MARY BALDWIN COLLEGE
ED 654: Special Topics in Adult & Higher Education |
Theory and practice of student engagement
Spring 2014 | Carpenter Academic 305 | 3 semester hours
Class meets in person on: January 16, February 27, March 20 and April 10
Steve Grande, Ph.D.
Executive Director of the Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement
Office: Spencer Center in Wenger Hall | sgrande@mbc.edu | 540-887-7111
“What a human organism organizes is meaning. Thus it is not that a person makes meaning, as much as that the activity
of being a person is the activity of meaning-making… We literally make sense. Human being is the composing of
meaning, including, of course, the occasional inability to compose meaning, which we often experience as the loss of our
own composure.” (Kegan, 1982, p. 11)
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
~ Steve Martin
Course Description:
The purpose of this course is to enhance your ability in creating effective learning environments and proposing highimpact initiatives that promote learning and engagement on a broader campus level. The exposure and study of key
theories of cognitive development and meaning-making and a greater understanding of how we come to know (known
as “epistemology”) will bolster your understanding of how to facilitate deep learning with individuals, groups and
populations. You will engage in activities that increase self-awareness, provide opportunities to practice facilitation of
small groups and allow you to generate effective approaches to constructing campus-wide learning efforts.
Course Objectives:
1. Increase our understanding of our self as creators of learning environments and facilitators of groups;
2. Develop and practice “attending” skills;
3. Bolster understanding of theories of student development, cognitive development, epistemology and meaning
making--the theories critical to understanding how to create engaged environments;
4. Develop an understanding of creating effective learning environments for small and medium-sized groups; and
5. Develop an understanding of “high-impact” practices that contribute to engagement in on a campus-wide scale.
Assignments:
1. Reading, engagement in class and discussion board participation (25%)
a. Introductions on Blackboard by Jan. 15. Include a profound or meaningful learning experience.
b. Between Jan. 16-31 interview your buddy and write a reaction to the experience on the Blackboard
discussion board. More information will be posted on Blackboard including interview questions. You will
be assigned your buddy at the first class session.
c. Additional discussion board posts by steve will prompt you to practice attending skills, observe group
process or engage in activities and post discussion board entries reflecting on this experience. You will
be expected in your posts to connect your reflections to readings and to your classmates’ posts.
2. Self-assessment and professional development plan (25%)
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This will be based on what you discover in your interview with your buddy. First draft due Feb. 15. Plan due Feb.
27. Reflection write-up due April 10. Following the approval of your plan you will pursue it and write a reflection
paper about what you learned.
3. Design a dynamic workshop (25%)
Using theory of meaning-making develop an outline of a two-hour workshop (or longer) to enhance the learning
of a group. Present one component of your workshop plan to the class. Paper due: March 20. Present on either
March 20 or April 10.
The following should be included in your program description:
a. Intentional learning outcomes
b. Outline of workshop and how workshop activities link to learning outcomes
c. Rationale for workshop structure and specific elements/components. Be sure to cite which theories are
guiding your work and why.
d. How will the following principles of good practice be included: Intention, Authenticity, Planning, Clarity,
Orientation and Training, Monitoring and Assessment, Reflection, Continuous Improvement, Evaluation
and, finally, Acknowledgment
4. Create a High-Impact Intervention (25%)
Propose the creation or enhancement of a large scale high-impact practice for a particular campus (e.g. learning
community, Service-Learning program, study abroad program, etc.). Paper due April 25.
Your proposal should contain the following:
a. Rationale for the adoption of this new effort or program (e.g. currently retention rate of first-year
students is too low)
b. Description of the proposed high-impact practice (e.g. Identify and briefly describe the
campus/institution in which this initiative is being proposed; How would the practice be implemented;
who would participate; how would it change current operations?)
c. Intentional learning outcomes
d. What theories would undergird this approach and how?
e. Review high impact practices in the literature and describe how your proposal mirrors and differs from
some of these practices.
A Few Additional Things
Course Format
Our four class meetings (dates listed above) will be a lively mix of group discussion, mini-lectures, skill practice and selfdiscovery. When we are not hanging out in person will be virtually meeting on Blackboard. I’ll post announcements,
assignments, journal prompts, new information and readings; discussions will take place there; and you’ll submit
assignments there too. Log in regularly. If you ever have questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact me by email or
phone.
This syllabus is a rough guide to the course and its requirements. Cool things come up, Grande takes a bit longer to
review some material, or perhaps there’s a really great tangent to be pursued and sometimes as a result the calendar
has to be changed to accommodate. Don’t be alarmed, but don’t be afraid to ask either.
If you have specific needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and need course materials in
alternative formats, notify me immediately. I will make reasonable efforts to accommodate you.
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Attendance and class participation
Attendance is expected at all four class meetings including being fully engaged at class meetings. Cell phones, smart
phones, laptops, tablets and other electronic devices are not to be used during class unless permission is granted by
Steve (Grande, that is). **I’m pretty easy going, but not about this. Thank you in advance for respecting me, your
neighbors and yourself by not letting these items detract from our very important work. Missing a class will result in the
reduction of your participation grade unless an arrangement with Steve can be determined in advance.
Office hours
In Staunton? Please come see me, but make an appointment. I’m typically in my office Monday-Friday from 8:30am4:30pm. If I’m not here I am somewhere else (it’s always true!) so please make an appointment to see me.
I was at a coffee shop the other day when in walked a beautiful horse. It strolled right up to the barista and ordered a
double cappuccino with skim milk. The barista rolled with it and said “Double cappuccino, no problem. But… why the
long face?”
The Honor System: All students must abide by Mary Baldwin College’s honor code. You are expected to understand
this document: http://www.mbc.edu/student/hc/codes.php. All work submitted in this class will be held to the standards
outlined in the MBC honor code.
Religious Observances: I’ll work with you if class meetings or assignments conflict with your religious practices. I will
provide you the opportunity, whenever feasible, to make up within a reasonable time any academic assignment that is
missed due to individual participation in religious observances.
Please note: All papers and assignments are due at the beginning of the class or at the time specified. Assignments
turned in late will not receive full credit. The final score will be reduced by one grade for each day the assignment is
late.
Schedule
Additional readings will be added to Blackboard and you will be informed prior to due dates.
Date
Topic
Jan. 9-15
Ideal learning environments
Jan. 16 (class)
Building the container
Buddy’s
Engagement defined and Kolb
Experiential Learning Cycle
Jan. 17-Feb. 26
Buddy Interview
Developing Professional
Development Plan
Reading (due before class or before
posting on the discussion board)
Assignment
Introduction on
Blackboard (due Jan. 15)
~ Baxter-Magolda (The Activity of
Meaning Making: A Holistic
Perspective on College Student
Development)
~ Lakey (Facilitating Group
Learning) Part I
~ LEAP (High Impact Practices)
~ Lakey (Facilitating Group
Learning) Part II
~ Eyler (The Power of Experiential
Education)
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Buddy interview (Due
Jan. 31)
Blackboard reaction (Due
Feb. 15)
Feb. 27 (class)
Meaning-making as a moral act
Reflection: The power of dialogue
Facilitation practice
Feb. 28-Mar.
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Mar. 20 (class)
Small group facilitation
Campus-wide initiatives
Examples: Civic Engagement
Campus culture
Mar. 21-Apr. 9
Apr. 10 (class)
High-impact practice
Critiques of engagement
~ Kuh (What Student Affairs
Professionals Need to Know About
Student Engagement)
~ Evans, Forney & Guido-DiBrito
(Student Development in College –
Ch. 1)
Professional-development
plan – first draft (Due
Feb. 15)
~ Kegan (The Evolving Self)
~ Scobey (Why Now? Because This
Is a Copernican Moment)
~ Pigza (Developing your ability to
foster student learning and
development through reflection)
~ Musil (Connective Corridors and
Generative Partnerships: A New
Paradigm)
~ Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh & Whitt
(Never Let It Rest: Lessons about
Student Success from HighPerforming Colleges and
Universities)
~ Finley & McNair (Assessing
underserved students’ engagement
in high-impact practices)
~ Musil (Educating students for
personal and social responsibility:
The civic learning spiral)
~ Cardone, Turton, Olson, BaxterMagolda (Learning Partnerships in
Practice: Orientation, Leadership,
and Residence Life)
~ Hurtado and Ruiz Alvarado
(Diversity in Teaching and Learning:
Affirming Students as Empowered
Learners)
Professional-development
plan
Apr. 11-25
Blackboard discussion
Dynamic workshop
design due. Present on
either March 20 or April
10.
Professional development
reflection write-up due
High-Impact Intervention
paper due
What does it mean to be engaged?
Theory Practice Learning @ Emory: Foundations of Experiential Education - http://www.tpl.emory.edu/foundations.htm
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Eyler: http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-fa09/le-fa09_Eyler.cfm
Civic ProvocaTIONS: http://www.aacu.org/bringing_theory/documents/CivicProvocationsmonograph_000.pdf
Wingspread Declaration (1999). Renewing the civic mission of American higher education. Racine,, WI.
http://www.compact.org/initiatives/research_universities/Wingspread_Declaration.pdf
Roper, C. D. & Hirth, M. A. (2005). A history of change in the third mission of higher education: The evolution of oneway service to interactive engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 10(3) 3-21.????
Kellogg Commission, (February, 1999). Returning to our roots: The engaged institution.
https://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=183
Why engagement?
Liberal Education, Vol. 95, No. 4
The Power of Experiential Education
By Janet Eyler
http://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-fa09/le-fa09_Eyler.cfm
A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future
http://www.aacu.org/civic_learning/crucible/documents/crucible_508F.pdf
Checkoway, B. (2001). Renewing the civic mission of the American research university Journal of Higher Education, 72,
2 p. 126-147. (saved in the higher ed folder)
Fish, S. (2004). Why we built the ivory tower. Opinion section, New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/21/opinion/why-we-built-the-ivory-tower.html
What is engagement theory?
Kolb
Theory to practice to theory
Dewey
Freire
Knefelkamp
http://www.aacu.org/bringing_theory/documents/CivicProvocationsmonograph_000.pdf
AAC&U Magazine (translating theory)
***Quick overview with connections to Dewey, Freire, Kolb, Piaget, Kegan, Belenky, Gilligan:
http://www.tpl.emory.edu/foundations.htm
What does it feel like to be an “engaged” environment?
Learning style
What practices contribute to engagement on a micro scale?
Attending skills
What practices contribute to engagement on a campus-wide scale?
High impact practices: Read AAC&U
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Examples: Service-Learning, Study Abroad, Learning Communities
What do we need to know about ourselves to create engaged environments?
Learning style
Personality
Identity
What theories are helpful to understand to create engaged environments?
Student development theory
Student learning theory
Possible readings:
Assignments
Reflection after everything?
Ideal learning experience
Attend an engagement experience (GPS class??)
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