One thing that sets the University of Michigan-Dearborn apart is its integration of practice-based learning (PBL) into the student experience.
Through PBL, learning comes alive. Courses and curricula become more engaging for students while equipping them with the skills they’ll need for the workforce and life.
Practice-based learning inspires flexible thinking to enhance creativity, adaptability and effective collaboration across various skill sets, perspectives and backgrounds. It allows our students to make an immediate impact in their careers upon graduation.
Whether through group projects or individual work, the core idea is that learning has a different texture when actively solving a challenge that connects to the world outside the classroom and doesn’t have a preordained path to completion.
PBL prepares students for challenging, rewarding 21st-century careers. And because learning at UM-Dearborn occurs on a non-residential campus with many nontraditional, first-generation and international students, fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness is key to student success and retention. All of our students are part of a strong, supportive community where they work closely with peers and professors, broadening their worldview and supporting future success.
Across UM-Dearborn’s four colleges, practice-based learning is taking various interesting shapes.
