IUPUI Institute for Engaged Learning & Indy Parks Collaboration

The results are in...

Recommendation 1: Design A New Website Exclusively For The Indy Parks + Institute for Engaged Learning Initiative

Due to the immense variety of subjects these experiential learning projects and their associated classes in the new initiative will cover, narrowing the student’s selection to fit their needs is essential.

A new course search tool and database incorporated into the website with relevant and hyper-accurate filters will allow students to effortlessly be connected with the faculty member/course corresponding to their interests

Stakeholder Preferences Differ Tremendously - Implement 2 Websites For The IEL + Indy Parks Initative: A Faculty and Student Side

Our local study concluded that the two stakeholder populations - students and faculty - prefer a different medium and style of materials in academic resources.

Solution = Two different websites tailored to meet stakeholder needs

Preexisting Course-Search Models - Excellent models for The Proposed New Website

The “iGPS course search” tool is available to all IUPUI students and the database includes all courses available on the campus. The implementation of this tool is school-wide and serves as a successful large-scale course-searching database model.

Another course-search tool that is available to students is the tool to search record-bearing experiences on “the Record” webpage.

Combine These Successful Models To Maximize An "IEL + Indy Parks Course Search Tool"

The iGPS tool does not allow students to search for experiential learning opportunities while the Record's course search tool does not offer filters to allow students to search for opportunities in their desired area of study. While these are not boundaries for the intended use of these tools, to maximize students' ability to find an IEL + Indy Parks course that meets their needs, combining aspects of these models is ideal.

The New Search Tool Acts As A "Matching Database" - Effortlessly Creating Connections Between Students and Faculty

A matching database in the website using keywords, pedology, and scheduling in the interface would be beneficial for all stakeholders. According to the local study, 68% of all IUPUI students surveyed answered that they would prefer to be matched with an engaged learning instructor whose pedology aligns with their learning preference.

Increasing Engagement - How Do We Design The Website To Retain Students?

We must next examine what would entice students to actively use and engage with the proposed IEL/Indy Parks website. Student use of university e-databases depends on several factors, including “Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness” (Abubakar, 2021). Emphasizing the perceived student benefit of the website specifically could increase the website’s student visitor retention.

Below is a list of benefits targeted toward the university student that may be displayed on the homepage of the proposed Indy Parks + Institute for Engaged Learning website:
What You Receive From Our Program

Dynamic real-world projects to add to your portfolio
Exclusive access to contacts with Indy Parks staff
Innovative learning program that marries project-based learning and community engagement

Enhance Perceived System Quality - Use IU Branding in Website Deisgn

Perceived system quality may be a factor in university students' behavioral intention to engage with academic material (Chang et. al, 2008). Using IU’s branding to create the new website will establish authority and give the students a sense of familiarity with the material.

Engaging Students - Using Multimedia to Increase Student Satisfaction

The website must be engaging to the student. Scholars suggest using “multimedia” to engage with students may increase “student satisfaction” and “course-taking intention” (Kim, 2020). The website designer may consider using multimedia to display the student benefits of the program in order to maximize the possibility of student engagement with the material, intention to participate in the program, and student satisfaction with the website.

Possible applications of multimedia on the “student side” of the proposed IEL + Indy Parks website:

Videos of student success stories regarding engaged learning and how this has/will impact their career
Podcast created by students IN the program talking ABOUT the program
Picture gallery showing a variety of what students may be able to accomplish during the program
Multimedia gallery showcasing past IEL projects
“Tour” and introduction of the program using an interactive click-based interface
Hyperlinks to IEL and Indy Parks websites, respectively
Map using a click-based interface showing each Indy Park around the state and what opportunities are offered by administration in that specific park (ie. A student clicks on a park and is able to see the opportunities provided by this park and whether the associated class will be distance, hybrid, or on-site learning)

Recommendation 2: Implement An Ambassador/Mentor Program To Enhance Stakeholder Engagement And Systematically Operate The Program

Local Study Shows Students Want To Help - Using An Ambassador Model To Systematically Create and Stimulate The Program

The proposed ambassador/mentor program takes a systematic approach by asking every student ambassador to contribute to the program in varying levels of commitment to receive the benefits of having a faculty mentor in their desired industry giving them valuable feedback on their work.

Taking a “systematic approach” to the creation and implementation of this collaborative initiative using students would look like tapping into each individual student ambassador’s skillset or desired area of growth and exploring that in a project that would benefit the program at large.

This approach focuses, “by the relationship between and among those parts” (Mumby, 2013, pg. 94). In this context, we would place emphasis on how each part of the system helps the other function as a more optimal member of the group. Just as the program initiative will include students partnering with Indy Parks representatives to mutually benefit, the ambassador program will use prior mentorship models to promote internal growth.

Considering relationships with stakeholders using a perspective of receptivity can aid us in understanding crucial aspects of stakeholder participation in project-based community engagement (Leidig, 2021). Systematically approached, the student ambassador/faculty mentor program would operate interdependently and use university-internal resources to stimulate the program.

Not only would using internal sources allow for a more cost-effective approach to program management, but the data is clear - students want to gain experience, take on leadership roles, and add projects to their resume. While they are able to do this with their engaged learning classes, many students still seek additional opportunities to increase their career readiness and give their resume a competitive edge. Expert research concludes that partaking in extracurriculars as a college student increases a student’s chances of having an “effective transition to work” (Tchibozo, 2007). As for university benefits, scholars conclude that student-professor partnerships are a potential influencing factor in student learning (Li, 2023).

The use of this “systematic” approach is beneficial to all stakeholders in the program: administration, faculty, and students.

Can This Systematic Ambassador/Mentor Approach WORK? - Interviewing an Alumni

To determine whether or not a group of students studying computer science would be equipped with the skills to design the website and associated databases, a recent IUPUI alumni working in the field of technology was briefed on the basics of the website/database proposal and interviewed via Messenger.

Question: Do you think a group of senior computer science students at IUPUI would be equipped with the knowledge to create a website that hosts a database and several different pages hosting multimedia?

Answer: Definitely! When I was at IUPUI, I met some very talented seniors, some of them already employed in the field. Senior Computer Science and Computer Information and Technology students should have no problem building a basic website, and, even those whose concentration isn't databasing, have at least a working knowledge of building a database. They would just need enough time to work on it.

16% of IUPUI students surveyed answered that they would be interested in the creation of the new website/database.

While the responses were anonymous and there is no way to know the majors of the respondents, the alumni interview gave us insight that, “those whose concentration isn't databasing” (Spurling, 2023) can still build a proficient database.

Spurling’s stipulation on this was that the students would just have to be given time. If the ambassador program was widely advertised using marketing methods geared towards students with an interest in database creation, a sufficient number of students may be recruited specifically for the website/database initiative.

Peer-to-Peer Marketing Benefits In a Student Ambassador Program

While the proposed student ambassador program would stimulate the dynamic operations of the project by having students contribute in various means, an additional opportunity with the ambassador program can be observed when we look at research pertaining to “peer to peer” marketing methods. Research suggests that using peers to effect “word of mouth” marketing methods can be successful (Millet, Chamberlain, 2007). Encouraging student ambassadors of Indy Parks + Institute for Engaged Learning to promote the program among peers organically is a cost-effective way to increase awareness and positive perceptions of the program around campus.

Similar to past “peer modeling” successes, which use training with a peer to alter behavior (Hankla et. al, 2018), “peer-to-peer” marketing methods make use of internal materials to achieve a goal cost-effectively. Integrating “role-modeling” into the organic peer-to-peer marketing process can successfully increase program recruitment, (Ko, 2020). The use of peers in efforts to improve student decision-making career exploration self-efficacy proves to be successful (Huafeng Zhang, 2018), and perhaps this success would extend to the Indy Parks + Institute for Engaged Learning program.

Examples of organic ways to arrange “peer-to-peer” marketing and “peer modeling” in the Indy Parks + Institute for Engaged Learning Student Ambassador program:

Educate student ambassadors extensively about the program so they may relay information to peers (Ko, 2020)
Invest in the relationship between student ambassadors and the school community by organizing social events aimed at marketing the program (Rigby, 2010)
Encourage student ambassadors to post about the program on social media using “trendy” methods, as interaction and “trendiness” is proven to increase social media brand awareness (Masa’deh et. al, 2021).

Usable Ambassador Model - The University of Alabama Undergraduate Research Ambassadors

The University of Alabama houses a successful program of student ambassadors that promote undergraduate research.

Research Ambassadors of the University of Alabama complete the following tasks for the program:

- Enriching peers with research knowledge through individual advising appointments

- Promoting undergraduate research by speaking to clubs, organizations, and groups on campus

- Participating in all events held by the Office for Undergraduate Research

Link to the University of Alabama Undergraduate Research Ambassador Program

Ambassador and Mentor - The Connection Process

The University of Alabama has a team of faculty mentors that are contacted by students interested in undergraduate research. Faculty mentors have agency over which scholars they work with and can decline to work with students. If a faculty member and student agree to work together, the team can mutually agree on a research project that fits the student's desired area of interest. The program website discloses that specificities of the research may be determined by the team, but recommends that mentors and students devote 6 to 10 hours of research each week. We suggest using this program as a helpful model for structuring the proposed IEL and Indy Parks ambassador/mentor program.

Recommendation 3: Marketing Engaged Learning Projects To Students

We sought to find a way to market engaged learning classes to students. Our goal was to increase interest and enrollment for future classes through the Indy Parks Partnership. We found out that parks around Indianapolis would like to work with IUI students to attract more independent learners to the classes offered by Indy Parks.

We also found that students have limited access to real-world experiences, but have no way to access them. We discovered that if we found ways to market and ways to engage students through correlated IUI events. We could get students interested in wanting to participate

Effectively Marketing Towards College Students:

Our team found that our first obstacle to overcome was finding the right kind of advertisements to target students. We wanted to find out what kind of advertisements would interest students to learn more about Indy Parks engaged learning so we created a local study to find out what a student would want from an engaged learning project in a class, and also what would be the best way to advertise so that they would want to seek it out and participate. This local study has shown that the main form of advertising for students that will interest them to pursue whatever topic is presented is flyers. The survey question “Which form of advertisement would interest you the most in engaged learning” had multiple choices to choose from such as a flier or a TV on campus. Out of all the choices, 16 out of 25 students responded that they would prefer flyers, which is good because it is easy if a student decides they later want to access it. The 2nd most picked choice was a video on a website that can be easily accessed.

16 out of 25 students like a Flyer as a marketing tool
11 out of 25 like a video on a website
10 out 25 students like school table or QR code

This is great because while it would take effort to initially design and upload a website, Once it is set up besides, you could post a video to get students interested, and add other things on the website to help get students started. Such as a future list of classes that will have these projects. It is also easy to update and has little

Advertising In A Way That Would Make It Easier On Faculty Included In IEL Programs:

Since realistically it would not be possible for teachers to be the one reaching students. One way you could advertise these ideas to a student is through an informative video. As stated by Ademola Abimbola “An informative and entertaining video is an effective tool for communicating with college students”(Abimbola Par. 13). Abimbola states that there are many effective ways to market to college students with a video just being one of many effective methods. Other methods include or relying on word of mouth between students to spread details about whatever you want advertised. Here are the results from the survey about what kind of method faculty on IUPUI prefer to use to advertise engaged learning projects.

68% of faculty members preferred a newsletter to advertise engaged learning activities.
This could mean that they want the most cost effective and widely spread form of advertisement
Following in second place emails had 62% faculty members choose that as an preferred method of marketing.
Third place was a QR code for easy scanning at 48%

Using the knowledge of both the local studies and online sources the best recommendation we have for marketing is to combine the 3 most chosen marketing methods chosen by both faculty and students. Using a flyer you could add a Qr code that takes students back to the website design mentioned above in a previous recommendation. It will use all three methods and a previous recommendation to give the best marketing experience for both students and faculty. Since it is in flyer form it can be posted around the multiple IUI schools.

Social Media Marketing - College Students Preferred Advertisement Method And The Multiple Benefits It Has:

Social media is a part of almost everyone's life, we use it to communicate, and we use it for entertainment. Regardless of being aware or not, social media has been marketing all sorts of things. We propose that social media could be used as a method to market since it already has access to college students. In an article written by Max Freedman He states “Gen Z uses social media quite often, just as they do with messaging apps and other internet platforms”(Freedman Par. 1). Social media ads are effective in the sense that they can easily slip into almost any form of social media advertisement and can be targeted for specific audiences.

The Importance of Marketing To A Broad College Audience And Method Of How To Do So:

Marketing and advertising to students is something that plenty of colleges and universities have done for all kinds of resources. It is the most effective way to reach students without continuous strain on the faculty and teachers. Western Kentucky Universe has an example where the student Amanda N. Peirce made a capstone about how their university had plenty of resources posted everywhere. Her goal was “create and assess the efficacy of a campaign encouraging students to become more informed and seek out campus resources in times of stress and need”(Peirce Pg. 1). She has many charts and data tables showing differences between classes, areas where they live, and different majors to compare how different students find different resources. Using this information we can post advertisements around campus centers, both science buildings, Hine hall, Tower, and any majorly populated campus areas to get this opportunity available for everyone.

Recommendation 4: Offer Faculty Benefits Without Extra Work - Financial Compensation and/or Course Release

During the team’s meeting with Dr. Daday, which discussed the partnership between Indy Parks and IU Indianapolis, many areas of exploration were brought to light. Dr. Daday mentioned concerns about the involvement of students and faculty regarding the partnership with Indy Parks and IU Indianapolis. Another concern was the implementation of 50 new classes at IU Indianapolis; How would Indy Parks plug in all these classes? Most importantly how will faculty handle the influx and adaptation of these new classes?

Many teachers are aware of the benefits of community-engaged learning. However, the incorporation of these classes within their curriculum brings on extra work and it is a stressful change. As stated in Engaging Faculty across the Community Engagement Continuum, “On top of organizing and planning the logistics of community engagement projects, actually building relationships with community members and organizations is a long-term, time-consuming activity (Gorski and Mehta, pp. 4, 2016). Teachers already face long work hours and are spread thin. Therefore, something teachers would benefit from would be higher pay, and in turn students would benefit from this as well (Anderson, pp. 2, 2022).

Savana Anderson states within The Truth About Teacher Salaries and its Effects on Teachers and Students, “While examining pay for performance and its effects, it has been concluded that districts that implement pay incentives have more appeal for old and new teachers alike. Teacher performance pay, also known as pay for performance or PFP includes higher incentives and pay based on student success” (Anderson, pp.9, 2022). Anderson explains how the performance of students is correlated to the pay of teachers. Higher pay is a big incentive for faculty to partake in community-engaged programs and it offers other benefits like increasing teacher quality and lowering turnover rates. If there was an incentive for teachers to uptake more work, there would be more teachers involved within the Indy Parks and IU Indianapolis partnership. In turn, students would receive the best education possible with teachers who want to be actively involved in these community-engaged classes.

Additionally, Odden and Kelley state, “If the county is to accomplish the aspirations of standards-based education reform- education many more students to much higher levels of performance- then recruiting and retaining quality teachers must be a high priority issue. And paying teachers different- as well as paying them more- must be part of this equation” (Odden and Kelley, 1995). If IU Indianapolis wants their students to succeed and have access to the best education, then the best teachers must be involved as well. The best teachers are more likely to be involved with financial compensation.

The team wanted to see what would motivate more teachers to be involved in these new classes, so the team created a faculty survey. The survey received answers from 23 different teachers and here are the results from IU Indianapolis teachers themselves to the second question:

“In the future, what would motivate you to adapt your current curriculum to include project-based engagement activities with local community partners? (choose all that apply)”

These options can be grouped into 3 categories: special recognition, financial compensation, and other benefits.

Out of those 3:

49% of teacher votes were towards financial compensation as one of their incentives.
21% of teacher votes went towards special recognition as one of their incentives
30% of teacher votes went towards other benefits.

Opportunity to Accrue Credit Towards a Course Release

Another incentive towards teacher’s engagement to take up project-based activities with local community partners, to receive a high percentage of teacher votes was the opportunity to accrue credit toward a course release. Since 50 new classes are currently being planned many teachers will have yet another course to take up. Thus, teachers will have more work, as already mentioned above teachers are spread thin. So, by participating in the engaged learning activities with Indy Parks teachers could potentially receive credit for their work and free up their workload through a course release. The third question of the team’s teacher survey asked:

“Which resources would assist you most in integrating engaged learning activities into the classroom? (Choose all that apply)”

80% of teachers chose “grant opportunities to support my work”
8% of teachers chose “other” which included:

“Time via course release to develop curriculum”
“Anything that frees up time”

Teachers at IU Indianapolis seek opportunities and time to support their work whether it is personal or for the betterment of an engaged learning program with Indy Parks. This opportunity can be presented through a course release which teachers at IU Indianapolis are in favor of.

Recommendation 5: Flexible Programming

Allow Students To Pick Which Park To Work With:

If students could pick which park to work with, it could bring different benefits. A benefit for students picking which ones to help, instead of just being assigned one that seems convenient would be more motivation. It would make students put more thought than just “do i have time for it” and “do I want to do it” and turn it into “Can I do it/ what are the long-term benefits for doing it”. Within Students’ Perceptions of Choice-based Assessment: A Case Study is ,”Research suggests that providing students with choices, or flexibility, in what, how, and when their learning is assessed can enhance students’ engagement and satisfaction with their learning experience”(Spinney 2023). The many choices, via different parks, would allow students to not only have different avenues of going forward in experience, but also to motivate themselves to finish the project. Written by Elizabeth Cooke , “student viewpoint and level of engagement illuminated behaviors and interactions more fully by their description”(Cooke 2023). Just having a choice for doing something makes students more willing to try things usually to their strengths, but also something new as well.

Though too many choices could cause some problems,” choice was not motivating for all students; a few students expressed concerns over the potential for procrastination, a lack of experience with choice, and/or too many choices”(Spinney 2023). The choices may make students feel overwhelmed, which then leads to hasty decisions. The decisions could then lead to students wasting time on an unfulfilling project, instead of getting something fulfilling.

Allow Students To Have Some Control On How To Meet With The Parks:

The parks would each have their own problems that would need to be addressed in different ways. Allowing students to pick how to meet and help solve the problems could bring more benefits. Some people could only do their best in different ways; written by Potola, who is a teacher of education, says some students need a “more situated approach by interweaving development, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives on motivation”(Potola, 2022). If students are able to pick how to meet with the parks to help them, it could bring unexpected benefits due to the motivation from being remote, hybrid, or in-person.

Some students are motivated to finish things in-person, while others are the opposite. Though in-person meetings still have a place to start and finish projects; however the use of technology cannot be ignored “Online courses, interactive educational platforms, learning management systems, accessible video, and animations have made vast advances in the last 20 years”(Weinert 2022). With technology becoming more accessible and advanced it is becoming simpler to do things, such as meeting with people at distant places. It also helps with parks that are too far for convenience, but need help. Of course there are problems that can’t be solved remotely such as checking who goes to parks and testing soil samples. There are many different parks, and if students are able to pick which ones to help, it would benefit both parties if students also had some control in meeting with the parks.