Getting My Feet Wet: A Student Educator's Perspective on a Successful Learning Experience

Abstract

I am a third-semester graduate student at the Audubon Expedition Institute (AEI), a college based in Belfast, Maine. This is a unique, fascinating, and sometimes crazy educational experience in which we travel around a different bioregion of the country each semester. Our method of transport is two converted school buses; we camp out every night and become strongly connected with the land around us. Our degree will be a master of science in environmental education; we study ecosystems and environmental and social issues through self-directed education. Our program emphasizes experiential and holistic education within a strong learning community, and sometimes we have the opportunity to turn unexpected events to our advantage. As a learning community we are each other's roommates, teachers, students, and peers. We cook and eat together and live in an intense, closely knit environment. This semester our community consists of 27 graduate students and four faculty.