The Step Out of Your Box program a Red River College in Manitoba enables students to volunteer with a community organization while enhancing their understanding of diversity. Students are asked to select a dimension of diversity that is unfamiliar to them, then volunteer with a community organization that serves that population. Nursing students in a gender studies course have been the prime participants of this form of curricular experience. The course has grown in popularity as students talk about the volunteer experience they had in the course: instead of writing yet another paper, students get to practice communication and challenge their biases around many dimensions of diversity. Course instructors and administrative staff are working with the Centre of Learning and Program Excellence to develop clearer learning outcomes and align the program with service learning best practices. This program can be used in any college program, and the program's pioneers are hopeful that this course will help set the stage for intercultural competence badging.
Organization: Red River College