Academics

The Atlanta Laboratory for Learning: An Experiential Enterprise

The Value of Liberal Arts

Ask any Oglethorpe graduate if their education prepared them for the future and you’ll likely hear a resounding “yes.” But, the case for the value of a liberal arts education sometimes can be difficult to make. While employers say they want graduates with the ability to reason, analyze and problem solve—the very skills developed by a liberal arts education—the mantra “we train you for nothing, but educate you for anything” is a tough pill to swallow for financially strained families looking at a six-figure investment. Students and their parents want to know that a college will not just educate, but prepare students for a career.

In our most recent survey of admitted students, experiential learning (internships, research, study abroad) ranked highest in importance among academic and co-curricular decision factors, followed by undergraduate research opportunities and a career-focused curriculum. Our challenge is to provide both a strong theoretical foundation and hands-on, real-world application.

OGLT_A-Lab_Logo_Primary_VerticalExperiential Learning

Since 1944, the Oglethorpe Core has served as a model for integrating the disciplines to develop strong critical thinking skills. Experiential learning builds upon that model as students test that knowledge out in the world and apply new learning to old constructs. As with the Core, we have long offered experiential learning opportunities, but we have yet to take full advantage of our unique position as a high quality liberal arts institution located in a major international city.

The university has made great strides in recent years with the founding of three centers for experiential learning activities: Center for Civic Engagement; Center for Professional Development; and Center for Global Education. Students also have the opportunity conduct undergraduate research, independently or collaboratively.

Oglethorpe has already multiplied the opportunities offered to our students and expanded our partnerships with organizations in Atlanta and abroad. However, they are not yet differentiating Oglethorpe in the competitive higher education marketplace. In fact, most universities large and small, urban and rural, classical or vocational, have centers much like these. Therefore, we must take advantage of these centers, our location, and unique Core curriculum by combining them to create something even more powerful.

The Atlanta Laboratory For Learning

Is it a place? A program? A place to experiment? An experience? The answer is “yes.”

The Atlanta Laboratory for Learning, or A_LAB for short, is all of those things and more. The A_LAB is a symbol, both on and off campus, of our commitment to exceptional engagement between theory and practice and will, by its very name, embrace the city of Atlanta as OUR laboratory.

With the opening of the new campus center, Oglethorpe brought all of our experiential learning centers together under one umbrella, in a single, highly visible location. The A_LAB is the new front door to the world beyond our campus walls. The physical place, and the programs within, serve as an incubator for the development of new ideas and novel ways to test classroom learning. The A_LAB opens doors for students and supports their experiences. And those experiences are ambitious, even adventurous.

A Lab International Italy_DSC_1627 Photo Robert Findley

Dr. Jeffrey Collins’ class gathers el fresco during a short-term study abroad trip to Italy.

An Integrated Approach

Oglethorpe’s Core emerged from the premise that sequenced, integrated learning across disciplines results in a stronger intellectual foundation. Each course or experience affects the way students approach the next, and gives new perspective to courses in their major discipline.

Oglethorpe takes a similar approach with the A_LAB, helping students to gain additional perspective as they apply their learning in the world around them. These experiences, ranging from internships and career planning to service and international study, build upon their intellectual foundation while also building their resumes.

With all learning centers in a single location, students will be able to connect opportunities in civic engagement, service learning, internships, career planning, study abroad–as well as undergraduate research.

A prominent feature of the A_LAB’s physical space is The Exchange—a large, highly configurable, collaborative work space and resource center designed to foster creativity, exploration and the open sharing of ideas and experiences. Because the A_LAB is about active experiences, the aesthetic of the location will emphasize student engagement in activities—and of course, Atlanta. Global learning happens here, too, so Atlanta’s role as a leading gateway to the world will be featured in the imagery that adorns the walls.

This physical location is more than a matter of convenience. Indeed, uniting these three experiences—organizationally and physically—brings other benefits.

130905-ATLANTA-GA- New stock images for Oglethorpe University, on campus Thursday September 5, 2013. (BECKY STEIN)

Students collaborate in Oglethorpe’s A_LAB.

Imagine the Possibilities

Through integration, new and expanded kinds of experiences can emerge. Now, a service trip abroad combines “civic engagement” with “global learning.” What else might we create when we fuse together these three components in novel ways?

  • Imagine an incoming freshman having one stop to start creating a comprehensive four-year experience plan, much like their four-year academic plan…and both are integrated from the start.
  • Imagine the formation of an A_LAB network that brings our Atlanta partners together with our faculty, alumni and staff to mentor students and open doors to career opportunities beginning as early as freshman year.
  • Imagine a creative space that allows students with diverse academic backgrounds to seamlessly collaborate both with each other and with our Atlanta partners.
  • Imagine that because the A_LAB simplifies the process and expands the benefits, it provides yet another reason for Oglethorpe to be a school of choice—both for prospective students and potential partners.

The prospects and possibilities are exciting and endless.

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