York College focuses on project-based learning (PBL), offering students an opportunity to work with community partners to develop key skills. Recent examples include engineering students using drones to study farming practices and the health of a local water reservoir, students in a communications class developing a plan to promote York's Goodridge Freedom Center, students from hospitality management working on the renovation of the Yorktowne Hotel, and students from multiple disciplines building a telescope for the York County Parks System. York College is located at 441 Country Club Road, York.
Friday, Feb. 22, will mark a day of learning about PBL, as York College faculty participate in a workshop by Richard Vaz, director of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Center for Project-Based Learning. A showcase of current projects, including those previously mentioned, will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Yorkview Hall, Willman Business Center. The day will conclude with a public lecture by Vaz, "Project-Based Learning: Motivations, Implementation, and Impacts," at 4:30 p.m., in Weinstock Lecture Hall, Willman Business Center. The showcase and talk are free and open to the public.
During the presentation, Vaz will describe PBL as a strategy for helping students develop key skills and abilities such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and creative problem-solving. The talk will explore how PBL fits into the landscape of higher education, look at examples of PBL across the curriculum, and discuss results from a study looking at long-term impacts of PBL on graduates.
Vaz earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from WPI, focusing on signal analysis and machine vision. He held systems and design engineering positions with the Raytheon Company, GenRad Inc., and the MITRE Corporation before joining the WPI Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty in 1987. He served as dean of Interdisciplinary and Global Studies for 10 years and has advised hundreds of undergraduate research projects around the world.
Vaz was named the inaugural director of WPI's Center for Project-Based Learning in January 2016. In his current role, Vaz works with colleagues across campus to help advance project-based learning at colleges and universities around the nation and the globe as well as support project-based learning on the WPI campus.
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