02-06-22 Education - Flipbook - Page 4
4 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 6, 2022
Learning by doing
The value of experiential
education
From race relations, migrants’ rights to publishing,
experiential learning is a key component
Experiential education brings students out of the classroom and into the
“real world” which, educators say, helps
them apply their academic study to practical experience and integrate what they
have newly learned into what they have
previously known.
According to an article written
by Janet Eyler for the Association of
American Colleges and Universities,
experiential education is valuable for several reasons: It builds social skills, work
ethic, and practical expertise, in addition
to helping students attain the intellectual
goals of higher education, such as a more
in-depth understanding of subject matter, a greater capacity for critical thinking
in a variety of situations, and the ability
to participate in lifelong learning, both
personally and professionally.
Robert Koulish at Catholic Charities with a group of students in McAllen, Texas in January 2020.
By Carol Sorgen, Contributing Writer
K
arsonya “Kaye” Whitehead, Ph.D.,
has been a faculty member of Loyola
University Maryland for the past 13
years, where her classes on communication, African and African American
Studies have focused on the intersection of race,
class and gender. Following the brutal murder of
George Floyd, Whitehead realized that remaining
in the classroom “just wasn’t enough.” In response,
and with Loyola’s full support, Whitehead founded the Karson Institute for Race, Peace & Social
Justice to address the broad spectrum of challenges facing our society today.
The institute is comprised of three centers:
The Center for Public Engagement helps educate the public through monthly COMloquiums
with important authors, activists and individuals such as Anthony Fauci, M.D., on the impact
of COVD-19 on Black, Latinx and indigenous
communities, and Kweisi Mfume, representing Baltimore’s 7th Congressional district in the
U.S. House of Representatives, on the future of
America.
In addition, The Center for Teaching and
Learning helps the Baltimore community through
free diversity training for public schools, while
The Center for Research and Culture allows the
Institute to connect activists and academics who
are compiling research and articles that address
the country's injustices.
Courtney Carroll, 22, is a recent Loyola graduate who majored in communications with a
specialization in advertising and public relations
and is now working toward a master's degree in
emerging media with a specialization in health
communications. She has been involved with the
Institute since its inception.
“In October 2020, Dr. Whitehead reached out
to me about a research assistant position for a new
institute she was starting,” Carroll says. “At the
time I was taking her class on ‘Social Media for
the Social Just.’ Every time I had a class with Dr.
Whitehead, I could feel my understanding of the
world broadening.”
Since that time, Carroll has assisted Whitehead
in running the Karson Institute’s social media,
website and overall planning of the Institute
and its events. “From Black History Month to
Women’s History Month, I have run social media
campaigns that highlight people of color and their
success and contributions to American society,”
says Carroll, who lauds Loyola for its attention to
social justice and diversity in its curriculum.
“I was constantly confronted with information on inequality, which has led to my passion for educating myself on the inequities in
America,” says Carroll. “At Loyola, there are
many spaces where conversations around race
and inequality are held but there wasn't one centralized place that held consistent conversations
Photo courtesy of Robert Koulish.
among students, educators and outside sources.”
Carroll has found the institute and her work
within it important not only for the Loyola
Community but for Baltimore and the national
community as well. “I like to think of the Karson
Institute as one giant resource that holds important thought-provoking conversations on issues
pertaining to race, peace, and social inequities.
This institute has created a space where all voices
are heard, and conversations around race, peace
and social justice are available to all, not just
members of the Loyola community.”
As for Whitehead herself, she sees the founding of the institute as a continuation of her lifelong commitment to racial and gender equality,
but at the same time just a beginning. “We’re still
in the early stages and as the institute continues to
grow and mature, I hope for us to take the lead in
these important conversations. As activist Angela
Davis has said, ‘You have to act as if it were possible to radically change the world. And you have
to do it all the time.’”
University of Maryland Students Forge Bonds
through Migrant Assistance Program
Robert Koulish, Ph.D., has had a long-standing interest, both personally and professionally,
in immigration and social justice. A research
professor and director of University of Maryland’s
MLAW program (for students in any major), in
addition to being a lecturer at law in the University
“Experiential education also identifies the practices necessary for achieving
these outcomes, particularly the use of
structured reflection to help students
link experience with theory and, thereby,
deepen their understanding and ability to
use what they know,” writes Eyler.
of Maryland Baltimore’s Carey School of Law,
Koulish has spearheaded a new initiative that
provides students real-life experience working
with Afghan, Haitian and Central American refugees living in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Called the MLAW Migrant Assistance Project
(M-MAP), participating trained undergraduate
students this past semester began providing oneon-one tutoring for high school-age refugees;
English language tutoring to help refugees pass
the GED exam; family mentoring to help parents
with financial literacy, learning public transportation and about the local culture; and apartment
move-in, where students move furniture and
prepare apartments for new arrivals.
The program not only helps the refugees but
also gives the University of Maryland more exposure to diversity, as well as providing newcomers
to the area with a welcoming, safe space which, in
turn, may encourage them to apply to the university for future academic endeavors.
The students who have participated in
M-MAP represent nine different colleges and
multiple majors throughout the University.
“Through the program, we are inculcating the
values of service and global citizenship, as well
as teaching leadership skills, professionalism,
Learn by doing,
continued on page 9