Today, Maria talks with Nikki James, a learning scientist and a researcher at Practera focused on the design and development of education technology to support experiential learning. Nikki’s journey into learning science and education technology did not follow a traditional path. She traversed outdoor education in China, humanitarian aid and development in Tanzania and higher education lecturing in Australia! Throughout her travels, she realized that she was afforded these opportunities because of her access to quality education. She knew that the next step in her journey was to use technology to increase access to quality education for everyone. Nikki has been designing and delivering experiential learning programs since 2002 within higher education institutions from both the faculty and program manager perspective. She shares with us how Practera, an experiential learning platform helps educators, employers and students achieve better outcomes from experiential learning collaborations. These programs aim to help students develop 21st Century skills and prepare for the 4th Industrial Revolution. Tune in to learn from an inspiring learning scientist and educational technology researcher focused on the design and implementation of experiential learning programs.
Production team:
Host : Maria Xenidou
Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian
Introduction Voice: David Bourne
Contact us:
impactlearningpodcast@gmail.com
Music credits:
Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals
Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks
Where to find Nikki James and Practera:
On LinkedIn
Mentioned in this episode:
Constructive Alignment Design Theory on Wikipedia
John Biggs, the lead thinker on this theory
Listen to this episode and explore:
Nikki’s childhood: studying ballet, giving to the community and staying focused on her education (3:33)
Getting a bachelor’s degree in health science (8:16)
Nikki’s first job as an outdoor educator (10:34)
Becoming a youth manager at a charity in Australia (11:30)
Building public-speaking skills and learning about social justice (12:50)
Setting-up a volunteering branch in China after the Sichuan Earthquake (15:52)
What Nikki learnt about herself in China (20:47)
Returning to Australia to develop volunteering programs for university students (22:00)
Her trip to Tanzania that changed everything (24:24)
Joining Practera as an Instructional Designer (28:30)
Practera: an experiential learning online platform (30:36)
Using collaborative project learning to scale experiential learning and help students develop 21st-century skills (32:34)
What goes into designing an experiential learning experience that creates the desired outcomes (36:14)
How Nikki leverages experts when designing an experiential learning experience (38:52)
The business model of Practera: who covers the cost of the programs (41:23)
How experiential programs work for the students (42:15)
How Practera matches the students with the industry professionals and their projects (43:29)
Creating an ecosystem where students, educators and industry professionals collaborate (45:03)
What the program managers’ role is at Practera (47:51)
How to get involved with Practera as an educator (48:58)
Who the mentors are and how they support students (51:26)
How Practera triggers reflective learning for the students (53:28)
Practera programs: a combination of online and in-person activities (55:43)
Nikki’s reflection on scaling the impact of her work while dreaming of making the Practera technology available in low-resource economies (57:29)
Nikki’s PhD in Education: aggregating learning data analytics and learning theories in the experiential learning field (59:34)
How Nikki sees the future of experiential learning (1:01:40)