Have you ever imagined building an underwater robot, developing the business model to propose a new menu item to your favorite local bakery, photographing DC Fashion Week, developing essential wilderness survival skills, scrubbing in on a real-life surgery, working with local conservation organizations in Puerto Rico, or walking in the footsteps of some of our country’s most influential Civil Rights leaders?
Intersession Learning Opportunities
During our two-week Intersession program, these immersive learning experiences are possible. The world students live in today and will lead tomorrow is globally interconnected and changing rapidly with technological advances and discoveries. Students need practice navigating the complex landscape of creative problem-solving to build the skills they will need for their futures. Intersession courses and internships expose students to something different and allow them to develop passions outside of a standard classroom setting.
Benefits of Immersive Learning
| Development of Critical Human and Career Skills |
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| By diving deeper into areas that students are inspired to explore, they are more motivated to set goals, persevere through challenges, and learn demanding project management skills. They conduct research, utilize evidence, and employ the design process to propose creative solutions to real-world problems. These opportunities empower students to develop communication skills to collaborate with peers, teachers, and professionals in the pursuit of shared understanding and solutions. |
| Collaboration Experience |
| Problem-solving in the world beyond the classroom means working in teams. Students practice empathy and active listening. They learn to value others' strengths and encourage each other to grow and evolve. |
| Intrinsic Motivation |
| Students are more motivated and inspired to learn in experiential settings because they are seeing, conceptualizing, and doing. Their ideas come to life, and there is nothing more motivating than knowing they found a solution to a real-world problem. |
| Valuable Retention |
| Students apply their knowledge to real-world experiences, which helps them contextualize and further retain information. |
| Authentic Reflection |
| During Intersession, there is time to spend reflecting on what students are experiencing and learning, from the roadblocks to the breakthroughs. As John Dewey said, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” |