Gabrielle Robinson’s scientific contributions

Experiential learning in internships, a High-Impact Practice promoted in U.S. higher education, resembles "learning in the wild." This mixed-method study, conducted by a faculty-student ethnographic team, presents the qualities of the experience, in Dewey's terms, of a highly regarded community-based summer internship, with problem-led flexibility; bodily involvement and multimodality; respect for learners' capacities; mentors rather than teachers; multiple forms of diversity in a community of practice; cooperative social relations; genuine responsibility; security of basic needs; connection to community and place; ample but authentic time constraints.

In 2014, community volunteers and university grant writers created the Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem (BCe2), focused on revitalizing a river tributary that stretches throughout the Southeast neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana. The organizational partnership linked efforts of local community groups, schools, and universities in continued revitalization a post-industrial urban environment. The initial goals of this ecological coalition included the systematic transformation of a long-neglected waterway and its environs. By the summer of 2018, BCe2 was a dynamic organization of thirty interns in eight teams working with a complex host of research advisors, community partners, and three dozen mentors. The interns, from thirteen different universities, colleges, and high schools, worked on a variety of engineering projects including urban sustainability, tree nurseries, lead mitigation, stormwater management, arduino technology , and vacant lot assessment. As the current organization continues to integrate its efforts in redevelopment projects with the neighborhood surrounding Bowman Creek to expand its benefits for other South Bend communities, it continues to serve as a vibrant opportunity for experiential learning, place-based science, and community-university partnerships.