Phillip Motley, associate professor of communications, was selected as the 2019-21 CEL Scholar to support his exploration of immersive learning as a high-impact practice.
Phillip Motley, associate professor of communications, has been named the 2019-21 Center for Engaged Learning Scholar. During this term, he will focus on immersive learning as a high-impact practice.
Motley will explore current research on immersive learning and contribute to CEL resources and publications on the topic.
Motley’s interest in immersive learning as a high-impact practice stems from several related projects. He has taught several undergraduate service-learning courses at Elon that involve the community surrounding the university. He believes that presenting students with the opportunity to become immersed with community-based issues often drives them to expect, even demand, more of themselves and their classmates, and that these types of learning experiences focus less on grades and more on supporting and helping the community.
Teaching the Interactive Project for the Public Good in the iMedia program during Elon’s winter term is another reason for Motley’s interest in the concept of immersive learning as a high-impact practice, as the course allows students to work on a project in an international context over a sustained period of time. Finally his involvement in Design Thinking courses also helps students gain deeper exploration of immersive learning while on campus. He will be teaching in the Design Thinking Studio in Social Innovation program for the third time this spring.
During a two-year appointment, CEL Scholars develop expertise in a specific aspect of engaged learning and create resources on that topic to be shared through CEL’s website and in other scholarly venues. The CEL Scholar position is an opportunity for an Elon faculty member to develop and deepen a professional development trajectory that includes scholarly activity on a high-impact practice or other engaged learning topic.
Motley is the third Elon faculty member to be named CEL Scholar. He joins 2017-19 Scholar, Ketevan Kupatadze (World Languages and Cultures), and 2018-20 Scholar, Buffie Longmire-Avital (Psychology). A call for applications for the 2020-22 CEL Scholar will be released in fall 2019.
Any questions regarding the CEL Scholar position or the Center for Engaged Learning should be directed to Jessie Moore, director of CEL, at jmoore28@elon.edu.