Difference, Power, and Discrimination Program

Community-based learning provides students with the opportunity to understand diversity and gain an inclusive perspective through their own experiences.  Ozorak’s study analyzes the effects of experiential learning in two courses on food and hunger in society and an upper-division psychology course.  Students were expected to attend visits to local farms, markets, and soup kitchens while studying content related to the issues they witnessed during their outings.   At the end of the semester, students were asked to write a short reflection on their experience throughout the course.  The responses collected suggest that the experiential learning aspect of the class was significantly effective in causing students to engage in critical self-reflection and learning.