Impacts of Authentic Learning Experiences in an Educational Outreach Program on Graduate Students’ Careers: A Longitudinal Study (65980)
Session Chair: Roland Schendel
Saturday, January 7, 2023 (09:00)
Session: Session 1
Room: 321B
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
Being engaged in authentic learning contexts has been perceived as a means of developing transferable competencies. Supported by NSF when it was initiated in 2006 to engage graduate students in K-12 classes to develop their teaching and communication skills in authentic environments for career preparation, this educational outreach program later became a self-sustained program open to all participants regardless of their backgrounds in a large Middlewestern public university. The authors adopted an explanatory mixed-methods design to investigate the impacts of this authentic learning-based program on participants’ professional life through a longitudinal study. The quantitative strand includes a survey with close- and open-ended questions, showing a positive impact (mean = 7.52 out of 10, SD = 2.34) based on the responses (n=22). Fourteen (n=14) participants were interviewed through purposive sampling for the qualitative strand. A preliminary thematic analysis through two rounds of coding showed several themes including 1) stronger competitiveness when equipped with authentic practice experience; 2) capability to communicate with diverse audiences; 3) the ability to engage and manage a wider range of students; 4) improved project management skills in both academia and industry settings; 5) being mindful of serving as a role model to younger audiences; 6) gained new perspectives of conducting research in the corresponding fields; 7) improved cultural agility and tolerance after being exposed to a different culture. This study shows the changes in graduate students after they entered workplaces as a result of their participation in the authentic learning and outreach experience.
Authors:
Mohan Yang, Old Dominion University, United States
Jon Harbor, Purdue University Global, United States
Cynthia Tomovic, Old Dominion University, United States
Rajagopal Sankaranarayanan, University of Texas at Austin, United States
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Mohan Yang is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Old Dominion University, United States
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