Academic ProgramsEducationField Experiences for the MFCE Minor

Field Experiences for the MFCE Minor

Experiential learning is at the heart of the Museum, Field, and Community Education Minor. We can offer both world-class and small-but-mighty observation and internship opportunities.

Because of our location, Washington College students are able to experience a wide range of informal learning environments and consider what each has to offer to their understanding of what it means to teach and learn in places other than school. We have access to large-scale museum, field, and community learning experiences at nationally regarded locations in Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and other regional cities.

Kent County itself is also rich with environment, history, and arts organizations that have, and will continue, to provide opportunities to see how small organizations undertake the work of educating the public, and many of these organizations already partner with Washington College or the faculty of the MFCE Minor.

Required courses formalize these experiences for students in the MFCE Minor.  Students choose from one of the following one-credit courses:

  • EDU / ENV 115 Environmental Education Field Experience provides 20 hours of off-campus supervised experiences with organizations that emphasize the overlap between the environment and education. Students will observe, reflect upon, and participate in outreach and educational duties at a local park, nature center, outdoor school, or other environmental agency.
  • EDU 194 (11) Museum and Community Education Field Experience 
  • EDU 218 Clinical Field Experience consists of off-campus supervised field experiences in public or private schools, where students observe and work with professionals in the field of education.

All MFCE students also participate in the two-credit culminating Museum, Field, and Community Education Internship (EDU 374).  In this course, students will be placed with a local partner in informal education based on their content area of expertise, including but not limited to museums, historical societies, art spaces, environmental education centers, and Washington College Centers for Excellence.  Working with a professional in the field, students will synthesize their content knowledge and skills and apply them beyond the classroom, creating educational materials that can be used by the community partner in the future.

Our students have benefited from experiential learning at / with: