2024 Badge Summit Preview: Christina Heath
A Lesson in Building Big by Building Local
There are dozens of inspired and inspiring sessions at the 2024 Badge Summit. In addition to the in-person gathering August 5–7 in Boulder, Colorado, the virtual Badge Summit on August 20th will feature over 20 live and pre-recorded presentations.
One highlight of the virtual Badge Summit is that registration is just $100! Another, even better highlight, will be Christina Heath’s sharing about the Experiential Learning Network at the University at Buffalo. The ELN serves as a hub for campus stakeholders to promote experiential learning opportunities to interested Learners. The platform functions as a sort of matchmaking service between opportunity providers — from assisting investigators on linguistic research, to working an archeological dig, to researching specific cyberattack defense strategies — and opportunity seekers who wish to engage in meaningful academic pursuits beyond their classes.
This is a great way for the students to show a professional sample of their work in a way they may not have otherwise been able to, and it (hopefully) helps them stand out and be a memorable candidate!
Given recent reports demonstrating that opportunities for real world practice applying the skills acquired in the classroom are a top predictor of college graduates earning salaries worthy of their degrees, the ELN may be a lead example of the value of post-secondary participation and the competitive advantages available to Learners in our campus communities.
Plus, the University at Buffalo awards digital badges that communicate official campus recognition of the learning and achievement enjoyed by ELN participants!
You’ve created a whole platform for learners to discover and pursue experiential opportunities that are credentialed with digital badges. While implementing these experiences clearly does not require badging, how are you finding the formal University recognition to be valuable and valued?
Overall, for students, we are finding that they really appreciate having something tangible to show for these experiences. They earn the badge and what they submit as their final project outcome is attached to the badge as clickable evidence. So, when they put their badge on their resume or LinkedIn and a potential employer clicks on it, their research poster/video/slideshow etc. is viewable. This is a great way for the students to show a professional sample of their work in a way they may not have otherwise been able to, and it (hopefully) helps them stand out and be a memorable candidate!
We’ve also found that while many students have wonderful experiences, they don’t necessarily know how to talk about them in a way that resonates with their intended audience. According to the student feedback we collect throughout the badge process, students name the activities aimed to help them do this as what they find to be the most valuable takeaway from the badge process.
Part of the framework presented to your learners sets the expectation that they will “build on experience toward greater impact and craft your change maker story.” How does this message land with students, and what is it like to see them seizing agency in their own narratives?
It is pretty awesome! The narratives that students tell about their experiences can make or break securing that next opportunity or job. Students have shared with us that initially they felt unsure of how to even begin crafting their project story. We are thrilled to see that our system is helping them feel more comfortable and confident in doing this critical task. I always tell them that practicing this narrative will help them present more polished in interviews and when writing cover letters, personal statements, etc.
Your Badge Summit presentation clearly highlights that the ELN is supporting mentored projects. How vital is mentorship to the scaffolding, success and satisfaction with your experiential learning programming?
I believe that mentorship is key to the success of our programming. At a large research university like ours, there are so many opportunities for students to get involved in faculty-mentored projects. However, it can be very intimidating for undergraduates to know how to even begin finding and connecting with these opportunities.
Our system is built to help make this process easier.
Then, once students begin, their mentor is there to guide them through to completion. Through the feedback we collect, the majority of students have shared that working with their mentor has helped them feel more connected to the campus community. The research we’ve done has also shown that these students are retained at higher rates than students not involved in mentored projects. This tells us it matters and has an enormous impact!
In addition to presenting at the 2024 Badge Summit @ CU Boulder, what are you excited to learn or take away from the conference?
I’m excited to learn more about the innovative ways others are using badges. I’m also interested to see if anyone has been looking at how employers are viewing and using badges throughout the hiring process.
The 2024 Badge Summit will be August 5–7 in Boulder, Colorado, and online August 20. Registration is live at www.thebadgesummit.com where you can also get more information about the conference and see content from previous years. If you’ve got awesome work to share, please connect and share with us on LinkedIn so we can amplify how you too are changing the world!
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