{"id":7649,"date":"2026-04-28T09:49:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/?p=7649"},"modified":"2026-04-28T09:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:54:19","slug":"call-for-participation-experiential-learning-conference-and-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/news\/call-for-participation-experiential-learning-conference-and-training","title":{"rendered":"Call for Participation: Experiential Learning Conference and Training"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Theme:<\/strong> <em>From Community Projects to Professional Pathways: Scaling Experiential Learning Through the PEARL Model in Large Community-Engaged Courses<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>Date:<\/strong> May 28, 2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Time:<\/strong> 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.<br \/>\n<strong>Venue:<\/strong> Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania<br \/>\n<strong>Format:<\/strong> Hybrid (Virtual &amp; Face-to-Face)<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you would like to participate in the conference, please email Prof. Rasel M. Madaha at rasel.madaha@sua.ac.tz as soon as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Education in Tanzania is recognized as a cornerstone for national transformation. The <strong>Education and Training Policy (2014, revised 2023)<\/strong> emphasizes the need for flexible systems that provide diverse learning opportunities, strengthen community engagement, and align curricula with the demands of science, technology, and the labor market. The policy highlights experiential and competency-based approaches as essential for preparing graduates who are not only academically qualified but also equipped with practical skills, reflective capacity, and professional readiness.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, <strong>Tanzania Development Vision 2050 (Dira 2050)<\/strong> envisions a <em>well-educated, skilled, and learning society<\/em> as a pillar of national progress. It calls for education systems that foster innovation, digital literacy, and sustainable development, ensuring that by 2050 Tanzania will be an upper-middle-income, knowledge-based economy. Experiential learning\u2014linking classroom study with community projects and professional pathways\u2014directly supports this vision by cultivating human capital, strengthening social cohesion, and enabling youth to contribute to economic diversification and climate resilience.<\/p>\n<p>This training responds to these national priorities by equipping lecturers and academicians with tools to scale experiential learning in large classes, integrate community partnerships, and align teaching with Tanzania\u2019s long-term development goals.<\/p>\n<p>This short training is designed for <strong>university lecturers and academicians<\/strong> seeking to strengthen their teaching practice by integrating <strong>experiential learning<\/strong> and <strong>competency-based education (CBE)<\/strong> approaches. Drawing on global research and African innovation models, the training will explore how community-engaged projects can be scaled into professional pathways that prepare students for real-world challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Competency-based education emphasizes <strong>performance, transferable skills, and authentic assessment<\/strong> rather than rote knowledge (Chappell, Gonczi &amp; Hager, 2000). Research in higher education highlights the importance of <strong>reflection, identity formation, and workplace alignment<\/strong> in preparing graduates for complex professional environments (Hager &amp; Gonczi, 2012). This training situates these insights within the <strong>PEARL experiential learning framework<\/strong>, offering practical strategies for large classes and diverse contexts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keynote Speakers<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mara Huber<\/strong> \u2013 Senior Director of Instructional Innovation, University at Buffalo<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rasel Madaha<\/strong> \u2013 Curriculum Designer &amp; Research Administrator<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sub-Themes<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Scaling Experiential Learning in Large Classes<\/li>\n<li>Community Partnerships and Sustainable Impact<\/li>\n<li>Reflection as a Pedagogical Tool<\/li>\n<li>Digital Engagement and Communication<\/li>\n<li>Pathways to Professional Identity Formation<\/li>\n<li>Global Perspectives on Experiential Learning<\/li>\n<li>Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in University Teaching and Learning<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Why Participate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Gain <strong>hands-on strategies<\/strong> for embedding experiential learning in your courses.<\/li>\n<li>Explore <strong>competency-based assessment models<\/strong> that align with professional pathways.<\/li>\n<li>Learn how to integrate <strong>digital tools and AI<\/strong> into teaching and mentoring.<\/li>\n<li>Connect with <strong>global experts<\/strong> and peers working on education transformation.<\/li>\n<li>Contribute to Tanzania\u2019s <strong>Vision 2050 goals<\/strong> of building a skilled, innovative, and resilient society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Call for Papers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We invite <strong>scholars, practitioners, and postgraduate students<\/strong> to submit papers aligned with the training themes. Accepted papers will be presented during conference sessions and considered for inclusion in post-conference publications.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Participation Fees<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tanzanians:<\/strong> Tshs 100,000<\/li>\n<li><strong>Non-Tanzanians:<\/strong> USD 150<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Next Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mark your calendars for <strong>May 28, 2026<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Prepare your paper submissions and training participation.<\/li>\n<li>Join us in bridging academic study with real-world challenges through <strong>experiential learning and competency-based education<\/strong>, aligned with Tanzania\u2019s <strong>Education Policy<\/strong> and <strong>Vision 2050<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Organizing Committee<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Experiential Learning Conference Training \u2013 SUA, May 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theme: From Community Projects to Professional Pathways: Scaling Experiential Learning Through the PEARL Model in Large Community-Engaged Courses Date: May 28, 2026 Time: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Venue: Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro, Tanzania Format: Hybrid (Virtual &amp; Face-to-Face) If you would like to participate in the conference, please email Prof. Rasel M. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7649"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7653,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7649\/revisions\/7653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coa.sua.ac.tz\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}