Real-World Learning

Book excerpt: Real-World Learning: Preparing for Your Profession Outside of the Classroom is designed to help students get the most out of experiential education opportunities. Through twelve engaging chapters, students explore topics such as lifelong learning, communication in the workplace, project management, work-life balance, professional ethics, and whether to pursue a career in academia or in the industry. Each chapter is designed around a specific career-related or career-development topic. The chapters provide students with a theoretical basis for the exploration of the topic, as well as opportunities for practical application through carefully crafted activities. The second edition features new chapters that discuss diversity and goalsetting, expanded content based on student feedback, and freshly reorganized chapters. All chapters feature clear learning objectives, real-life examples, personal reflection and development activities, and suggested readings. Real-World Learning is applicable to any student seeking an internship, cooperative education experience, service learning opportunity, or study abroad program. Bernadette Friedrich earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration at Michigan State University, where she is now the director of student advancement. Dr. Friedrich works with students and alumni at all levels to integrate their classroom knowledge with real-world work opportunities such as internships, cooperative education, and research experiences. A member of the American Society of Engineering Education, in Dr. Friedrich received the Alvah K. Borman Award in 2016 for her contributions to cooperative education in engineering.