The Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations (ELC) at UNC Greensboro’s School of Education hosted the annual Rebecca Carver Institute on Experiential Education on October 26, 2024. This year’s institute returned to campus for in-person programming where it began in 2005. The theme was ‘Mattering and Education: Experiential Education and Its Role in Community Change’ and involved educators, nonprofit leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across North Carolina.
Each year, the Institute is dedicated to the work Dr. Rebecca Carver started as a professor in ELC. The School of Education is deeply appreciative for Dr. Randy Carver’s ongoing support of the institute.
With the return to in-person programming, this year’s Rebecca Carver Institute provided participants with an immersive experience designed to foster understanding of experiential education pedagogy. Dr. Frannie Varker and Dr. Evan Small, the convenors of this year’s gathering, sought to provide an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of the broad scope of experiential education as a means of building relationships and communities. The event was open to community members and educators in formal and informal settings who are interested in integrating experiential education into their practice. The Institute focused on building capacity for educators and learners in schools and community organizations.
One attendee shared that the institute inspired them “to learn from others and helped me to reignite my own passion for such approaches to teaching and learning.” Throughout the Institute, attendees were able to participate in breakout sessions, informal conversations, and an immersive activity designed to explore various facets of experiential education, community, and mattering within educational spaces. The highlight for many attendees was the plenary talk given by Dr. Jay Roberts, the Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Warren Wilson College.
Roberts is a leading voice within experiential education and provided an informative look at the value of risky teaching and learning. His plenary addressed the ways in which education has long been de-risked and the pedagogical and philosophical value of asking students and teachers alike to lean into moments of discomfort. He defines risky teaching as “the deliberate and purposeful incorporation of productive uncertainty in learning situations.” Another attendee reflected on Roberts’ talk by considering their own teaching practice: “creating a learning environment that is purposefully uncertain can be productive and useful just as a carefully planned one can be.”
Institute attendees were able to choose from a variety of breakout session options as well. Session titles and presenters are listed below.
*Experiential Education vs Experiential Learning: What’s the difference? Why does it matter? Andrew Florence (Crossnore Communities for Children; Elon University)
*Possibilities and Limitations of Experiential Education Dr. Beth Meyer (The Experiential School of Greensboro)
*Enacting Belonging and Mattering in Experiential Education Rhonda Russell and Cassandra Parrish (Appalachian State University)
*Experiential Education and Community Change Dr. Megan Cayton (UNCG)
The Rebecca Carver Institute on Experiential Education seeks to inspire, challenge, motivate, and encourage scholars and practitioners alike to envision experiential education within their learning environments. By focusing on foundational principles of experiential education such as community, democracy, and relationships, this year’s Institute provided attendees with a deep exploration of the ways in which experiential education can be used to foster community change. Future iterations of the Institute will continue to deepen Carver’s work on the positive impact that agency, belonging, and competence can have on educators, practitioners, and communities.
