Experiential Learning

This assessment evaluates the effectiveness of the 2026 Earth Forward Event, hosted at Estrella Mountain Community College, in supporting student learning related to environmental literacy, sustainability, and engagement with career pathways in life sciences and conservation.

Prelicensure nursing students often have limited hands-on exposure to pediatric learning, which leads to gaps in confidence and clinical skill application. This initiative aims to increase students’ psychological safety while caring for pediatric patients by improving communication, assessment skills, atraumatic care, and medication safety. A needs assessment using faculty and student feedback identified deficits in growth and development, communication, atraumatic interventions, medication math, and overall student confidence.

Grad‑App‑Alooza (Transfer and Job Fair) is an annual event organized by Estrella Mountain Community College’s (EMCC) Career and Transfer Center (CTC), in coordination with Workforce and Experiential Learning (CWEL). The event is designed to support students as they transition to the next phase of their academic or professional journey by connecting them with representatives from over 50 universities, employers, and campus departments.

Described is the use of a team-based healthcare case activity in BIO205 Microbiology to strengthen student diagnostic reasoning, communication, collaboration, and evidence-based decision-making. Working in randomly assigned groups, students were tasked with diagnosing a patient case while operating within a fixed budget and justifying each selected task or test to a simulated attending provider. The activity required students to interpret emerging evidence, revise their plans, and submit a final diagnosis supported by specific findings.

This activity describes the implementation of a themed, experiential review day designed to reinforce nursing students’ knowledge and clinical skills prior to progression into the subsequent block of the nursing curriculum. Developed in response to student feedback, the review day was conducted in a laboratory setting and utilized a Harry Potter–themed framework to promote engagement, collaboration, and active learning.

This CATS reports from a STEM student engagement survey designed and deployed by the STEM Center of Excellence to understand connections between students’ beliefs about STEM education and their engagement with STEM Center programming. A sample of 57 students from a wide range of disciplines and identity backgrounds participated in the survey.

This CATS presents an update on the implementation of Lab Write-Ups to foster and assess science literacy among lower-division chemistry students at EMCC. The Spring 2025 iteration aimed to provide structured, low-risk opportunities for students in CHM 130AA and 151AA to engage in discipline-specific writing, bridging foundational skills with expectations of upper-division coursework and professional life. Revisions included enhanced rubric criteria, clearer sentence starters aligned to learning outcomes, and refined peer review prompts.

An independent honors student completed a project in ACC212 that the subsequent semester was piloted as a group assignment for an in-person course. The project provided the real-world application of producing a product and calculating and analyzing the associated production costs. An update to this CATS will be provided with a comparison of the student population who completed the group project versus those who did not upon completion of the Spring 2025 semester.

The purpose of this assessment is to explore the potential benefits of reintroducing Lab Write-Ups in science courses at EMCC as a means to enhance students’ science literacy. Lab Write-Ups provide an opportunity for students to share their data collection experiences, interpret results, and engage in scientific reading and writing. They also allow students to incorporate findings into their understanding of the natural world.

This study assesses the impact of an educational activity designed to enhance AI tool utilization among CHM151 students, with a focus on promoting ethical, effective use in academic work. Delivered as an in-class Canvas module, the activity aimed to educate students on AI operation, benefits, risks, and practical applications. The module also sought to improve students’ ability to identify inaccurate AI outputs and foster creative, responsible AI applications.

CAPS PLO assessment to measure CAPS student learning at the program level.  

Café Mariposa is an open pedagogy and experiential learning project. Students engage with the content and the campus community in a relaxed atmosphere where they can build Spanish vocabulary, and hone listening and interpersonal communication skills.

Providing a hands-on, active learning experience for online classes is difficult. BIO 201, Human Anatomy & Physiology, students prepare a Histology Atlas using tissue images supplied by the instructor. It was a passive learning process.

I searched and introduced Virtual Microscope, an Open Access technology. It allowed an active learning experience similar to using a microscope during in-person lab settings. The students could: