View source for A novel approach for practitioners in training: A blended-learning seminar combining experts, students and practitioners

==Abstract==
A  joint  student  and professional practitioner  seminar  used  distance technology  to allow  remote  experts  to  present to, and  remote practitioners to participate in,   a   university-based   learning   experience.   Participants   were professional practitioners  from  the  US  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  who  were mandated    to    receive    training    and on-campus graduate    students    in environmentally   focused   programs   who   were   enrolled   for   credit.   Seminars providing  training  in  high-demand  or  cutting-edge  topics  may  be especially valuable   to   practitioners outside   the   university in   business,   agency,   or organization positions,if they can attend as distance learners. Such classes create opportunities to bring students and professionals together to interact with expert presenters,  who  may present  from  distant  locations.  Presenters  model  expert thinking for students and engage them in discussions in which they practice such thinking. Students gain additional insight into their field of practice by observing interactions between practitioners and presenters, as well as by working directly with practitioners, in discussions and, potentially, in assignments. As a result, at little cost to any participant, students are engaged in authentic learning that is not regularly  available  in  a  classroom  setting and  practitioners  gain access  to  a series of experts as well as access to student views and, potentially, student work. Instructors  must  relinquish  considerable  control  of  some  aspects  of the  learning environment,  but  as  mediators  can  increase  the  value-added  aspects  of  sharing the  class  with  professionals. Professional  programs seeking  to  prepare  students for professional practice often combine both more traditional classroom learning and experiential   learning   during   thesis   preparation,   service   learning   or internships.Seminars such at this provide a valuable addition to this mix.

==Bibliographic data==
Meretsky, Vicky J., and Teresa AN Woods. “A novel approach for practitioners in training: A blended-learning seminar combining experts, students and practitioners.” ''Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning'' (2013): 48-62.
==External source==
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/josotl/article/view/3123/3605
[[Category:PublishedWork]]