Most faculty believe that for any area of academic focus, a core body of knowledge must be learned by students, and often that core is best delivered through traditional lectures and labs. Internships with governmental and nongovernmental agencies and private industry give students an accurate window on what professions in Natural Resources are really like, and provide valuable contacts with potential employers. Intramural experiential learning will include opportunities for undergraduate students to interact with researchers and educators within the University. Undergraduates will contribute to the team s efforts and learn from more senior workers on the team. Through the establishment of a new set of experiential learning courses, an appropriate amount of credit will be given to all undergraduates participating on a team.
Reflection is an entirely new part of our curriculum.
Students will benefit from setting their own educational and professional goals and from reflecting on how they are proceeding toward those goals. Students will work with a coordinator and an academic advisor to set their objectives and goals, and then to periodically reexamine these and make mid-course corrections as they proceed through college. Synthesis of knowledge is the fourth component of the new curriculum. Students will be required in these courses to bring together knowledge from a variety of subject areas to address real-world problems and issues. More importantly, this new paradigm will change our program from one that is teaching oriented to one that is learning oriented.