Drop your pens and papers. Get up from your seats. Today's lesson will not be taught on the chalkboard. You'll be learning using nine tennis balls, a pile of oddly shaped wood planks, a bucket, a bunch of ropes and a koosh ball. All you need is an open mind.
Welcome to experiential education, an alternative teaching method that stresses a hands-on, group dynamic as a supplement to the traditional classroom setting.
Hopkins has hired Phil Zookfriesen as a full time coordinator for both the program and various outdoor team-building trips that the school sponsors.
On Monday, Dec. 1, Professor Josh Reither's Information Technology (IT) Management class took a trip for their regular Hodson classroom to the upper floor of the athletic center.
"Many students didn't know what to expect," explains Reiter. "I thought it would make class more enjoyable and easier for students to retain information."
The students, many of whom were a little cautious at first, soon became active in a juggling puzzle in which groups of eight students were asked to figure out how to pass a ball to each participant, in the same order.
The only rules were that the students had to physically pass the ball, had to say the student's name to whom they were passing, and they could not pass to an adjacent student.
The game became a little more complex when each group was given two more balls to deal with, and groups were soon sharing the information that each group could finish faster if the balls were passed all at once.
Next, the three groups had to combine their efforts to pass around all nine balls in the correct order. Time goals for finishing were set, and many students seemed skeptical and unmotivated to finish the task in under 10 seconds.
Yet soon, ideas were again being exchanged. Even the quietest members of the class were contributing as the group discovered the quickest way to complete the task. When the class finally broke the 10-second mark, even the most skeptical students were clapping and smiling from ear to ear.
"[You're] never going to do a group juggle in the business world," explained Zookfriesen after the activity had concluded.
"[But] because of the demands of the IT industry, you're going to have to work in teams," Reiter quickly added.
After the physical part of the activity was over, the class then evaluated their strengths and weaknesses as a team.
The class seemed to realize the value of the exercises. "People learn more if it's interactive and hands-on," said senior Anne Barber. "It's applicable to any career, especially with business."
Zookfriesen has made a career of bringing experiential education to executives and students alike. He worked as an outdoor wilderness instructor from 1997 to 2001, then began working with Hopkins as an independent contractor for Bill Harrington, JHU's Director of Recreation. Harrington and Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell then pushed for a full-time position for Zookfriesen, and he was given the opportunity in 2002.
In addition to his full-time job with the University, Zookfriesen also works with Outward Bound Professional, which coordinates group-building wilderness adventures for corporate groups.
"You learn a lot of facilitating skills on wilderness trips that are the same for businesses," explains Zookfriesen.
Reiter had been using an outside company to conduct such experiential education classes for several years until he met Zookfriesen through Hopkins One-on-One, a freshman leadership seminar, almost two years ago.
Next year, Reiter hopes to include Zookfriesen more often in his lectures. Instead of having special experiential education classes four or five times a year, Reiter wants to use the program whenever an applicable situation or topic arises in one of his classes.
"Students can only learn so much from a book and professor," said Reiter. "You need guest lecturers and experts for students."
Yet while Zookfriesen strongly believes the program serves as a great supplement to the classroom setting, he doesn't see it ever taking over traditional education. Some students agreed that experiential education was limited in its scope.
"I'm not sure it fits into any other classes I take," commented junior Gabe Phillips, a mechanical engineering major. "I don't think any of the engineers would go for it."
Another important aspect of experiential education that is especially important at Hopkins is that it stresses working together instead of a competitive academic atmosphere where students work against each other. "I can see that students are very competitive [at Hopkins," says Zookfriesen. "But it's beneficial to allow students to see that there are places where it's safe not to compete."
"I've had a lot of fun being a part of Hopkins," he admits. "It's difficult to build a strong community, but outdoor pursuits [and experiential education] are bringing students together."
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