Montclair Awarded $1 Million to Develop Unique Character Education Course Using Virtual Reality

Montclair State University is launching a first-of-its-kind effort to create a character education course for its core curriculum using virtual reality – a project that has the potential to reach the entire undergraduate population at Montclair as well as other educational institutions.

In support of the project, titled “Planting the SEEDS of Character Growth: Developing Civic and Community Responsibility through Ethical Inquiry Using Virtual Reality,” the University has been awarded a three-year, $1 million grant that it has matched with an additional $888K in funding.

The Institutional Impact Grant, which aims to help develop the moral, civic and/or intellectual character and capacity of faculty, staff and students, is awarded by the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), a part of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. Montclair is one of 29 colleges and universities, including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the United States Military Academy and Arizona State University, to be awarded the grant for 2024.

The ECI works to provide public and private institutions of higher education with the resources, funding and support needed to integrate character education into their distinctive institutional contexts, curricula, and cultures.

About the Institutional Impact Grant

With a focus on character, community engagement, student-centered transformational learning opportunities, and commitment to student success, Montclair is positioned to be a leader in solving the most complex and pressing societal problems. The institution is also committed to enabling innovative applications that foster transformative student experiences as evidenced by the development of a virtual reality lab that will offer immersive coursework.

To that end, the “Planting the SEEDS of Character Growth” project, led by principal investigator Jennifer Urban, professor of Family Science and Human Development, will develop and evaluate an interdisciplinary character education course that infuses virtual reality experiences and meets the character-focused learning objectives set forth in SEEDS, the University’s new general education curriculum. Key elements of the project include:

• A four-module character education course including syllabus and real-world classroom activities. Modules will focus on character and the exploration of character virtues in topics that may include neurodiversity or aging, for example.
• Three corresponding character education virtual reality experiences
• A teaching manual that can be broadly disseminated to future course instructors.

Urban says she is eager to connect with faculty and staff from across the University who have expertise and lived experience related to the aforementioned topic areas.

The course will launch in the academic year following the project’s conclusion, potentially serving as a model for character education innovation in higher education.

“In these particularly fraught and divisive times, character education, ethical reasoning and a focus on community engagement have never been more important,” says Urban, who is also co-director of the Institute for Research on Youth Thriving and Evaluation (RYTE). “Our administration has elevated our identity as a university focused on the social good and the new SEEDS core curriculum operationalizes our aspiration to educate students who will contribute to civil society.”

“Imagine the potential power of virtual reality when applied to prosocial endeavors. Our students will be able to see what it feels like to truly walk in someone else’s shoes and reflect on those experiences through guided coursework.”

What is Character Education at Montclair?

The new SEEDS core curriculum reflects a call for universities to elevate their obligation to educate for character, not just prepare students for the workforce. SEEDS courses share a character-focused mission statement and follow a set of five values:

1. Social Justice and Equity
2. Educated Citizenry
3. Engagement, Agency and Leadership
4. Diversity and Intercultural Competency
5. Self-discovery and Self-care

“Montclair enthusiastically supports and empowers students to become citizens of the world who demonstrate a commitment to the public good through ethics and empathy,” says Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Junius Gonzales. “The coursework in development through the Institutional Impact Grant will only strengthen the efforts of the SEEDS curriculum, designed to help our Red Hawks develop the skills necessary to tackle society’s biggest challenges.”

I’m a ______, tell me more…

Prospective Student / Parent: Learn more about the SEEDS core curriculum, plan a visit to our campus and take the first step in applying to become a Red Hawk!

Journalist: Contact the Media Relations team for assets or to schedule an interview with the team behind this grant-supported project. See our Faculty Experts and hi-res media assets available for download.