{"id":21696,"date":"2015-12-04T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=21696"},"modified":"2015-12-04T03:19:44","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T09:19:44","slug":"austin-peay-state-university-students-present-at-states-first-experiential-learning-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2015\/12\/04\/austin-peay-state-university-students-present-at-states-first-experiential-learning-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Peay State University students present at state\u2019s first experiential learning symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – In late October, a van filled with some of Austin Peay State University\u2019s brightest students headed east for a unique scholarly event.<\/p>\n

About four hours later, the van arrived at the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus for the inaugural Tennessee Experiential Learning Symposium (TELS)\u2014the state\u2019s first academic conference to focus on service learning, study abroad and undergraduate research.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The campus of Austin Peay State University. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAustin Peay had eight students attend, and we had the second highest number of presenters at the conference,\u201d Dr. Christopher Gentry, director of the APSU Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), said. \u201cWe were significantly higher than the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2014, APSU has pushed for students to engage in more experiential learning experiences. This push led to the development of the E^3 Initiative\u2014a campus wide plan that focuses on increasing student participation in high-impact learning opportunities\u2014and the creation of the Learning Opportunities Center and the Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement.<\/p>\n

Under the E^3 Initiative, APSU student Emily Stark was encouraged to attend an international mathematics program in Budapest, Hungry, last summer. Stark presented at the Knoxville TELS conference on her study abroad experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not a traditional study abroad experience through APSU or any American university in particular, but rather is a program that students from American-based universities all over the world apply to,\u201d she said. \u201cThough (TELS) was not my first (off-campus) presentation, it was exciting to be a part of the first year for an experiential learning symposium, and I am really excited to see how it evolves and improves in the coming years.<\/p>\n

The OUR office paid the students\u2019 travel expenses and provided them with a meal stipend so they could attend the event.<\/p>\n

In addition to Stark, the APSU student presenters included:<\/strong><\/p>\n