SONJA BURROWS, PhD | Portfolio
Experiential Learning Lifecycle | An online learning community
Project Description: This is an online community space for reflection and connection designed for students, faculty and staff across Middlebury who are connected to experiential learning opportunities such as internships, research, community engagement, service learning, and self-directed projects. The learning space was created by a cross-institutional team consisting of members from Middlebury’s Center for Careers and Internships, Social Impact Corps, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Global Health Programs, the Department of Political Science, the Center for Teaching, Learning and Research, and the Center for Community Engagement — all of whom advised on the creation of an online learning space in partnership with Sonja Burrows of Middlebury’s Office of Digital Learning and Inquiry. The aim of the community space is to help Middlebury students prepare for both domestic and international experiential learning opportunities.
Design: This online community space is built with a full-installation of WordPress and designed in partnership with staff and leadership across Middlebury. Design highlights include a connection space intended for use by Middlebury students engaging in an experiential learning opportunity either domestically or internationally, with the intention to serve as a resource hub to support their growth and learning as well as a reflection space for processing their experience before they go, during their experience, and after they return, and to support students as they integrate what they learned into their academic life and future plans.
Additional Features: A key feature of this space is its intention to help students to prepare for and process their learning experience. Here, students are invited to participate in a community of learning by reflecting on their experiences through a private blog that allows them to engage with fellow community members by reflecting and responding to published posts. Community members are also invited to independently problem solve by accessing information in the resources section of of the space, which contains articles, links, training materials, videos, assignments, and more.
Sonja Burrows served as lead Instructional Designer on this project as part of her work with Middlebury’s Office of Digital Learning and Inquiry. Please send a message to request further information.
