For them and students in career-oriented programs, experiential education helps demonstrate commitment. She said such opportunities provide students with life experiences, expose them to different social circumstances and help them develop poise, self-confidence and other needed workplace skills. Friedman said employers are also increasingly using internships as their pipeline for future employees. In addition, Tricomi said experiential experiences must be viewed as crucial to student learning. One thing we have learned from the literature on how students learn is that different students learn differently and are motivated by different experiences.
Some students respond relatively poorly to abstract concepts, but well to concrete applications.
Learning outside the classroom must be part of a comprehensive Binghamton experience, he said.