EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
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Welcome. This website documents my exploration of experiential learning in higher education. 

Now that I have completed my PhD in Education, graduating from the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education in May 2022, I will be adding more material to this website, especially in the blogs. My degree is in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning. My research interest is experiential learning teaching methods, especially project-based learning.
Recently, I added a short piece that summarizes research into the skills students should develop during their studies, especially in their undergraduate education. You can find this new blog post on my Experiential Learning page at: 
https://www.paulmcafee.com/experiential_learning_activities

​On January 20, 2022, I uploaded a new article in my Research Blog explaining why instructors should talk to their students about their teaching methods. This is based on my PhD dissertation research. You can read the article here: https://www.paulmcafee.com/experiential_learning_research

Here is a quote from a student in the online section of the University at Buffalo Singapore School of Management capstone Fundamentals of Strategic Management course. ​This refers to the global strategy simulation we use in the course for team-based project-based learning:

"MGO 403 was an interesting module that allowed me to gain a better understanding of business strategy through textbook lectures and the usage of the Business Simulation Game (BSG). Before the BSG simulation, most of the business education that I had received were based on theoretical knowledge. Thus, it was refreshing to have the opportunity of gaining practical knowledge and testing out the different theories learnt throughout my 3 years of education."

See my Online Learning blog for a recent post about experiential learning in Singapore in the fall 2021 semester: 
https://www.paulmcafee.com/experiential_learning_activities. 

During the coronavirus situation and education, most universities and colleges in the USA moved to online-only delivery of courses. University of North Carolina Asheville, where I was teaching during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, had eventually moved all courses back to the classroom for spring 2021, but left some online. I returned to Singapore for fall 2021 to teach for the University at Buffalo School of Management. We started with seated classes but eventually returned to online classes due to a surge in COVID infections in Singapore.

Click here for a recent post about Project-Based Learning, from an article by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Click here for recent Project-Based Learning activities in the Integrated Brand Promotion (IBP) course I am teaching this semester at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Asheville.

January 2020 Update: I've been extremely busy, teaching for the University of North Carolina in Asheville, in a one-year Visiting Lecturer of Strategy role. I've not added to this website during that time. Recently, I wrote an article about teaching instead of retiring. You can fine it on my Activities blog page: -
https://www.paulmcafee.com/experiential_learning_activities.

There are three active blogs here, one for research information, another for my teaching activities, and finally, a new personal blog where I will share photos from my international travels to teach. On the Activities blog, you will see examples of pedagogical methods I use to teach capstone Strategic Management, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and International Business courses.

Since 2012, I have taught the above mentioned courses in China and Vietnam for Keuka College, in Singapore for the State University of New York, University at Buffalo, and in the Buffalo area for Canisius College, Daemen College, and the University at Buffalo. I will be teaching the capstone Strategic Management course at the University of North Carolina at Asheville in the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters.
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  • Experiential Learning Activities blog
  • Experiential Learning Research blog
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On the Research blog, you will see information and ideas I share as I conduct my research into experiential learning teaching methods and their effects on students.
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I have a fourth personal blog.
  • Personal Blog

If you are interested, please follow one or more of these. I also maintain a profile on LinkedIn, and you may wish to follow me there: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulmcafee/
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​Paul McAfee, PhD
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#experientiallearning #highereducation #universityatbuffalo #daemencollege #canisiuscollege #UNCAsheville #strategicmanagement #universityatbuffalo #canisiuscollege #daemencollege

As of late November, 2018, I have achieved my PhD Candidacy (AKA All But Dissertation - ABD) status. My dissertation research has been approved by my committee, and by the University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board (IRB). I am starting my research into experiential learning in higher education.

Visit my experiential learning research blog frequently for updates on research -
Click here.
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IRB approval of research.
PictureKeuka College students in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, used money from their course-long leadership project to purchase clothing, food, and bikes, for boys in a local orphanage.
This website investigates experiential learning methodology in higher education. In the Vietnam National University system and in the University at Buffalo program in Singapore. Experiential learning (also called student-centered learning) contrasts with passive learning (sometimes called teacher-centered learning). Lectures, when used without student activities or engagement other than listening, generally are considered passive learning methods. Start your tour of the website on the Experiential Learning in Vietnam page and watch the presentation that I delivered to faculty and university administrators in Saigon. Watch a video that summarizes this process by clicking here.

See an example of Project-Based Learning by clicking here. Keuka College students in many of my courses in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, work on a five-week business project to apply what they are learning in their Operation Production Management course. This is one of several experiential learning methods used in my courses.

​​Your will find examples of the teaching that I have done since early 2012 in Vietnam, and since 2014 in Singapore. During this time, I have taught Business Leadership, International Business, Strategic Management, and Operations Production Management. These courses are for Keuka College, in China and Vietnam, and for the State University of New York, University at Buffalo, in Singapore. I also teach Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship & Small Business for the State University of New York University at Buffalo School of Management Bachelor of Science in Business Management program in Singapore, and on the Buffalo campus. In this website, I share examples of project-based experiential learning, with examples in my activities blog from the University at Buffalo program.


On the following pages, you will see examples of the projects my students have completed as they applied what they were learning in their lectures and from their textbooks to real-life businesses.  Each Keuka College class formed a small business that operated for five weeks. These are three-credit courses taught over a seven week period with the same classroom hours as a regular 15-week semester. Therefore, these are intense course, and the students have a heave workload of lectures and studying, in addition to their projects. University at Buffalo School of Management students may run projects for six weeks in the summer session course, or for twelve weeks at the Singapore campus.

Paul McAfee
PhD - State University of New York University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education​

​#experientiallearning #highereducation #universityatbuffalo #daemencollege #canisiuscollege #keukacollege


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A note about photos: All photos in this website are my own or are used by permission of the photographer. Students have given permission for use of photos of themselves. Photos of children in orphanages and hospitals are posted by permission of administrators and parents or guardians.

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Copyright 2013-2019 Paul McAfee
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/paulmcafee