Immersive Learning Student Team Awards

President Mearns hands an award to a group of students

Teamwork and collaboration are essential components of a successful immersive learning project. Each year, the Office of Immersive Learning recognizes a student team that went above and beyond the requirements of their immersive learning class to produce uncommon results for their partner and our local community.

Teams will be judged on how well they met student learning objectives for the course, created a collaborative environment, used creative problem-solving to overcame obstacles, and applied previous knowledge to produce a positive or significant impact on the community.

“Teams” may be comprised of an entire immersive learning class or could be a smaller group within a class that really stood out in their efforts.

2027 DEADLINE: Check back for more information

Winning teams will be honored at the Immersive Learning Showcase with a certificate of recognition.

To be eligible, immersive learning teams must be:

Judging Criteria:

Application Questions:

Immersive Learning Student Team Award Winners

2026: Community Social Support - Caregiver Support Team

Community Social Support - Caregiver Support Team

Students: Brady Ream, Cameron Lynch, Christian Thomas, Daniel Castillo, Georgina Pavon Borras, Karlie Brown, Paige Kemp

Faculty Mentor: George Gaither, Department of Psychological Sciences

Community Partners: StillWaters Counseling, LifeStream Services, and GenderNexus

The student team in Dr. George Gaither's PSYS 495 class identified a need for caregiver support in Muncie and created support groups to address that need. They communicated openly, reflected collectively, and took initiative to adapt and improve. Post session surveys indicated that caregivers felt heard, supported, and uplifted during the group and that working with the student team was meaningful.

2025: Community of Practice at Northside Middle School

Community of Practice at Northside Middle School

Students:

Math Teaching Majors: Garrett Beehler, Alyssa Bradshaw, Oliver Doll, Creed Muehlfeld, Andrew Newcomer, Jacob Poynts, Audrey Riess, Delaney Shoemaker, Tennille Sorrels, William Sue

English Teaching Majors: Anna Grile, Claire Laffin, Gracie Walden, Jack Vaught, Kaitlyn Zeigler, Miles Botkin, Paige Teskey, Regina Gertsbauer, Ruby Denson, Caitlyn Brady, Lilly Mull

Faculty Mentors: Andrew Gatza, Department of Mathematical Sciences; Susanna Benko, Department of English; Cresta Hancock, Department of Educational Studies

Community Partner: Northside Middle School

This immersive learning project breaks from a traditional siloed teacher education approach to establish a coordinated and collaborative experience for prospective middle/secondary teachers across the College of Sciences and Humanities and Teachers College in partnership with Northside Middle School in Muncie Community Schools. To this end, MATH 393, ENG 350, and EDJH 385 are held at Northside Middle School; BSU students worked in pairs or small group placements with experienced Northside mentor teachers to encourage collaboration and pedagogical development and reflection; and all BSU coursework is designed to support authentic problems of practice in field experiences at Northside.

In small working teams, students have used other strategies to encourage collaboration. For example, teaching teams designed contracts to outline working norms and agreements. From the beginning of the project, students developed team norms to support accountability and ownership in leading their project. These contracts outlined team members’ strengths and ways they could support others as well as things like common working times to navigate collaboration with students’ busy schedules. These contracts have allowed students to use their time effectively both in and outside of class as they work on designing lesson sequences.

2025: Economic Development Studio

Economic Development Studio

Students: Katelyn Bultemeier, Bryan Cedillo, Owen Davis, Mitchell Giesting, Zach Gullion, Andrew Howard, Jaxin McCree, Bryan Nguyen, Nick Post, Keagan Powell, Z Rodriguez, Dani Sipp, Tayshaun Smith, Xander Vogel, Madison Weaver

Faculty Mentor: Ruoran Liu, Department of Urban Planning

Community Partners: Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce; Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO); City of Warsaw; OrthoWorx; Zimmer Biomet

Throughout the semester, students completed three in-depth urban economic planning and research projects: Kosciusko County Economic and Industrial Profile, Orthopedic Industry Supply Chain Research, and Winona Corridor Urban Design. These projects aim to inform and shape the economic future of Kosciusko County and the City of Warsaw.

The students successfully integrated the theoretical knowledge gained from early semester lectures with practical application across various research and planning projects and strove to learn new concepts and ideas using both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Through their research and planning projects, students developed a deep appreciation for the organization and processes involved in economic development planning. They learned to navigate the trade-offs between economic efficiency and equality, and how to effectively coordinate in resource-limited contexts. Additionally, they gained skills in balancing the interests of various sectors, enhancing their ability to manage complex economic planning scenarios.

2024: Applications in Property Management

Applications in Property Management

Students: Charis Brock, Lindsey Evans, Devon Mathena

Faculty Mentor: Carla Earhart, Department of Applied Business Studies

Community Partner: Maplewood Guest House

The class worked with the Maplewood Guest House, a temporary residence for medical students on the grounds of Minnetrista. Maplewood strives to woo medical students to consider living in Muncie after they obtain their degrees, in part, by providing programming that highlights local establishments and entertainment. This winning team opted to put on two events-though they were only required to do one-and went the extra mile to get local businesses to donate prizes for their event. Their professor also noted their remarkable communication skills and ability to regroup after encountering obstacles.

2023: Using Research to Understand Work-related Stressors and Positive Work-Related Experiences of Noblesville Firefighters

Using Research to Understand Work-related Stressors and Positive Work-Related Experiences of Noblesville Firefighters

Students: Steven Bousman, Taylor Carter, Carson Fakes, Emily Harmon, Kiersten Helton, Emily Hubbard, Stevee Judy, Michael Lindman, Carlie Merriweather, Rayna Minix, Brittany Pollitt, Celeste Ray, Leah Strong and Brandon Thrasher

Faculty Mentor: Kate Lawson, Department of Psychological Science

Community Partner: Noblesville Fire Department

This team worked with the Noblesville Fire Department to identify and recommend solutions to common workplace stressors seen among firefighters since the start of the pandemic. The award committee was impressed by the ways the team negotiated leadership roles, established effective group communication, and conducted a multi-faceted research project by using the theories and methods they read about together. There was an obvious impact on the community partner as well. Battalion Chief Adam Biddle wrote in a letter of support: “It has been one of my highest professional honors to work with this great group of BSU Cardinals from Dr. Katie Lawson’s class in Ball State’s Immersive Learning Program. It gives me great faith in this next generation knowing that these are the type of people who represent this great university. These students have gone above and beyond and deserve any accolades associated with this type of work. Well done, kids.”

2022: Conservation Tales

Conservation Tales

Students: Brooke Ackerman, Sunnie Berning, Cydney Davidson, Abbey Jessup, Sara Misak, Ashley Owens, Kami Geron, Allison Smiley, Karina Kasmauskis, Laine Powell, Rhiannon Morrison-Naylor

Faculty Mentors: Tom McConnell, Department of Biology and Barbara Giorgio-Booher, School of Art

Community Partners: The Sloth Institute and the Macaw Recovery Network

Have Questions?

Contact the Immersive Learning office so we can help at immersive@bsu.edu.

Office of Immersive Learning

Oakwood Building (OW)
Muncie, IN 47304

8 a.m.-5 p.m. EST, Monday - Friday

765-285-2790