How students make meaning of their intentional out-of-class educational experiences

Many students spend a significant portion of their college life outside of the classroom, yet very little is known about the learning they experience as a result of their interactions outside of the classroom. Intentional out-of-class educational experiences offer educators a powerful window into not only understanding the college student experience, but gaining insight into what students are learning that has meaning for them. This research study employed a qualitative approach to examine how students make meaning of their intentional out-of-class educational experiences at a small, Catholic, liberal arts college. Four recent graduates of the college were interviewed on two separate occasions to garner a broad picture of what they learned beyond their classrooms. All four participants were members of the college's honor society whose membership criteria included not only excellence in the classroom, but excellence in the out-of-class arena as well. The students represented athletic teams, honor societies, service societies and clubs in their out-of-class educational experiences. While the participants discussed an array of outcomes as a result of their out-of-class educational experiences, each participant identified specific events that lead them to make new or revised meaning from their internal and external understandings of their world. Labeled as turning points, this research study found that there was a powerful interaction when combining out-of-class educational experiences with the opportunity to cognitively reflect on what each student was experiencing both in understanding how they viewed themselves, as well as the world around them. Consequently, student affairs practitioners, at least in this campus setting, can routinely discover cognitive gains of students implementing opportunities for college students to reflect on out-of-class educational experiences.