Students studying the land in nearby Yellow Springs, exploring art in Chicago, working with startups in Seattle, and creating science lessons for middle schoolers in Springfield, Ohio, will all be part of the Wittenberg’s inaugural Focused, Integrated, Reflective Experiences or F.I.R.E week, Feb. 28-March 4, 2022.
Along with the new Connections Curriculum, which debuted this fall, Wittenberg faculty voted last year to pilot a new offering that will become a regular feature of the Wittenberg academic calendar. F.I.R.E. Week will take place the week before spring break each year moving forward. It will fulfill one of the experiential learning requirements in the Connections Curriculum, which, in alignment with the University’s mission, challenges students to become responsible global citizens, to discover their callings, and to lead personal, professional, and civic lives of creativity, service, compassion, and integrity.
During F.I.R.E. Week, students have a chance to engage in-depth with faculty and staff on a wide range of topics. Options to date include: spending the week in Cleveland, visiting both public and private schools, and asking how they as citizens have a stake in the education system; visiting local museums to understand how best to create exhibits to explain psychological principles (and then create their own exhibits); working with the Susan Hirt Hagen Center and the Fuller Center to help construct housing in storm-damaged areas of Georgia; or discovering the best ways to engage children in chemistry, including putting together a demonstration at a middle school. The possibilities are as rich and varied as the people at Wittenberg.
“We’re excited about the potential for F.I.R.E. Week to add special experiential learning opportunities for Wittenberg students,” Provost Michelle Mattson said. “All Wittenberg students are eligible to apply this year. First-year students (and sophomores who have petitioned to switch to the Connections Curriculum) are encouraged to consider one of the options. I’m excited about these opportunities to collaborate and plan forward.”
For this first year, Wittenberg is offering at least six exciting programs from which students can choose. They include:
- Building a Healthy Community
- Changing the World! Interactive Science Shows for Middle School Students
- Experience Psychology! Creating Exhibits for Effective Science Communication
- Intelligent Tinkering and the Land Ethic
- See Something, Say Something: Building Bystander Intervention Campaigns
- Start-Up in Seattle
- Up Close and Personal: Art Museum and Gallery Trip to Chicago
- Building Houses and Hope in Georgia (a trip for civic engagement/community service credit)
For the full list and respective program leaders, click here.
Students who are not participating in one of the programs are encouraged to work on projects related to their courses for that week before spring break. Students will not be on campus during this time, but full-time faculty will be required to be on campus that week.
