Engaged Learning

Project Highlights

“We had a lot of interest in this project because we’re proud of being innovative when it comes to pedagogy, and BTtoP is all about the cutting edge of pedagogy,” Catherine Crosby-Currie, St. Lawrence’s Associate Dean of the First Year and the BTtoP-Engaged Learning Project at St. Lawrence.

Engaged Learning in the Classroom

While many in the field of education speak about engaged learning, faculty and staff at St. Lawrence University (SLU) have undertaken an intensive process of faculty development aimed at creating specific forms of “engaged pedagogy”. Over the past two years, teams of faculty in the University's First- Year Program have worked to create and refine four forms of engaged pedagogy: Advocacy and Activism, Community-Based Learning, De-centered and Democratic Classroom, and Reflective Journaling (see below). The real excitement now lies in the crossing-over of outcomes and activities and in the incubation of new forms of engaged pedagogy, as faculty garner and share their instructional experiences.

Forms of Engaged Pedagogy

Although several definitions of "engaged pedagogy" exist in the literature (see Swaner), the work of SLU faculty involved in the Engaged Learning Grant emerged from the following four forms:

Advocacy & Activism: forms of pedagogy that seek to actively engage students in intellectual and practical aspects of change (social, political, economic or environmental). Courses address an array of current issues, addressing them at local, national and global levels.

AY 2008/2009 courses: Thoreau Lives, Global Questions- Local Activism, News From the Bottom Up,Rivers of Life, Human and Wildlife, & De colonizing America, involving six faculty and 160 first -year students in innovative forms of pedagogy emphasizing learning outcomes specific to engagement in advocacy and activism.

Fall 2009 courses: Thoreau Lives, Finding a Balance, Power, Sex, and Money, involving six faculty and 99 first-year students.

Community-Based Learning: forms of pedagogy that use service learning, community-based research or volunteerism to develop student awareness, and, more importantly, experience with issues of civic responsibility and its practical implications within a democratic society.

AY 2008/2009 courses: Making a Difference, Active Citizenship in a Multicultural Democracy, The Candidates, Having and Impact: Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation, The Expression and Psychology of Creativity, Native AMerican Children and Youth, Food for Thought: Passions and Politics Surrounding What We Eat, & Why do Grandparents Matter involving eleven faculty and 220 first-year students.

Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Canada's Great War, Lifestyles, Having and Impact, involving 9 faculty and 147 first-year students.

Democratic & De-centered Classroom: forms of pedagogy that realign power and authority in the classroom through an emphasis on individual student's responsibility in their learning experience and the learning experience of their peers. Courses seek to build collaborative and engaging environments for exploring issues of democracy, leadership, citizenship and diversity.

AY 2008/2009 courses: What Culture Do You Speak? Language and Culture in a Multicultural World, Betrothals and Bibliotheques: The Changing Nature of Social Institutions, The 50S, 80S, and Today: Culture Across Generations, Individual and Social Wellness, The State of the Family: Constitutional Law and the American Family, Caribbean Dreams, The Philosophy of Love and Sex, History Rebooted: Alan Turing and Artificial Intelligence involving 10 faculty and 240 first year students.

Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Coldest Cold War Flicks, Youth Cultures: Then and Now, Lifestyles, Having an Impact, Power, Sex, and Money, involving 13 faculty and 214 first-year students.

Reflective Journaling: forms of pedagogy that use journaling, as an intentionally designed space, wherein students can explore links between course materials and activities, and issues of life experience, personal interest and perspective. Reflective journaling often serves to addresses complexity, inherent to topics of study, and the multiple ways one can know about or study those topics.

AY 2008/2009 courses: Betrothals and Bibliotheques: The Changing Nature of Social Institutions, Having an Impact: Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation involving 5 faculty and 80 first year students.

Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Representations of the American Family, Canada's Great War, Lifestyles, Having an Impact, involving 11 faculty and 179 first-year students.

For examples of Engaged Pedagogy courses at St. Lawrence University (Fall 2009) - Course descriptions and syllabus

What We've Learned

After the first year of the project, we knew that we needed to approach faculty and staff development through more informal modes than the original concept of the “pedagogy team” (noted above as forms of engaged pedagogy). We have enjoyed success with this model, creating greater buy-in and participation. In 2008-09, we have also begun to see themes for successful faculty development around engaged forms of pedagogy, which are more consistent with a less structured and more flexible approach. These themes have become pillars for our faculty development model.

First, developing skills in the area of engaged pedagogy is a journey. To support the “journey,” sessions must be purposefully designed as networking opportunities for faculty, during which faculty can garner inspiration and resources through the building of personal connections with other faculty practicing engaged pedagogy, with on-campus support services personnel, and (where applicable) with community partners.

Second, although technical elements of instruction exist, the designing of courses and course activities is largely a creative process. Our emerging faculty development model supports the “creative” element in two important ways: by helping faculty develop well defined student learning outcomes that emphasize the intellectual (i.e., cognitive and psycho-social) development of students; and by valuing the diversity of strategies employed by different faculty teams (in the fall) and individuals (in the spring). This particular facet of the model has evolved into faculty development sessions grounded in the sharing of experiences, rather than notions of “best practices” or “expert” knowledge, which often have—either implicitly or explicitly—the effect of promoting uniformity of practice and the de-valuing of alternatives.

Lastly, the time-intensive nature of engaged forms of pedagogy is increasingly finding its way into discussion at a number of levels (i.e., University policy, faculty roles, and course management). One example of how the emerging faculty development model speaks to this issue is short session times that address immediate faculty needs, given the normal iteration of activities over the course of a semester, and tapping into existing faculty development structures, such as the University's May College and the Summer FYP Retreat.

Reaching Our Goals

When we began our first Bringing Theory to Practice project, Ron Flores hoped that some day we would have a third of our First Year Program (FYP) faculty teams incorporating some community-based learning into their courses. Cathy Crosby-Currie hoped that the phrase “engaged learning” would become common place in our vocabulary, so she wouldn't feel the need to provide a definition. Neither of us thought our vision was really possible, but both have nearly been attained. In the fall of 2009, 5 of 18 faculty teams are incorporating Community-Based Learning in their courses and, when asked if one of the items on the fall program-wide meeting could be “engaged learning”, the response from FYP faculty was “Of course! We love to talk about engaged learning!” Our project is about creating a culture of engagement within the FYP, but culture change can only occur if those within the culture “own” that change. At first, this project was not owned by the faculty within the First-Year Program. Evidence would suggest that our faculty now own it, and that the culture is changing.

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Project Highlights

Learn More Project Overview Project Highlights Activities Resources Grant Administrators Campus Collaborators First-Year Program Center for Civic Enagagement & Leadership Related Links Bringing Theory to Practice Charles Engelhard Foundation National College Depression Partnership Secure Access Faculty, Staff, Students Home	Project Highlights “We had a lot of interest in this project because we’re proud of being innovative when it comes to pedagogy, and BTtoP is all about the cutting edge of pedagogy,” Catherine Crosby-Currie, St. Lawrence’s Associate Dean of the First Year and the BTtoP-Engaged Learning Project at St. Lawrence. Engaged Learning in the Classroom While many in the field of education speak about engaged learning, faculty and staff at St. Lawrence University (SLU) have undertaken an intensive process of faculty development aimed at creating specific forms of “engaged pedagogy”. Over the past two years, teams of faculty in the University's First- Year Program have worked to create and refine four forms of engaged pedagogy: Advocacy and Activism, Community-Based Learning, De-centered and Democratic Classroom, and Reflective Journaling (see below). The real excitement now lies in the crossing-over of outcomes and activities and in the incubation of new forms of engaged pedagogy, as faculty garner and share their instructional experiences. Forms of Engaged Pedagogy Although several definitions of "engaged pedagogy" exist in the literature (see Swaner), the work of SLU faculty involved in the Engaged Learning Grant emerged from the following four forms: Advocacy & Activism: forms of pedagogy that seek to actively engage students in intellectual and practical aspects of change (social, political, economic or environmental). Courses address an array of current issues, addressing them at local, national and global levels. AY 2008/2009 courses: Thoreau Lives, Global Questions- Local Activism, News From the Bottom Up,Rivers of Life, Human and Wildlife, & De colonizing America, involving six faculty and 160 first -year students in innovative forms of pedagogy emphasizing learning outcomes specific to engagement in advocacy and activism. Fall 2009 courses: Thoreau Lives, Finding a Balance, Power, Sex, and Money, involving six faculty and 99 first-year students. Community-Based Learning: forms of pedagogy that use service learning, community-based research or volunteerism to develop student awareness, and, more importantly, experience with issues of civic responsibility and its practical implications within a democratic society. AY 2008/2009 courses: Making a Difference, Active Citizenship in a Multicultural Democracy, The Candidates, Having and Impact: Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation, The Expression and Psychology of Creativity, Native AMerican Children and Youth, Food for Thought: Passions and Politics Surrounding What We Eat, & Why do Grandparents Matter involving eleven faculty and 220 first-year students. Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Canada's Great War, Lifestyles, Having and Impact, involving 9 faculty and 147 first-year students. Democratic & De-centered Classroom: forms of pedagogy that realign power and authority in the classroom through an emphasis on individual student's responsibility in their learning experience and the learning experience of their peers. Courses seek to build collaborative and engaging environments for exploring issues of democracy, leadership, citizenship and diversity. AY 2008/2009 courses: What Culture Do You Speak? Language and Culture in a Multicultural World, Betrothals and Bibliotheques: The Changing Nature of Social Institutions, The 50S, 80S, and Today: Culture Across Generations, Individual and Social Wellness, The State of the Family: Constitutional Law and the American Family, Caribbean Dreams, The Philosophy of Love and Sex, History Rebooted: Alan Turing and Artificial Intelligence involving 10 faculty and 240 first year students. Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Coldest Cold War Flicks, Youth Cultures: Then and Now, Lifestyles, Having an Impact, Power, Sex, and Money, involving 13 faculty and 214 first-year students. Reflective Journaling: forms of pedagogy that use journaling, as an intentionally designed space, wherein students can explore links between course materials and activities, and issues of life experience, personal interest and perspective. Reflective journaling often serves to addresses complexity, inherent to topics of study, and the multiple ways one can know about or study those topics. AY 2008/2009 courses: Betrothals and Bibliotheques: The Changing Nature of Social Institutions, Having an Impact: Leadership, Teamwork, and Motivation involving 5 faculty and 80 first year students. Fall 2009 courses: Making a Difference, Representations of the American Family, Canada's Great War, Lifestyles, Having an Impact, involving 11 faculty and 179 first-year students. For examples of Engaged Pedagogy courses at St. Lawrence University (Fall 2009) - Course descriptions and syllabus What We've Learned After the first year of the project, we knew that we needed to approach faculty and staff development through more informal modes than the original concept of the “pedagogy team” (noted above as forms of engaged pedagogy). We have enjoyed success with this model, creating greater buy-in and participation. In 2008-09, we have also begun to see themes for successful faculty development around engaged forms of pedagogy, which are more consistent with a less structured and more flexible approach. These themes have become pillars for our faculty development model. First, developing skills in the area of engaged pedagogy is a journey. To support the “journey,” sessions must be purposefully designed as networking opportunities for faculty, during which faculty can garner inspiration and resources through the building of personal connections with other faculty practicing engaged pedagogy, with on-campus support services personnel, and (where applicable) with community partners. Second, although technical elements of instruction exist, the designing of courses and course activities is largely a creative process. Our emerging faculty development model supports the “creative” element in two important ways: by helping faculty develop well defined student learning outcomes that emphasize the intellectual (i.e., cognitive and psycho-social) development of students; and by valuing the diversity of strategies employed by different faculty teams (in the fall) and individuals (in the spring). This particular facet of the model has evolved into faculty development sessions grounded in the sharing of experiences, rather than notions of “best practices” or “expert” knowledge, which often have—either implicitly or explicitly—the effect of promoting uniformity of practice and the de-valuing of alternatives. Lastly, the time-intensive nature of engaged forms of pedagogy is increasingly finding its way into discussion at a number of levels (i.e., University policy, faculty roles, and course management). One example of how the emerging faculty development model speaks to this issue is short session times that address immediate faculty needs, given the normal iteration of activities over the course of a semester, and tapping into existing faculty development structures, such as the University's May College and the Summer FYP Retreat. Reaching Our Goals When we began our first Bringing Theory to Practice project, Ron Flores hoped that some day we would have a third of our First Year Program (FYP) faculty teams incorporating some community-based learning into their courses. Cathy Crosby-Currie hoped that the phrase “engaged learning” would become common place in our vocabulary, so she wouldn't feel the need to provide a definition. Neither of us thought our vision was really possible, but both have nearly been attained. In the fall of 2009, 5 of 18 faculty teams are incorporating Community-Based Learning in their courses and, when asked if one of the items on the fall program-wide meeting could be “engaged learning”, the response from FYP faculty was “Of course! We love to talk about engaged learning!” Our project is about creating a culture of engagement within the FYP, but culture change can only occur if those within the culture “own” that change. At first, this project was not owned by the faculty within the First-Year Program. Evidence would suggest that our faculty now own it, and that the culture is changing.
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