Each FUSION module consists of a combination of videos, case studies, self-assessments, reflection activities and interactive instruction. These modules are designed to wrap around applied learning experiences, which can include internships, co-op placements or study-abroad opportunities.  

However, the FUSION program also takes a broader view, understanding ‘applied learning’ as any experience in which students actively learn by applying what they know inside or outside a traditional academic classroom. While you might wish to use a few of the FUSION modules in a co-curricular setting, it is equally possible to use them in a curricular one—that is, in an academic class. 

Completing the Modules

All FUSION modules are available on Brightspace, and they can be adopted individually or in clusters, depending on your pedagogical requirements. Each module is approximately four hours in length and presented in three distinct phases: Explore, Apply and Reflect. The individual phases look like this: 

• Explore
  • When: Before, or at the start of, your applied learning experience.
  • What: Learn about and practice a specific skill.
  • Duration: About 2 hours.
• Apply
  • When: During your applied learning experience. 
  • What: Move through the process of applying the skill to your applied learning experience, exploring how your skill can be used to help you navigate different activities and tasks within a variety of contexts and situations. 
  • Duration: About 1 hour. 
• Reflect
  • When: At the end of your applied learning experience. 
  • What: Look back at your experience and what you’ve learned, and then set goals for the future. 
  • Duration: About 1 hour.

Each module also comes with a student workbook with reflection exercises that functions as the module’s default assessment/completion-tracking tool. This workbook can be used as is or be modified and customized to suit the needs of your course. 

Of course, it is important you feel your chosen module(s) is/are in alignment with your course’s goals and listed learning outcomes. We offer both information sessions and pedagogical consultations to help ensure you get the most out of your FUSION experience.  

And finally, if you are wondering why you should make use of the FUSION modules in your course or how they might benefit you and your students, consider the following: 

• These are ready-made, ready-to-use resources.
• They offer the chance to explore new avenues in your own teaching and to fill in gaps about which you may not have been aware. 
• They help your students to build skills employers consistently identify as lacking in their new employees. 
• They encourage your students to reflect upon their own learning, both within the FUSION curriculum and beyond it. 
• They help your students become more efficient and effective learners by asking them to complete reflection work.  
• They prepare your students for the professional world of the twenty-first century. 

How to Begin

To start using a FUSION module in your course or for more information about the project, please contact Memorial University’s FUSION project lead, Ian Gibson.