About the grant
The Experiential Learning Grant is an expansion of the Community-Engaged Learning Grant, which was established in 2014. It aims to: 1) increase opportunities for students to participate in experiential learning; and 2) build capacity for experiential learning at UVic. Opportunities can include experiential learning embedded within an on-campus course or through a course that is delivered entirely off-campus (such as a field school).
This grant is administered by Community-Engaged Learning, as part of Co-op and Career Services.
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Timeline
Application Guidelines
Materials and submission form available by December 1, 2023.
Grant Deadline
Each grant will be due at 11:59pm, January 31, 2024.
Adjudication Process
Grant committees will meet in the following 30-60 days.
Applicants Notified
Applicants will be notified by April 15, 2024.
Supported Initiatives
While there are many forms of EL, the ELF Grant will support three specific areas for experiential learning: Community-Engaged Learning (CEL), Field-Based Learning (FBL) and Research-Enriched Teaching (RET) initiatives.
The ELF Grant also supports small contingency costs associated with fostering reciprocal relationships through the CEL Emergent Activities Fund. To apply for the CEL Emergent Activities Fund, a separate application form is available.
Community-Engaged Learning
Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) is a form of experiential learning and community-engaged scholarship whereby students actively engage with course content through a combination of collaborations with community and facilitated critical reflection (service-learning, project-based, knowledge exchange, research-based, etc.). A broad definition of community is intended, including geographic, government, Indigenous communities and groups, non-profit organizations, industry or other communities of interest. Go to the CEL website to learn about previous recipients and more about CEL.
Field-Based Learning
Field-Based Learning (FBL) is a form of experiential learning whereby students actively engage with course content through a combination of land, sociocultural and/or water-based experiences and facilitated critical reflection. It is often also a form of community-engaged learning. Go to the UVic Field Schools website to learn about some of UVic’s current UVic Field School offerings. Before you apply, consult the CEL Coordinator and the UVic Field Activities information for updates on field-based learning with regards to health and safety.
Research-Enriched Teaching
Research-Enriched Teaching (RET) is a form of experiential and inquiry-based learning that includes hands-on research experiences whereby students actively engage in the research process within their discipline/field. This includes opportunities for students to gain experience in planning and undertaking research or creative activity, from question identification and proposal development, through engagement in the research process or creative activity, to knowledge translation activities.
Eligibility
The experiential learning fund grant is open to:
- Single or co-applicants who directly support student learning and the student experience at UVic (includes research and teaching stream faculty, sessional lecturers, laboratory instructors and relevant academic and professional staff)
- Early-career academic professionals or those new to UVic are especially encouraged to apply
- Previous grant recipients for any LTSI grant (if your grant is still active, you must submit obligations prior to be considered for another grant)
Preference will be given to those with continued appointments. If you are a sessional instructor and you are designing/re-designing a course, we may also ask you and your Chair/Director to indicate that you are likely to teach the course again in the future.
Grant criteria
Successful proposals will include a:
- clear specific statement of what the applicant would like to achieve;
- well-articulated plan for how to proceed and principles that will guide the process;
- description of the proposed significance of the project in terms of contributions to teaching and student learning and experiential learning;
- brief, targeted review of the literature that supports the plan;
- plan for sharing the project goals and outcomes to appropriate audiences;
- sustainable budget with justification for each item; and,
- any additional supports from LTSI or other campus partners that might be helpful for your project.
Please note: Preference will be given to applicants who have not yet received an ELF Grant. You can not apply to more than one LTSI grant in the same year for the same project.
Questions to Consider
While formulating your proposal, consider the goals of your proposed project, how you plan to complete the work on it, what will be its impact on student learning, what learning experiences will be involved and how these are linked to intended learning outcomes (ILOs), how current literature informs your project, as well as the following:
What do you hope to achieve?
While describing the proposed project, state the guiding learning principles, project activities and goals. Pay particular attention to how your project plan aligns with the stated project goals. Your goals should be specific rather than general. ELF projects require a timeline to be included with the project description, as well as the detailing of who will be involved at the different stages of the project.
Which are the learning outcomes that will be delivered and supported by the proposed project?
Consider the ILOs and how the community-engaged, field-based and/or research-enriched experiences are related to these outcomes. Think of the expected benefits to the student learning experience.
Who are the partners that you are working with on the proposed project, and what kind of work is involved?
Think especially of the reciprocal relationships with project partners and the ways in which the community will benefit.
How will you share your findings with colleagues or others both within and outside the university?
We use ‘findings’ here to include any aspect of the process, knowledge gained, goals, outcomes or conceptual framing of your project. This communication can occur at any stage of the development of the project or after its completion.
We ask that successful applicants share the results of their projects at the annual Let’s Talk About Teaching event, which is coordinated by LTSI. Feel free to include this activity if you would like to share your findings in that way. Nevertheless, we also ask that you include additional ways of making your work known for the benefit of the academic and wider community.
Here are some examples of how you could share your project work. You will: share the results of the study with departmental colleagues at your annual teaching retreat; submit significant findings for presentation at discipline-specific professional conferences; share your findings with departmental colleagues at your monthly research seminar series; request that we assist you in offering a workshop through LTSI.
Other information
Is there any other information that you would like to share with members of the adjudication committee that would help them to fully appreciate your proposal?
You will need to contextualize your proposal in relation to the relevant pedagogical literature and other activities with your community partner, as well as similar experiential learning initiatives at UVic or elsewhere. You will need to include a brief literature review of relevant scholarly and, if applicable, other works (e.g., creative research) that are relevant to the project you are In reviewing the literature, connect your work to current work in your discipline and relevant educational trends, and mention how these will inform your own project.
Other considerations
Impact
- The overall goal and purpose of the project and EL opportunity;
- The types of reflection and assessment that will be used to enhance student learning through the proposed EL opportunity;
- The amount of class time dedicated, the significance of the activity, and/or the availability of similar EL opportunities or EL supports;
- How the EL opportunity is tied to module, course and/or program ILOs;
- How many students will benefit from the EL opportunity or support;
- How impacts to learners and community (where applicable) will be measured; and,
- How the project will be shared for the capacity building of others.
Relevance
- How the project and the associated EL experience relates to pedagogical literature, other EL experiences, and/or existing endeavours with community.
The following criteria will be assessed in ELF Grant Applications wherein there is community engagement:
Respect and Reciprocity
- The relationship with community as pertaining to the proposed endeavour; and,
- How respect and reciprocity will be fostered throughout the project, including a clear and realistic description of intended community benefit.
References
- Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Apply for the experiential learning fund grant
Application for this grant will open in December, 2023.
Past recipients
2022-2023
- Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier, Department of Anthropology
Food Sovereignty in Rural Cuba: Creating Transformative Field School Experiences ($7,200) - Steven Capaldo, School of Music
Indigenizing spaces for teaching and learning in post-secondary music education: a community-immersive learning experience with Coast Salish culture bearers ($7,300) - Kris Dubrawski, Department of Geography and Department of Civil Engineering
Designing a new GEOG field course; “Ecological design for climate resilient communities” ($7,500) - Rebecca Halliday, Department of English
Integration of Community-Engaged Learning Frameworks and Community Partnerships into an Expanded Professional Communication Curriculum ($7,500) - Gillian Krezoski, Department of Geography
Karst Landscapes – A systems approach examining humans, climate, hydrology, biology, and geology in this important and sensitive three-dimensional landscape ($7,500) - Erin McGuire, Department of Anthropology
Beyond the surface: Using in-the-field training to apply remote sensing strategies to a community cemetery problem ($7,500) - Benjamin Neal, Department of Biology and Environmental Studies
Accessing our changing coastal community: community-based field marine ecology on the Saanich Peninsula ($7,500) - Oliver Schmidtke, Department of Political Science/History and Centre for Global Studies Remembering the Past – Envisioning the Future. The European Memory Politics Study Tour ($7,450)
- Dawn Smith, School of Indigenous Governance
Indigenous Land-Based Learnings and Student Experiences ($6,000) - Brian Thom, Department of Anthropology
UVic – Tsawout First Nation 2023 Summer Archaeological Field School at ȾEL,IȽĆE, Cordova Bay, British Columbia ($7,500) - Helga Thorson, Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies
Reimagining the Holocaust I-Witness Field school. Innovating experiential learning opportunities for students and communities post-COVID ($7,500) - Sarah Wiebe, School of Public Administration
Grounded Governance: Cultivating Social Justice through Community-Engaged Learning ($7,500)
2021-2022
- Pierre-Luc Landry, Department of French
Children’s and young adult literature, cultural mediation, and care relationships: breaking silos, mobilizing knowledge, and learning through community service ($1,750) - Nigel Mantou Lou, Department of Psychology
Applying the psychology of immigration to real-world immigrant communities using a community-engaged learning approach ($7,500) - Darcy Mathews, School of Environmental Studies
The UVic Living Lab Lekwungen Ethnoecology and Archaeology Project (LEAP 2022) (7,500) - Reuben Rose-Redwood, Faculty of Social Sciences/Department of Geography
Developing an Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Community Engagement ($7,500) - Deondre Smiles, Department of Geography
Indigenous Geographies of Vancouver Island: An experiential, geospatial learning experience ($3,500) - Brian Thom, Department of Anthropology
Space, Place, Knowledge, Power: A graduate research seminar of experiential, place-based, community engaged learning ($7,500) - Sarah Wiebe, School of Public Administration
Indigenous Prosperity and Community Development: Place-Based Learning with Songhees and Malahat Nations during the Masters of Community Development Summer Residency ($7,500)
2020-2021
- Sophia Carodenuto, Department of Geography
Indigenous Environmental Stewardship: Shared Community Learning on the Pathway to Reconciliation ($4,500) - Louise Chim, Department of Psychology
Integrating applied labs to a statistical methods course in psychology ($2,378) - Caetano Dorea, Department of Civil Engineering
WASH Study Tour ($7,500) - Jennifer Gruno, School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education
Community engaged, research-enriched, and field based learning for nature-based physical activity in a fourth year education course ($2,782) - Fraser Hof, Department of Chemistry
Coupling Professional Development with Community and Indigenous Engagement in a Capstone Chemistry Experience ($7,500) - Daniel Hogg, Department of Writing
Making Media in the Real World: Applied theory & technique in digital media production ($3,246) - Ambreen Hussaini, Department of Art History and Visual Studies
Exploring “Sacred” Art and Architecture through Experiential Learning ($3,555) - Chase Joynt, Department of Gender Studies
Feminist Art Field School ($1,000) - Pierre-Luc Landry, Department of French
Global French Connections: Discovering and Showcasing the Francophone World Through Experiential Learning ($2,775) - Tim Lilburn, Department of Writing
Designing and delivering the class “Land and Language/Settling the Mind in Wilderness” ($1,500) - Shanne McCaffrey, School of Child and Youth Care
Circling Toward Community Wellness ($3,500) - Kirk McNally, School of Music
Instrumental Study: An experiential learning project between Cordova Bay Records and UVic sound recording students ($2,500) - Bruce Ravelli, Department of Sociology
Before, during and after: A case study of community-engagement ($7,500) - Nilanjana Roy, Department of Economics
Accessible and inclusive outbound student mobility programs: identifying systemic barriers for students with disabilities and Indigenous students ($7,500) - Nancy Shackelford, School of Environmental Studies
University of Victoria Ecological Restoration Resources Portal (UVic ERRP) ($6,500)
