MURI Program: 1619 Virtual Escape for Learning Experience
DUE is home to IEL and the CRL which is administering the Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Institute (MURI) both in the academic year and the summer, which creates and supports multidisciplinary research teams consisting of undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, senior staff and faculty. The primary purpose of these teams is to provide undergraduates a unique opportunity to gain research skills by working with mentors on real world problems.
Overview of department:
Africana Studies is devoted to the scholarly exploration of African and African American history, life and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective. The Program as well as various schools and departments within the University offer a variety of courses, lectures and other scholarly activities which explore different aspects of the historical and contemporary African as well as African American experience.
Project summary:
- Education Focus (1 student) This student will be responsible for assisting project mentors with the curriculum design of the project. Specifically, co-creating learning objectives for the escape room and development of puzzles/ learning activities.
- Informatics/ Technology Focus (2 students) These students will aid in the creation of the virtual escape room/games and our use of technology
- Liberal Arts/History Student Focus (2 students) These students will help conduct Black history research for the project that will provide the basis for the room/game. These students will also be responsible for sharing specific content and events surrounding the 1619 Project.
- Liberal Arts/Creative Writing Focus (1 student) This student will help in writing the script/story and puzzles for the virtual space/games.
Specific tasks that the MURI student will complete:
Duties of the position typically include the following:
- Education Focus (1 student) This student will be responsible for assisting project mentors with the curriculum design of the project. Specifically, co-creating learning objectives for the escape room and development of puzzles/ learning activities.
- Informatics/ Technology Focus (2 students) These students will aid in the creation of the virtual escape room/games and our use of technology
- Liberal Arts/History Student Focust (2 students) These students will help conduct Black history research for the project that will provide the basis for the room/game. These students will also be responsible for sharing specific content and events surrounding the 1619 Project.
- Liberal Arts/Creative Writing Focus (1 student) This student will help in writing the script/story and puzzles for the virtual space/games.
Specific qualifications (knowledge, skills, class standing, etc) we desire the MURI student to have:
- Education Focus: Experience or desire to learn to develop lesson plan development, curriculum design, and construction of learning objectives/activities.
- Informatics/ Technology Focus: Experience or desire to learn about virtual reality spaces, coding, and gaming design.
- Liberal Arts/History Student Focus: Experience or desire to learn about Black history, especially during the 1619 period.
- Liberal Arts/Creative Writing Focus: Experience or desire to learn about storytelling, script/story writing, or other forms of creative writing.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this position assignment, the student will meet the following learning objectives
- Enable participants to understand how 1619 is connected to our present experiences of race and racism in America (i.e., how the events around 1619 are connected to issues of continued segregation of neighborhoods and schools, disenfranchisement in employment, the Black Lives Matter Movement and police brutality, and Black poverty, as well as Black self-efficacy/advocacy and identity formation)
- Enable participants to gain the ability to communicate to others the significance of 1619 and to add in substantive ways to discussions about race and the Black experience in America