Syllabus for “Coaching at a Learning-to-Learn Camp”
Course number:
Credits:
Coaching and Mentoring at a Learning-to-Learn Camp
2 credits (Graduate or Undergraduate)
Dates and
Locations:
at various times during the year (primarily during the summer months)
refer to the Pacific Crest “Schedule of Events” document or
the Pacific Crest web site at www.pcrest.com
Completion of
required work:
five months from date of the institute
Instructor:
Office Location:
Dr. Daniel K. Apple
President – Pacific Crest
875 NW Grant. St
Corvallis OR 97330
(541) 754-1067
Email address:
Phone number
Fax number:
Contact Hours:
Educational Philosophy:
dan@pcrest.com
(603) 926-2986
(603) 926-2986
leave a voice mail message – I will contact you within 48 hours
see www.pcrest.com – explore Process Education philosophy and bio-sketch
Course Description
Learning-to-learn camps integrate two key processes, learning how to learn and mentoring. The success
of a camp is dependent upon a strong facilitation team that includes a lead facilitator and a team of
coaches who serve as mentors, challenging and inspiring students to grow and develop skills essential for
success in college and beyond. Through a rigorous and diverse set of camp activities, coaches learn
strategies, techniques, and processes to help students develop cognitive, social, affective, and academic
skills. What is learned about teaching/learning processes at a camp is can be applied to classroom
situations with students.
Coaches/mentors become part of a learning community environment that helps students to build relationships,
gain a sense of “belonging” and improve their ability to perform in the classroom. They work with students to
facilitate the process of developing learner ownership, self-esteem, and empowerment. By creating situations
whereby students experience both successes and failures during the week, coaches are able to witness students
gaining confidence in their abilities to perform in areas such as writing, time management, problem
identification, listening, adapting to change, personal reflection, coping, teamwork, and articulating an idea.
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Engage in and practice learning strategies that support and promote personal growth in students.
Improve the facilitation skills in active, student-centered learning environments.
Improve and develop mentoring skills including peer coaching.
Develop respect, rapport, and networking among and between faculty and staff.
Required Work Products and their Associated Performance Criteria
1. Produce or build a learning journal and an assessment journal during the camp. Your journals,
due by noon of the last day of the camp, should include the following:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
key personal goals and associated outcomes,
self-assessments for each activity you facilitate with students,
ten documented techniques for teaching and learning,
five documented techniques for assessment, and
ten inquiry questions for mentoring the growth of students.
The quality of your journals will be based on the following factors:
 thoughtfulness,
 completeness,
 amount of supporting material,
 documentation of accomplishments, and
 personal performance evidence.
2. Develop a personal implementation plan which details the changes you plan to make during the
current or subsequent semester/term. Your plan, due by noon of the last day of the camp, should
include a one-page paper for each of the following:
a. three new ideas for mentoring,
b. three new teaching tools or techniques, and
c. three new assessment tools or techniques.
Note: each one-page paper should address the following questions pertaining to the tools and
techniques you choose: What is it? How do you plan to implement it? What value will it have?
How will you measure the value you derive from it?
The quality of your plan will be based on the following factors:





level of critical thought,
strength of connectivity between changes,
strength of measures chosen,
use of terms and language to bring precise meaning, and
how well you address a current problem(s) with your changes.
3. Produce an assessment report that measures your performance at implementing change. Your report,
due within five months of the completion of the institute, should include the following:
a. the five greatest strengths that resulted from your changes along with an analysis as to why
the changes worked,
b. the five most important improvements that you will make the next semester or term and how
these changes will produce the outcomes you want, and
c. five insights about making changes that will help you better understand how to increase the
rate in which you make meaningful changes in educational processes.
The quality of your assessment report will be based on the following factors:





honesty,
level of critical thought (especially in analysis of skills),
effectiveness in measuring value from your changes,
teaching tips produced from your insights, and
the effective use of supporting evidence.
Extra Project for Graduate Credit
Due within five months of the completion of the institute.
4. Provide peer coaching or peer mentoring to a colleague to help him or her effectively implement
change through the use of a new tool or technique (learning, teaching, assessment, and/or curriculum
design). Document the tool(s) or technique(s) used and produce assessment reports that provide
feedback and data to your colleague about his or her performance over time.
a. Identify, describe, and answer the following questions pertaining to the new tool(s) or
technique(s) being used. In a one-page paper, answer the following questions: What is it (the tool
or technique)? How do you implement it (in the given context)? What value will it have? How
will you be able to measure this value?
b. Produce three peer assessment reports taken over a period of time. The reports should (1)
document and measure performance (using the tool or technique), (2) provide strengths about the
performance, (3) provide areas for improvement with suggestions for improving effectiveness,
and (4) include insights made or gained from the unique vantage point of a peer coaching.
The quality of your peer coaching/mentoring will be based on the following factors:



effectiveness of your mentoring,
follow through over time,
thoughtfulness of your feedback,


documentation of accomplishments, and
quality evidence of (personal) performance
Reasons for this Course
A learning-to-learn camp environment fosters the growth of skills for both students and coaches.
Camps provide a quality learning community in which bonds are built among and between students,
mentors/coaches (faculty and staff), and facilitators. They provide a model for a quality freshman
foundations course, addressing issues related to retention, student readiness, and academic performance.
They also serve as model for learner empowerment and growth that can be replicated in many contexts
throughout the institution.
Camp Content and Activities
Successful completion of the learning to learn camp requires students to submit various forms of work
products which can be integrated into a portfolio. For most students, this portfolio will contain more than
100 pages of writing. In general, work products will include academic activities, entries in from a learning
assessment journal, documentation of math and problem solving skills, a self-assessment or self-growth
paper, and a life vision analysis.
Coaches will be involved in the delivery and facilitation of various classroom-oriented activities. These
include:
Campus related:
Building a Learning Community
Exploring Your Campus
Introduction to the Library
General Education Requirements
The Student Handbook
Student related:
Educational Goals and Objectives
Time Management
Coping Skills
Becoming a Self-Grower
Personality Styles
Technology related:
Introduction to the World Wide Web
Assessing the Quality of Internet
Information
Using E-mail
Learning and practicing methodologies:
Learning Process
Reading
Writing
Problem Solving
Communication
Personal Development
In addition, coaches will be involved in the several general camp activities. These include a writing
contest, a talent show, a speech contest, an art contest, a problem solving contest and game playing. Note
that on the final evening of the learning to learn camp, a banquet is held to honor the camp participants.
Students are encouraged to invite their family to attend the banquet. Certificates will be awarded along
with prizes to acknowledge learners who perform to a certain standard of excellence. In addition, special
awards in different contexts will be handed out.
Sample Agenda
Day One
Building Learning Communities
and Learning Teams
The Learning Assessment Journal
Exploring the Campus
Who am I?
Reading Skills
Math Skills
Lunch
Values Clarification
Using a Word Processor
Reading Methodology
Learning Community time
Day Two
Day Three
The Learning Process
Methodology
Math Skills
Becoming a Self-Grower
Learning Community time
Lunch
Time Analysis
Using the WWW
Writing Methodology
Learning Community time
Personal Development
Methodology
Math Skills
Coping Skills
Game– Pictionary
Lunch
Educational Goals and Objectives
Quality of Internet Information
Using the Library
Portfolio Preparation
Day Four
Day Five
Communication Methodology
Math Skills
Time Management
Game – Charades
Lunch
Career Search
Using E-mail
Using a Textbook
Learning Assessment Journal
preparation
Buffet dinner
Talent show
Problem Solving Contest
Speech Contest
Writing Contest
Math Skills
Lunch
Art Contest
Awards Celebration
Evaluation System
1. Learning journal and Learning assessment journal
2. Implementation plan
3. Assessment report (at implementing changes)
40%
30%
30%
(see Performance Criteria)
(see Performance Criteria)
(see Performance Criteria)
4. For Graduate credit: Peer mentoring
30%
(see Performance Criteria)
In this case, the Learning journal and Learning assessment journal are 30%, the implementation plan is
20%, and the assessment report is 20%.
Assessment System
Assessment feedback will be provided according to the following:
1. An assessment of your implementation plan on the evening of the second day;
2. Five assessments of your “learning assessment journal,” assessing your educational philosophy, two
of your self-assessments, and two of your discoveries;
3. An assessment of your performance during one activity;
4. Assessment feedback at the mid-point of the institute; fill-out or complete the mid-term assessment
and I will assess your self-assessment.
Resources and Materials
Supplied Materials:
Foundations of Learning, by Krumsieg, Karl and Marie Baehr, 2000. Pacific Crest, Corvallis, OR.
Foundations of Learning Activities Book, by Krumsieg, Karl and Marie Baehr, 2000. Pacific Crest,
Corvallis, OR.
Learning Assessment Journal. 4th Edition. Daniel Apple, 2000. Pacific Crest, Corvallis, OR.
Math and Graphing Skills, Apple, Casler, Krumsieg, and Lawrence, 1999. Pacific Crest, Corvallis, OR.
Additional readings:
Process Education Teaching Institute Handbook. by Apple, Daniel K. and Karl Krumsieg. 2001. Pacific
Crest, Corvallis, OR.
A Handbook on Cooperative Learning. 3rd Edition Daniel K. Apple, Wendy Duncan-Hewitt,
Karl Krumsieg, and David L. Mount. Pacific Crest. Corvallis, OR.
Classroom Assessment Techniques, A Handbook for College Teachers, by Thomas A. Angelo and K.
Patricia Cross. 1993 Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
Effective Grading, A Tool for Learning and Assessment. Barbara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson
Anderson. 1998. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco.
Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman. 1995. Bantam Books.
An American Imperative, Higher Expectations for Higher Education. 1993. The Johnson Foundation.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 93-061441.
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). Learning a Living: A Blueprint for
High Performance. U.S. Department of Labor. Washington, D.C., April 1992.
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, by a committee of college
and university examiners. Handbook I: Cognitive Domain. Benjamin S. Bloom and David R. Krathwohl.
1956. New York: Longmans, Green
Policies and Procedures
1.
2.
3.
4.
Registration for course credit must be done two weeks prior to the start of the camp.
A prerequisite for being a coach is completion of a Pacific Crest Teaching Institute.
You must be a positive contributor to the community of learners .
Full participation is required. This includes participating in both classroom activities and general
camp activities.
5. Your work products must meet the level of quality as described in the Performance Criteria section.
6. Your work products must be completed within the time frame identified. The camp journal and
implementation plan must be completed by the noon of the final day of the camp. The assessment
report must be completed within five months of the institute (as well as the peer coaching write-up
required for graduate credit).
Faculty/Facilitator Responsibilities
From the old TI syllabus:
During the camp, the facilitator/instructor will provide guidance and mentoring to each coach with respect
to improving a set of selected learning skills, and use of educational techniques and tools. The instructor
will provide in-depth consulting on ten inquiry questions during breaks, evenings, and with email. The
assessments made will model the high quality of performance desired by students. The instructor will
provide help in locating additional resources as needed by the participant. Should a participant wish to
see a technique “in action,” the instructor will make every effort model it.
From the LLC brochure:
Responsible for the overall flow of the camp.
Determine the schedule and sequencing of activities.
Facilitate an activity from the course content of the camp.
Support coaches with their mentoring of students.
Provide assessment feedback to the coaches and assistant coaches.
Oversee the peer coaching system; coach the peer coaches.
Responsible for the scoring and award system.
Performance Criteria for Facilitator/Instructor
The facilitator will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
perform every technique or tool asked (with prior notice),
assess personal performance and individual work products,
provide quality consulting with respect to issues and/or current problems,
mentor on specific learning skills defined at the beginning of the institute, and
provide quality evaluation of performance to model the evaluation process.
Student Responsibilities
From the old TI syllabus:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Illustrate professionalism as an educator.
Constantly strive to improve personal performance.
Provide strong effort in self-assessment.
Provide full effort in preparation, performance during the institute, managing the implementation
plan, and assessment of effort.
5. Emotionally engage in the challenge of personal growth and make the necessary effort for continuous
quality change in personal performance.
From the LLC brochure:
Coach
Responsible for the overall performance and experience of his or her learning community.
Manage and support the assistant coaches with their teams of students.
Provide assessment feedback to grow the performance of the assistant coaches and students within his
or her learning community.
Peer coach a colleague’s facilitation of an activity at least once during the camp.
Facilitate an activity from the course content of the camp.
Responsible for a review project or organizing one of the general camp activities (see previous
section for a listing).
Assistant coach
Responsible for the overall performance and experience of his or her learning team.
Motivate, counsel, and provide quality feedback to help grow the performance of his or her learning
team and learning community.
Support the other assistant coaches in the learning community.
Peer coach a colleague’s facilitation of an activity at least once during the camp.
Facilitate an activity from the course content of the camp.
Responsible for a review project or organizing one of the general camp activities (see previous
section for a listing).
Work Products
There are three main work products for the course: (1) the learning journal and learning assessment
journal (produced during the camp), (2) an implementation plan for change, and (3) an assessment report
(measuring your performance at implementing change). See the section on “Required Work Products and
their Associated Performance Criteria” for more details.
For those receiving graduate credit, an additional project involving peer coaching/mentoring is required.
Learning Community Structure
A learning to learn camp is designed to accommodate up to 100 students. The facilitation team for a camp
consists of a lead facilitator from Pacific Crest and two or three co-facilitators from the host institution who
will be trained to lead future camps. In addition, there are a group of coaches who are responsible for 12-15
students who comprise a “learning community” (within the structure of the entire camp community). Each
coach has 3-5 assistant coaches who are responsible for a “team” of three or four students.
For example, a camp of 60 students would have a facilitation team of three (a lead facilitator from Pacific
Crest and two co-facilitators) along with five coaches who would each be responsible for a learning
community of twelve students. These learning communities would each have three assistant coaches who
would each work with a learning team of four students. In total, there would be a facilitation team of three,
five coaches and fifteen assistant coaches. This ratio of three students to one coach is desired. Coaches are
mostly from the host institution but Pacific Crest can assist with recruiting coaches from other institutions
as needed.
In this type of environment, learners can expect to receive continuous mentoring from coaches. At the same
time a peer coaching system helps support the development of facilitation skills among the coaches. Also, the
facilitator will provide feedback to coaches with respect their performance at mentoring student growth.
Personal Benefits
A learning-to-learn camp is a significant experience for educators in their professional development. The
camp will excite you about the future educational opportunities as well as challenge you to meet society’s
need for quality education. Your engagement with students will increase. Thus, you will feel a greater
sense of facilitating positive learning outcomes for your students. For many, this experience will make
you desire more personal development, in both professional and personal areas. It will leave you with an
experience you will regularly reflect back on for many years.