential
education,” said Contopidis.“Providing
authentic environments for learning will
only add to the quality of the professionals
that leave Keuka College.”
Said junior Chris Clark:“I think we
learned a lot more by being inside a
school district and working directly with students.”
Members of Keuka’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
team annually take what they learn in the classroom and
apply it to the real world. Last year, they designed a marketing
plan for St. Mark’s Terrace, an independent-living complex
for senior citizens in Penn Yan.
Experiential education is also part of co-curricular life at
Keuka. Joanne Lurken ’00, who served as a resident assistant
(RA) during her tenure at Keuka, said that experience has
helped her as a teacher at East Syracuse Minoa Junior High
School.
“As an RA, I interacted with many students in many different
circumstances,” said Lurken.“I learned many communication
skills and learned how to deal with, and take control
of, different situations. I use these skills when I am up in front
of a class teaching.”
The campus employment program (work study), which is
administered through the Office of Experiential Education,
allows students to gain hands-on experience on campus. Like
the Field Period, work-study gives students the opportunity
to write resumes, search for jobs on-line, apply for a job, and
interview, according to Anne Marie Guthrie, assistant dean
for experiential education.
Several academic disciplines require practical, real-world
work experiences in addition to the four required Field
Periods. Some of those semester-long requirements are called
practicums; others are referred to as seminars or internships.
Lessons that Last a Lifetime
Practicums, Field Periods, co-curricular, and classroom
activities all offer Keuka students the opportunity to do and
understand.
And retain.
“Our experiential education philosophy is based on the
Kolb Learning Model, a process that requires students to
reflect,” said Professor of Nursing Nancy D. Bailey.
“Concrete experiences start off the process.”
According to Bailey, the student works through the theoretical
model, which forces him or her to critically think
through the situation and, in a similar situation, be able to
apply the new learning.
Said Burke:“In getting students to realize [experiential
education] is a cycle, we are preparing them to use it even
after they graduate.”