Beyond the Classroom: How Immersive Learning Programs are Enriching the Educational Experience
The opportunity to learn outside of a traditional classroom environment is something many students look to as part of their college experience. In Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, these immersive trips offer chances to strengthen leadership skills, engage in research and clinical practices, and discover different cultures. These experiences would not be available without the Baylor University professors who develop curriculum, organize schedules, and juggle travel plans to ensure their courses make the greatest impact—both academically and beyond—for their students.
Developing an Experiential Curriculum
“Field experience creates a richer exposure than the classroom experience alone,” Kelli McMahan, PhD, CTRS, Clinical Professor and Coordinator of Outdoor Recreation, for the Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation (HHPR), said. “Taking students outside of the classroom provides greater context and real-life application—they still learn all the same textbook material as non-traveling students, but it is covered in different pedagogical methods.”
McMahan leads HHPR’s Outdoor Leadership Field School, which provides an opportunity to take part in team building, leadership skill development, and outdoor recreational activities such as backpacking, climbing, and paddling in different wilderness settings across the country. In 2024, the group hiked the Southern Blue Ridge section of the Appalachian Mountains and explored along the Buffalo National River. While the course takes place in the wilderness, McMahan has developed a cohesive and experiential curriculum which ensures students, while having fun, are still learning the necessary materials to gain course credit.
“Students have the opportunity to be named ‘leader of the day,’” McMahan shared. “When they are appointed, the instructors begin to step away and transfer some of the decision making so they are in charge of their peers, the pace, and the decisions.”
The field school teaches crucial leadership skills in an environment where the decisions made can have real-life consequences. Each leader is observed by both their peers and McMahan, and ultimately, their actions are taken into consideration for final evaluations. During this experience, McMahan leads by example, exercising leadership, resilience, and knowledge of the wilderness.
“Teaching in the real world provides credibility and immersion into professional content—students see you doing the things you profess to have knowledge about—and you become more approachable and can share experiences with students,” McMahan explained. “You become co-contributors to the teaching, learning, and reflection process. It’s the most authentic form of teaching that I do, and it’s very meaningful to be a part of this transformative experience for students.”
Teaching Beyond the Textbook
The students and professors who participate in these immersive experiences spend hours on end together, affording students a unique view of their professors away from campus.
“It’s constant teaching,” Janet Sanker, CCC-SLP, Clinical Associate Professor for the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), shared. “During our travels, our students see how we engage out in the world, how we interact with different groups of people, and how we embody Christian values in our everyday lives.”
In partnership with Africa New Life Ministries, CSD and the Department of Public Health both offer study abroad opportunities in Kigali, Rwanda. Sanker guides each cohort of CSD students through navigating cultural differences, coupled with language barriers, all while working in clinical settings and in the community.
“CSD has an intentional relationship with Africa New Life’s Dream Daycare, which is part of its women’s development programs,” Sanker said. “Rwandan women are offered one-year trainings in vocational skills, while also receiving spiritual direction and support for their children. CSD students work with the children who attend the daycare, collaborate with teachers to implement speech and language-rich instruction, and provide additional training for the mothers based on what is implemented in the daycare.”
Through courses like Multicultural Issues in Speech-Language Pathology, CSD students learn how cultural backgrounds can relate to the normal development of speech and language. On the trip, students are immersed in Rwandan culture and language and begin to apply their classroom knowledge into clinical practice.
“We are aiming to help our students be more aware of how sensitive they need to be and how their skills will translate and apply across cultures,” Sanker explained. “From the get-go, they should be able to walk into any situation and be attuned to cultural resource differences and know that that is such a critical factor as to how they approach each situation.”
Magnifying the Learning Experience
From the wilderness in the United States to clinics in Rwanda and even to the Louvre Museum in France, each Robbins College trip contains purposefully designed curriculum. The Department of Human Sciences and Design (HSD) offers two study abroad opportunities, both in Europe, through its Interior Design and Apparel programs.
“As we travel through Western Europe, I focus on locations with a significant Renaissance architectural influence and then target sites that offer well contained historical interiors,” Ann Theriot, MA, ASID, NCIDQ, Clinical Associate Professor of Interior Design, stated.
With research interests in 18th-century British and French decorative arts, Theriot is able to offer perspective on the sites they visit. Students travel to multiple countries and tour many historical buildings, which allows them to embrace a firsthand look at the craftsmanship and artifacts that they would have otherwise seen through a computer screen or textbook.
“The experiences that students have in Europe are magnified in terms of what they’re learning. They are seeing these historical structures in person, allowing them to walk through and take in all the details,” Theriot explained. “In many ways, these students are gaining a significant benefit in terms of how they grasp the historical timeline of architectural and decorative history—they are not just memorizing dates or a photo from a textbook page, they are inside that palace—and when they’re inside these amazing structures, they’re able to make connections that are not always perceived in the standard classroom experience. I find their retention is much higher because they saw the objects and details up close.”
Typical grading can be difficult with immersive experiences as they are often completed in condensed timelines. Because of this, student success is measured in different ways, ranging from conversations between student and professor, clinical assessments, peer evaluations, and the occasional final exam.
“We do have a final exam and other small assignments,” Theriot said. “That is a measurement that is fairly objective. Students participate in an architectural scavenger hunt at the museums and buildings we visit, which is an assignment that I give to my students here on campus as well. However, with my study abroad students, I get to hear about their discoveries during our downtime—they’re so excited about the things we have seen and often talk about how inspired they are.”
Every day is considered robust and memorable, filled with teaching moments both organic and tailored. To ensure students make the most of these trips, professors often utilize translators, local clinicians, and community members.
“I have learned over time that I cannot be the only voice that they are hearing,” Theriot shared. “I engage local experts who I personally know from my own time living abroad, and I also find others who can come in and provide an additional perspective on what we are addressing that day. These local interactions provide students an opportunity to actively participate and engage in meaningful dialogue with others.”
Growing Together
By taking a step beyond the classroom, professors are bypassing the comfort of teaching on campus to be a part of an experience that is as transformative for them as it is for their students. And, similar to Baylor students who attend, the professors who lead the courses often learn and grow through these immersive trips.
“I have seen growth in myself following these opportunities,” Sanker reminisced. “It was not necessarily something I envisioned that I would do, professionally. However, when the opportunity came up, I realized such personal growth. I continue to grow on every single trip and better myself while learning from other people. Seeing that kind of change in myself makes me want that kind of growth for my students, and I want to continue to build upon who we are as Christians.”
ABOUT ROBBINS COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Established in 2014, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences seeks to enhance health, quality of life, and human flourishing for all individuals and communities through education, research, and innovation. It includes six academic departments—Communication Sciences and Disorders; Health, Human Performance, and Recreation; Human Sciences and Design; Occupational Therapy; Physical Therapy; and Public Health—along with the Division of Health Professions, which houses the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program. Robbins College offers 13 bachelor’s degrees, eight master’s degrees, and six doctoral degrees, as well as nine graduate programs in partnership with the U.S. Army. Graduate programs in Robbins College are offered in a variety of modalities, including on campus, online, and hybrid.