Assudani Rashmi

Professor and Chair, Departmnt on Management and Entrepreneurship
Xavier University

Project Title:

High Impact Practices: Signature Immersive Learning Experiences at Xavier.

Overview:

Immersive learning experiences offer high-impact, contextualized, authentic application of classroom learning while providing students the opportunity to examine and reflect upon how this learning has evolved them as men and women for others. The creation and leadership of immersive learning experiences must be carefully managed and firmly rooted in our Jesuit mission. This project has focused on working with Xavier’s Faculty Learning Community with faculty representation from 3 Colleges to examine integrated and transformative immersion programs to create inclusive learning opportunities for our students.

Rational:

This project is tied to Xavier’s Strategic and Academic Plan which asks that 100% of students have an immersive learning experience. This aspirational goal requires us to build faculty and institutional capacity for these experiences. In order to operationalize this goal, the timing is appropriate for this Faculty Learning Community to examine various facets of developing and launching immersive experiences.

Project Details:

The year-long Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is designed to offer support for interested faculty and staff to organize, implement and experience first-hand a short-term domestic immersion program, to explore aspects of the pre-immersion, immersion and post-immersion experience, to consider the role of our Jesuit heritage in such programs, and to contribute to university-wide planning and implementation of immersive experiences. Participants examine learning outcomes for immersive learning experiences and analyze measurement tools for assessing the learning outcomes. In addition to participating fully in the planning, organization and choosing the theme of the immersive learning experience, participants develop individual projects related to the topic which will serve to enhance and build capacity for immersive learning options across the university.

Indications of Success:

Growing interest on this topic within the Xavier community and representation by faculty members from all 3 Colleges are measures of success. Individual FLC member projects will be presented to the entire Xavier community in late Spring 2019. FLC members are also likely going to present findings from the year-long discussions at Faculty Assembly.

Challenges:

(1) Working through different interpretations of immersive experiences. (2) Finding the additional time to dedicate to this timely project. (3) Ensuring that all relevant units at Xavier were solicited out for information that would help craft process and policy recommendations to promote integration of immersive learning with coursework.