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TEACHING AND LEARNING AT AUGSBURG COLLEGE:
EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE
prepared by the Commission on Experiential Pedagogies:
Garry Hesser, Lee Hoon Benson, Carl Casperson, Terry Cook, Helga Egertson,
Letitia Hooyman, Chris Kimball, Jim Trelstad Porter, Frankie Shackelford, Joel
Torstens...
Show more "' I TEACHING AND LEARNING AT AUGSBURG COLLEGE: EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE prepared by the Commission on Experiential Pedagogies: Garry Hesser, Lee Hoon Benson, Carl Casperson, Terry Cook, Helga Egertson, Letitia Hooyman, Chris Kimball, Jim Trelstad Porter, Frankie Shackelford, Joel Torstenson, and Rebekah Valdivia. (May 1998) "... highly theoretical classrooms are like experiential educati.on deserts because there is little water (i.e., direct experiential contact with what is being discussed) to help the seeds of knowledge grow in learners' minds. {Community} settings in wllicll there is no feedback or reflection on the {experience} are like overgrown experiential learning islands because there is plenty of water (i.e., direct contact with the source of experiential knowledge) but not enough tending or pnming of the seed of knowledge as it grows. The fertile flood plains where knowledge is cultivated and fertilized with experiential learning exist as oases among many parched deserts and jungle islands because there is not a widespread appreciati.on throughout the educational world of tile ways experience can and does enhance learning. As a result, the powerful educative force of experience slumbers as an untapped resource within leaming programs throughout the world. " (Sheckley and Weil 1994: 7-8) !4 I PROLOGUE: CONTEXT AND MISSION OF AUGBURG COLLEGE Our commission began with the question: "What is the proper form, role and function of active and experiential learning pedagogies at Augsburg?" As our dialogue proceeded internally and externally, we restated this question in the broader context: "What is the proper form, role and function of experience to the wide variety of effective learning pedagogies at Augsburg?" This focused our investigation on the critical role of experience in effective teaching and learning both in and out of the classroom. Our focus remains upon the critical importance of experience to the learning enterprise and to the unique opportunities that we have at Augsburg. We are convinced that teaching is not a matter of technique. It is fundamentally a social exchange that is inextricably linked to the authenticity, integrity and engagement of both the teacher and the student. Our efforts to produce this report have enabled us to engage in a challenging and exciting dialogue about the very nature of the teaching and learning enterprise. We offer this document as our best understanding about effective learning and teaching. Our recommendations are based upon our own experiences as teachers and learners, our assessment of the research about learning at the post secondary level, and the teachers and teaching that have engaged us in our own living and learning. This report is an invitation to all of our colleagues to engage in a dialogue about the best practices that lead to engaged learning and promote Augsburg's Mission: to nurture leaders in service to the world by providing high quality educational opportunities which are based in the liberal arts and shaped by the faith and values of the Christian Church, by the context of a vital metropolitan setting, and by an intentionally diverse campus community. The catalog begins with the statement: At Augsburg College, we believe that the college experience should be a time of exploration, of discovery, of new experiences and new possibilities. We also believe that a liberal arts education is your best preparation for living in the fast2 paced, changing and complex world of today and tomorrow. Upon graduation, you will be able to demonstrate not only the mastery of a major field of study, but also the ability to think critically, solve problems and communicate effectively. Within this set of objectives and claims, it is imperative that our pedagogy and educational programs reflect the insights of scholars and researchers in cognitive psychology, learning and pedagogy. John Abbott, who directs the Education 2000 Trust that links leaders from education, industry and the social sector, states that: ... today, people worldwide need a whole series of new competencies--the ability to conceptualize and solve problems that entails abstraction (the manipulation of thoughts and patterns), systems thinking (interrelated thinking), experimentation, and collaboration ... .I doubt such abilities can be taught solely in the classroom, or be developed solely by teachers. Higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills grow out of direct experience, not simply teaching; they require more than a classroom activity. They develop through active involvement and real-life experiences in workplaces and the community (Abbott 1996: 3-4). Fortunately, Augsburg College has both a long history and a set of very strong experiential education programs. This is complemented by an exceptional, nationally recognized staff who support such learning opportunities for our students. Augsburg is blessed by its location in the midst of a thriving metropolitan community. This affords us a virtually unlimited set of resources for the kinds of active involvement and learning strategies that leading educators posit as essential to produce graduates prepared for the 20th Century consistent with Augsburg' s objectives and mission. A major emphasis in the definitions of experiential education is upon "outside the classroom" sponsored experiences which are intentionally designed or sought out to enhance the overall learning process. Our intention is to posit a wider continuum of experiential learning which embraces both the prior and c01icurrent experiences that our students bring with them into the classroom. This continuum includes those experiential learning pedagogies that add texture and specificity to the classroom, e.g., labs, case studies, simulations, cooperative and collaborative learning, et al. Furthermore, the continuum 3 of activities "outside the classroom" runs the gamut from semester long, fully integrated programs such as those conducted by the Center for Global Education and HECUA to one time experiences such as the Community Service-Learning engagements of the Augsburg Seminar [formerly FYE Orientation], LINK's Spring Break Community Service Trip, and other co-curricular experiences such as residence hall coordinated experiences in the city. Because of our urban location, Augsburg students can engage in Internships and Cooperative Education Experiences as part of any given semester. Every professor has the possibility and staff support for designing service-learning, field study components into any class where the experience can serve as a catalyst and focal point for the desired learning outcomes of the course. As we establish more "learning communities" and pursue approaches to teaching for engagement, faculty development initiatives can assist the entire faculty and staff in a greater utilization of our urban location. It is precisely this rich "gold mine" of constantly renewing educational resources that the founders and leaders of Augsburg envisioned and have utilized over the decades. In order to set the context for our recommendations, it is necessary to review and summarize: -the current understanding regarding effective teaching and learning and the emerging consensus about the central role of experience in that process; -the current understanding and definitions of experiential learning; -Augsburg's own history in this field of experiential education; and -Augsburg's current programmatic endeavors that represent a continuum of experiential education. Our conclusion is that all of these tributaries converge and complement one another as we attempt to answer the question "What is the proper form, role and function of experience to the wide variety of effective learning pedagogies at Augsburg?" and point the way for Augsburg' s future as a unique and effective learning community. 4 I. EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING: TOWARD AN INCLUSIVE DEFINITION BASED UPON RESEARCH AND THE EMERGING CONSENSUS ON EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING A. Theory and Research: Connections Between Experience and Effective Teaching and Learning Patricia Cross, a leading researcher in teaching and learning at the post secondary level, notes that "experiential learning" predates all other forms of learning: Experiential leamin~ has been around from the beginning, ever since people learned to use fire, water and land for their own survival. Experiential education, however, is another story ... Research in cognitive psychology suggests that experiential education has built into it many pedagogical advantages that must be artificially created in academic education. John Dewey knew this years ago, of course, but as the academic disciplines have become more specialized, teaching has become more abstract, especially at the college level where teachers emerge from their graduate study with abstractions that are hard to relate to the experiences of students. Similarly, Alfred North Whitehead, author of Aims of Education, suggested early in this century, "beware of inert ideas--that is to say, ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilized, or tested, or thrown into fresh combination." Dewey and Whitehead offered a philosophical and intuitive critique of classroom learning that failed to embrace experiential learning. James Coleman, as a leading educational researcher, advisor to Presidents and prominent sociologist, was a 1970' s advocate of an enlarged vision and practice of what John Abbott has recently posited, namely that "higher order thinking and problem-solving skills grow out of direct experience, not simply teaching; they require more than a classroom activity." More recently, Cross ( 1998) has reminded us that the research on cognition and learning largely clarifies and brings into focus what effective teachers have discovered in their own practice. The research provides a context and focus as we collaborate to facilitate the quality of learning that we claim in our catalogues and aspire to as 5 professionals. In short, educators must work together as colleagues to increase the engagement and learning that is possible when we utilize our own experiences as a complement to the research. Cross (1994) contends that the current research on teaching and learning confirms the assumptions of Dewey, Whitehead and Coleman. Similarly, the investigation of our commission revealed three trends in teaching and learning in higher education, all invite a more experiential and relational approach to the teaching enterprise. These are: -a recognition of the need for a systems approach to learning improvement; -a consensus growing out of research on teaching and learning at the postsecondary level that both reflects and challenges our practices; and -a transformation of the teacher-student and student-teacher relationship. 1. Toward a Systems Approach to Learnine After more than a decade of emphasizing the evaluation of program quality in institutions of higher learning, the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Assessment and Quality Forum announced its 1996 Summer Academy with a broad appeal to improved learning by all members of the educational community: "As the new century approaches, most institutions will need to develop new structures, environments, and cultures for learning. Focusing on learning is the key to change in higher education: -student learning as a core process of all institutions; -faculty and staff learning as essential for effectiveness in new environments, and -administrator learning as key to leading change efforts. [AAHE Bulletin, 1996, 22) Enhanced student learning--across curricular and institutional barriers--has emerged as the new bottom-line in all reform efforts. But in many cases the reforms have come as sporadic and disconnected experiments in curriculum redesign or faddish attempts to propagate new classroom tricks. Most of these efforts are short-lived. Consequently, leaders in higher education across the nation are now calling for a more 6 integrated approach to change--a systemic rethinking of the so-called "learning organization." In 1998, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Association for Higher Education have created two initiatives with major funding from the Pew Charitable Trust. Housed at Stanford University will be a Carnegie Academy of Teaching with a major focus on the "scholarship of teaching" that is both specific to each discipline and also transcends the disciplines. As a complement the AAHE will be facilitating a national network of colleges and universities that commit themselves to establishing and maintaining local "academies of teaching". Both initiatives are working closely with the disciplinary societies with an emphasis on "bi-citizenship", namely within one's discipline and the institutions where one teaches (Shulman 1998). These Academies will address the concerns of Peter Ewell of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems who recently pointed to two reasons why we have seen limited success in the improvement of learning. The first is the piecemeal manner in which initiatives are introduced. Institutions focus selectively on hot topics such as active learning, classroom assessment, service-learning, teaching via cases and assessment via teaching or learning portfolios, reform of General Education or redesign of the First-Year Experience. Ewell notes that "new initiatives aren't usually launched with much awareness of what we know about how complex organizations actually change." [AAHE Bulletin: December 1997, 3]. Furthermore, good teaching must also build upon the existing excellence, diversity and good practices in teaching that is already taking place at Augsburg and elsewhere (cf. Cross 1998; Palmer 1997) However, the systems approach is slowly making its way into the reorganization of a number of colleges and universities. For example there is a national movement toward the creation of learning communities which restructure the way students live and 7 learn in groups. A conference held at the University of Miami in January, 1998 drew over 500 participants, including a team of four faculty members from Augsburg College to focus on "Transforming Campuses into Learning Communities: A Working Conference." From a small, isolated phenomenon at the University of WisconsinMadison in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the learning community movement has grown to include hundreds of campuses nationwide. Results of research into the effectiveness of linked courses, learning clusters, freshman interest groups and coordinated studies programs show unequivocally that collaborative learning in meaningfully structured cohorts increases students' net learning (Tinto, et al.) 2. Applyine the Findines of Pedaeoeical Research and Enrichine Our Own Best Practices Our commission concurs with Patricia Cross ( 1998) that there already exists a great deal of excellent teaching on every campus. The research findings should help us to confirm and celebrate what is known and practiced already at Augsburg. In addition, this research should invite us, both individually and as a community, to reflect upon and expand our own repertories of teaching, with a particular attention to expanding our utilization of experience. In 1987, the Johnson Foundation brought together the leading researchers in higher education and they reached a consensus based upon best practices and research that "Good Practice in Under-graduate Education": -Encourages Student-Faculty Contact -Encourages Cooperation Among Students -Encourages Active Learning -Gives Prompt Feedback -Emphasizes Time on Task -Communicates High Expectations -Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning (Chickering and Gamson 1987) 8 Cross ( 1994, 1998) and Ewell ( 1997) have continued to update and validate these "Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" (1987), calling our attention to two major messages emerging from contemporary research in cognitive psychology: 1) the importance of active as opposed to passive learning; and 2) the conception of the schema as the network of the mind that organizes and stores learning. "Learning, properly understood, is transformational rather than additive. New learning interacts with what we already know to transform and deepen our understanding." (Cross, 1994: 23; cf. Kolb, 1984) Ewell posits that our meager gains in the overall improvement of student learning is closely related to our failure to heed the research findings on the nature of learning itself. Gleaned from a large body of research in cognitive processes, the key insights into the nature of learning include: 1. The learner is not a "receptacle" of knowledge, but rather creates his or her learning actively and uniquely. 2. Learning is about making meaning for each individual learner by establishing and reworking patterns, relationships, and connections. 3. Every student learns all the time, both with us and despite us. 4. Direct experience decisively shapes individual understanding. 5. Learning occurs best in the context of a compelling "presenting problem." 6. Beyond stimulation, learning requires reflection. 7. Learning occurs best in a cultural context that provides both enjoyable interaction and substantial personal support (Ewell 1997: 3-4). With these findings in mind, Ewell outlines the pedagogical approaches and contexts that are most conducive to learning, noting the centrality of experience to the entire process. He advocates: 1. Approaches that emphasize application and experience. 2. Approaches in which faculty constructively model the learning process. 3. Approaches that emphasize linking established concepts to new situations. 4. Approaches that emphasize interpersonal collaboration. 5. Approaches that emphasize rich and frequent feedback on performance. 6. Curricula that consistently develop a limited set of clearly identified, crossdisciplinary skills that are publicly held to be important (Ewell 1997: 4-5). 9 In light of this emerging consensus, it is our sense that every course taught at Augsburg should maximize the resources available in the metropolitan area as well as the wealth of experience and life-history that each student brings to the class. Faculty and staff development should equip the entire community to learn from experience, whether the primary locus is outside the formal bounds of the classroom or the classroom itself. "Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (Palmer 1997: 16). However, the research is clear that the kind of learning and meaning making that is described in Augsburg's catalog happens best when experience and reflection are an integral part of everything that we do. As stated earlier, our challenge as a college is to affirm and build upon the good practices that already exist and to create new ways to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning. This can be achieved in a synthesis and collaboration that utilizes our own assets and the ongoing research findings that make what is understood about the learning process more explicit. Augsburg should see its faculty and staff development endeavor as a "localized teaching academy" and join the new network of higher education institutions that will be collaborating with Carnegie, AAHE, and Pew. 3. Transformin& the Teacher-Student and Student-Student Relationship In addition to Ewell's insightful overview of the need for systemic change, leading voices have been calling for the rethinking of the relationship between teachers and learners. In his seminal work To Know as We are Known, Parker Palmer makes a compelling case for the classroom as a community of mutual truth-seeking. In his most recent book, The Courage to Teach, Palmer reminds us that "good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher." In "Heart of a Teacher" (1997), Palmer describes teachers whose "techniques differed radically but (states) both were gifted at connecting students, 10 teachers and subject in a community of learning". He goes on to say that "what we teach will never 'take' unless it connects with the inward, living core of our students' lives, with out students' inward teachers. The kind of teaching that transforms people does not happen if the students' inward teacher is ignored." This systemic, relational approach is closely linked to the work of Augsburg faculty who have been focusing upon "engagement" as a process which results in learning. It is defined as a "cognitive and affective process, enabled by the relationship between student and teacher, that stimulates curiosity and leads to focused attention, discovery of connections, and satisfaction with learning." Our colleagues posit and demonstrate that the application of this model by teachers can result in more effective learning. Moreover, their collaboration and experiences offer evidence to support this claim (Pike, 1998). Their work represents another foundation upon which to build. The implications for learning are related to how an effective teacher relates or perceives the goals and needs of students. As we work to craft classrooms into a type of experiential education, this awareness and understanding of the learner will lead to stronger connections and learning. This relational approach to teaching focuses more on the "why" of knowing. This involves helping the learner to make connections between their previous understandings and experiences and the specific course/content/discipline. Lee Shulman puts it this way. In order to get the "outside into the learner", namely the information and knowledge we want them to know and understand, it is essential to focus on getting the "inside out". The greatest influence on learning is what the learner brings. Shulman insists that we can and must "find out what the learner already knows and teach accordingly ... [emphasizing] social interaction with others .... [in order to get] the outside in .... " (Shulman 1998). Some implications are found in questions that grow out of such a relational approach to teaching and learning. Do we expect the teacher to be a co-learner? What are we trying to teach? As we explore interdisciplinary ways of thinking, learning and 11 working will this lead to strong insights about students and effective teaching and learning? What directions should we go with the renewed Faculty and Staff Development program? How might "communities of learning" expand our effectiveness as regards learning outcomes and the engagement of all of the participants? B. Buildin1 Upon Our Own Experiences and Current Developments in Hi1her Education The research findings summarized by Ewell ( 1997) provides a framework for our endeavors to create learning communities at Augsburg. We view experiential learning as a central "hallmark" of an Augsburg education. As Ewell emphasizes, "direct experience decisively shapes individual understanding" and "learning occurs best in the context of a compelling 'presenting' problem" accompanied by reflection and meaning making. According to Ewell and his colleagues, this should result in teaching that incorporates and emphasizes "application and experience .... approaches that emphasize linking established concepts to new situations ... [and] interpersonal collaboration. " Donald Schon ( 1984) refers to this as cultivating "reflective practitioners" who develop the kind of competencis for "abstraction, systems thinking, experimentation and collaboration" that Abbott insists are needed for the next millennium. Clearly, the research suggests "that indeed big differences exist between knowledge based upon recall and deeper forms of understanding" (Ewell 1997: 4). The research emphasizes that "direct experience," "problem-posing" and "reflection and meaning making" are necessary in all forms of teaching and learning. This includes "inside the classroom", as well as "out of classroom" teaching and learning. Our challenge at Augsburg is to develop a continuum of teaching and learning that takes fuller advantage of our Twin Cities setting and our global connections. 12 John Dewey (1916) asserted that: "We never educate directly, but only indirectly by means of the environment. Whether we permit chance environments to do the work, or whether we design environments for [our] purpose makes a great difference." Similarly, Ewell contends that the findings and "consensus" among researchers have important implications for how all colleges and we at Augsburg should be structuring our teaching and learning in all of our pedagogical endeavors both in and out of the classroom (Ewell 1997: 4-5). Lee Shulman, in the keynote address, "Taking Learning Seriously", at the AAHE National Conference (1998), emphasizes the complexity of getting the "outside into the learner", namely the information and knowledge we want them to know and understand. Successful teachers under-stand that the greatest influence on learning is what the learner brings to the classroom or the out-of-classroom experience. Shulmna insists that we can and must "find out what the learner already knows and then teach accordingly. This will also involve cooperative and collaborative interaction between the learners as they increase their knowledge and understanding (Shulman 1998). We cannot resolve the debate between those who embrace "social construction" and those who lean toward a more "foundational" understanding of epistemology and knowledge. However, one thing seems clear to us from our own practice and the research we have reviewed, namely that learning requires social interaction and collaboration in a social context (Shulman 1998; Cross 1998). Richard Light and his Harvard/Ivy League colleagues have documented what Bill McKeachie's research emphasized: students learn best when they are engaged in social interaction with one a110ther land with their teachers/. Teaching at Augsburg must take seriously these findings and recommendations by incorporating application and experience, linking the concepts in the course to new situations by "sponsoring" new experiences and/or incorporating "prior" experiences that the learners bring into the classroom. Our location makes it possible to design 13 such catalytic learning experiences that are appropriate for single class sessions as well as full semester "out of classroom" experiences with a wide range of options in between. To do anything less is to ignore what we now know about epistemology, cognition and effective teaching at the post-secondary level. The emphasis on collaborative learning, feedback, modeling, reflection, and clear learning goals is instructive for all forms of pedagogy and calls us to higher levels of accountability as well (cf. Palmer 1997). 14 C. Toward a Holistic Approach to Teachine with Experience at the Core: A Workine Definition Our own experience and research lead us to conclude that it is a false dichotomy to see teaching methodologies as "either-or" choices. Effective teachers intuitively understand what the research underscores, namely that both experiential and abstract education require active learning. As George Stoddard once observed: "We learn to do neither by thinking nor by doing; we learn to do by thinking about what we are doing" (cited in Cross 1994:23; cf. Schon 1984).1 The current research and practice reveals that it is a false dichotomy to suggest that inductive and deductive are contradictory. They are clearly complementary. Learning and the making of meaning require both abstractions and experience. As the Executive Director of the National Society for Experiential Education [~SEE] states: ... experiential learning is grounded in a philosophy about teaching, learning and assessment that engages the learner actively in whatever is being learned. It is a philosophy that asserts that the development of knowledge and the acquisition of skills belong as panners [with the traditional forms of] education, where each can transform the other. By directly engaging the learner in what is being studied, experiential learning then also re-shapes the teacher-learner relationship .... Experience itself becomes the teacher. The emphasis then is placed on the reflective process, where teachers and peers join the learner in making meaning out of whatever has been experienced [in widely divergent 'sponsored' and 'prior' or even unplanned experiences]" (Wutzdorff 1994: 2-3; cf. Palmer 1997). In this context, experiential learning is "proposed not as a single universal method of learning but as a map of learning territories, a frame of reference within which the many different ways of learning can flourish and interrelate. It is a holistic framework which orients the many different ways of learning to one another" (Jensen and Kolb 1994: 81). 1For those who are interested in further reading on this topic are referred to Kolb, Cross, Coleman and Morton as cited in the references 15 A Workine Definition of Experiential Leamine: David Kolb Kolb's frequently cited work, Experiential Learnine (1984) made the explicit connection between experiential education and research when he stated that "learninr is the process whereby knowledre is created throurh the transformation of experience, ... the grocess whereby concepts are derived from and continuously modified by experience." (1984, pp. 26-27). Following the theories of Whitehead, Freire, Vygotsky, Lewin, James, Coleman and Dewey, current research expands and verifies the centrality of experience to learning. In short, the human species appears to be distinguished by its capacity to learn, to make meaning from experience (Jensen and Kolb 1994; cf. Ewell 1997; Chickering and Gamson 1987). The research on teaching and learning continues to document and verify Kolb' s theory of experiential learning which sees the cycle of learning from experience as a spiral. Kolb' s four phases or essential ingredients in this praxis dialogue between theory and practice include: -concrete experience, -observations and reflections, -formation and re-formation of abstract concepts and generalizations, and -testing the implications of concepts in new situations (Kolb 1994-see Appendix for diagram). Experiential education can be understood more concretely by focusing upon what constitutes an "educative experience". John Dewey reminds us that, just as some lectures or group discussions do not result in deeper understanding or learning, "not all experiences are genuinely or equally educative". We suggest that all of our efforts to enhance teaching and learning should follow Dewey, who argued that educative experiences could and should be judged by whether or not: I) the individual grew, or would grow, intellectually and morally; 16 2) the larger community benefitted from the learning over the long haul; and 3) the educational experience resulted in conditions leading to further growth, such as arousing curiosity and strengthening initiative, desire, and purpose. Hence, our responsibility as educators is to create the conditions for experiences that will result in "the transformation of experience" into the understanding, knowledge and outcomes that we espouse in our catalog. This is a responsibility that requires: -knowledge of the students we are teaching; -understanding the varying types of experience that can help them learn; and -the ability to anticipate and respond to the particular situations that develop as the teaching and learning experiences unfold (NSEE 1998, pp. 18-19; cf. Shulman 1998). Many models of experiential education exist, including the one proposed by the Center for Global Education at Augsburg [see appendix]. As noted in our Prologue, a major emphasis in experiential education is often upon "outside the classroom" sponsored experiences which are intentionally designed or sought out to enhance the overall learning process. However, we reiterate: our intention is to posit a much wider continuum of experiential learning which embraces both the prior and concurrent experiences that our students bring with them into the classroom, as well as those experiential learning pedagogies that can add texture and specificity to the classroom, e.g., case studies, simulations, cooperative and collaborative learning pedagogy, learning communities, et al. Furthermore, the continuum we propose ranges from semester long, fully integrated programs such as those conducted by the Center for Global Education and HECU A to one time experiences such as the Community ServiceLearning engagements of First Year Orientation, LINK' s Spring Break Community Service Trip, and other co-curricular experiences. As stated earlier, our urban location provides Augsburg students with opportunities to engage in Internships and Cooperative Education Experiences as part of 17 any given semester. Every professor has the possibility and staff support for designing service-learning, field study, field trips, and utilizing local resources and speakers as a part of any class. These experiences can serve as a catalyst and focal point for the desired learning outcomes for the course. It was precisely this rich "gold mine" of constantly renewing educational resources that the founders and leaders of Augsburg have envisioned over the decades. 18 II. AUGSBURG'S HISTORY AND TEACHING FOR LEARNING WITH EXPERIENTIAL PEDAGOGIES We find it particularly revealing and gratifying that the current consensus about what we know about learning at the post-secondary level clearly supports the position taken by Joel Torstenson and the Augsburg faculty in 1967-68 in the position paper, "The Liberal Arts College and the City". In this paper, Torstenson proposed a rationale for increased articulation and interaction with the city, postulat-ing the wider community as a "learning laboratory". At that time Torstenson and the faculty placed an emphasis on moving outside the classroom and expanding our pedagogy to include extensive off-campus experiences, e.g., internships, community service-learning, semester-in-the city programs. Subsequently, Augsburg established HECUA, Internships, Cooperative Education, Community Service-Learning, expanded its professional study programs and their required practica, and the Center for Global Education to operationalize these assumptions. What Torstenson and these educational endeavors assumed and posited has been verified empirically and summarized by Ewell (1997). A. Some Historical Reflections on Experiential Learnine at Auesbure Colleee Some of the basic principles and value-orientations of experiential learning have deep roots in Augsburg's academic history. In one of the College's earliest official documents it was made clear that its pre-theological college program should provide students with the "knowledge and skills required for effective participation in the affairs of an enlightened secular community" (Chrislock 1969, p. 21). An examination of the cultural, religious, and political European roots for these academic orientations is helpful in providing an adequate historical perspective. Both Professor Georg Sverdrup and Sven Oftedal who became preeminent 19th century 19 Augsburg leaders were classical scholars in several European universities as well as graduates of a theological seminary. Beyond that they were strongly identified with the political and religious reform movement in 19th century Norway. Professor Georg Sverdrup belonged to a distinguished family of clergymen, lawyers, academicians and political leaders. His father was a prominent clergyman who combined service to the church with a political career, as member of Norway's parliament. His uncle was a lawyer who played a dominant political role as leader of Norway's Liberal Party and became its Prime Minister in 1984. Other members of the Sverdrup family were identified with the reform movement. This reform movement championed by the Sverdrups "touched education and church affairs as well as politics. In broad terms it advocated the extension of "practical" 2 education, revitalization of the Norwegian State Church, strengthening of parliamentary institutions and the extension of suffrage (Chrislock, p. 12). They believed that the establishment of social and political equality could serve to revitalize both the religious and political life of the nation. Georg Sverdrup, who served as president of Augsburg from 1876-1907 developed this thesis in America, including its implications for "practical academic programs which would provide the knowledge and skills required for effective participation in the developing life and culture of this new land. (Chrislock, p 21). For a more detailed account of the leadership of Professor George Sverdrup' s presidency of Augsburg College from 1911 to 1937 consult Carl Chrislock's From Fiord to Freeway. Suffice it to say that throughout that turbulent period of Augsburg' s struggles to develop an academically credible liberal arts college, Sverdrup "affirmed the 2 The word 'practical' has had varied meanings during Augsburg's history. 20 compatibility of a modern college program with the ideals of his father and Oftedal" (Chrislock, p. 162). i- Sverdrup' s academic credentials were impressive. After graduation from the Minneapolis Public schools he earned a B.A. degree from Augsburg, studied mathematics, Greek and Latin at the University of Minnesota, and pursued graduate work at Yale University in Semitic languages (Hebrew and Arabic), Biblical Studies, Greek and Philosophy. He won a fellowship to the American Institute of Archeology at Jerusalem and later accepted a teaching position in the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut. These are listed to indicate his continued commitment to practical value of higher education did not mean a negation of high academic standards. Under the presidential leadership of Dr. Bernhard Christensen (1938-1962), the Sverdrup legacies supportive of practical academic programs were articulated in terms of a college motto of "Education for Service." Like the Sverdrups, Christensen affirmed the Lutheran legacy relative to the importance of "vocation." He viewed every person as an actor in history and challenged students and colleagues to play that role as lovingly and effectively as possible. Consistent with his predecessors, Christensen was inspired by the JudeoChristian legacies to affirm a loving concern for the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged as well as its prophetic cry for justice and mercy. He agreed with them that high quality liberal learning should play an important role in preparing students for effective participation in implementing such values in life. Much like the Sverdrups, he was also a classical scholar with post-graduate studies in philosophy, theology, history, classical languages, and humanities. Like the Sverdrups, he believed that such studies were important for preparing college graduates for effective leadership in both secular and religious vocations. It was out of this orientation that Christensen played an important role in promoting the department of education with the field-oriented "practice teaching" 21 program. Similarly he promoted the establishment of a major in sociology coupled with an undergraduate sequence in social work education with field placement experience in the myriad areas of social work in Minneapolis and Hennepin County. Like his predecessors Christensen played an important role in the public life of the city, serving as chairman of Mayor Hubert Humphrey's Council on Human Relations where he played a leading role in a comprehensive study of human relations policies and practices of the major institutions of the city--including Augsburg College. It was out of these orientations of the presidents of Augsburg College throughout the first hundred years of its existence, that their attitudes toward the city is understandable. They did not indulge in the emerging anti-city animus that was emerging in America. As classical scholars they were well-informed about the important of the classical cities of Athens, Rome and Jerusalem. They were mindful of the importance of the role of modern cities as centers of civilization and culture. Their view that the college should remain in the city prevailed against all efforts to move it to suburbia. When the so-called "urban crisis" and its corollary--the "Human Relations Crisis" captured national attention, it was understandable that the College would respond to them with both sensitivity and concern about their implications for its academic life and programs. It was out of this context that Professor Joel Torstenson was granted a year's sabbatical for the purpose of examining how other liberal arts institutions in prominent urban centers were responding to these urban challenges. These studies culminated in Torstenson's document "The Liberal Arts College in the Modern Metropolis". This paper was presented to both Augsburg's administration and faculty for their reflection and response. The response of the faculty and administration was very positive. There can hardly be any doubt but that this response was a reflection of Augsburg' s long historic legacy of concern for issues of public life in the context of the life of the city. 22 In a 1998 publication, Successful Service-Learning Programs: New Models of Excellence in Higher, Education, Garry Hesser summarizes the College's extensive and nationally acclaimed responses to the Torstenson document. [See the appendix for the chapter, "On the Shoulders of Giants: Building on a Tradition of Experiential Education at Augsburg College," which details Augsburg College's Experiential Education and Service-Learning programs, as well as its role in national and regional endeavors]. The publication acknowledges Augsburg' s national leadership and prominence in the development of experiential learning since the 1960s. Reflecting upon the response to Torstenson' s 1967 document: The faculty discussed and embraced its basic tenets which included expanding internships, community service and applied research that contributed to the wider community and to student learning. Beginning in the late 60s and the early 70s these experiential education opportunities were institutionalized through the Metropolitan Urban Studies Internship Program (MUSIP); the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) which grew out of the Crisis Colony response to Martin Luther King's assassination; the creation of a Metro-Urban Studies Major; a Center for Community Studies; an accredited Social Work major; the Conservation of Human Resources (CHR) off campus classes at Trevilla and in state prisons.... . (Hesser 1995) 23 B. CURRENT EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT AUGSBURG: EXAMPLES Since the 1970s a wide variety of programs of experiential education have been nurtured and developed, making Augsburg College an exemplary leader in these academic developments. Since Torstenson led the faculty toward its consensus on the validity and value of experiential education which made use of the wider community, Augsburg has established itself as one of the leading colleges and universities in the practice of experiential education. At the risk of overlooking many other examples and programs, we highlight the following examples to illustrate the range and variety of experiential teaching and learning at the college. 1) The Higher Education Consortium for Urban A[airs fHECUAJ began in 1968 as an Augsburg program known as the "Crisis Colony", led by Joel Torstenson, Gordon Nelson, et al. HECUA has become one of the premier interdisciplinary experiential education programs in the nation, featuring semester long Urban Studies and City Arts programs in the Twin Cities. In addition, Augsburg students participate in HECUA programs in Scandinavia, Central America and Colombia. 2) The college-wide Internship Program, begun in the late 1960s, engages approximately 200 students a year in experiential education through placements related to the students major and/or career interests. Each student, with the assistance and sponsorship of a faculty member, creates a Learning Agreement that identifies their learning objectives, activities and strategies and assessment methods for each learning objective. The Augsburg Learning Agreement Form and process has been highlighted and featured in the National Society for Experiential Education's (NSEE) newest book, The Internship as Partnership (1997). See the appendix for a prospectus of example internships by major. The benefits and reciprocity are illustrated by these comments: a. An Augsburg student was the first "student" employee to earn an internal Honeywell "outstanding recognition of performance evaluation" award in the department where he interned. b. "You have enhanced my four years at Augsburg College and prepared me for the future. " This student used the support of this center to prepare resumes and locate opportunities while a student at Augsburg- first for securing internships and later to secure employment after graduation. 24 c. An Andersen Consulting contact told an associate director for the Center for Service, Work, and Learning that they "continue to be pleased with the students from Augsburg. We have offered eleven students full time positions here. d. A manager with Northwest Airlines wrote of an Augsburg student, " has been one of the best interns that I have ever worked with here at Northwest Airlines .... Programs like this are an excellent opportunity for both the students involved and the companies. We can keep our eyes and minds open to new ideas with a constant flow of great minds." 3) The Cooperative Education Pro~ram. begun in 1984, facilitates learning through paid, on-the-job work experiences related to the student's major and/or career interests. Placements are in business and industry, as well as governmental, non-profit and religious sectors. Work-Study resources and collaborations with the University of Minnesota expand Cooperative Education [and Service-Learning] to include non-profit and community-based neighborhood organizations. 4) The Center for Global Education (CGEJ. founded in 1983, provides educational experiences that engage learners in their own transformation. Interactive environments are created where semester students and short-term trip participants address issues of gender, sustainable development, the environment, social change, spirituality, social justice and culture, among others. In this way, people are confronted with aspects of their own cultures and with the realities of the world surrounding them. Transformation occurs when these individuals challenge long-held assumptions, connect with people in their own environments, reflect on the new experiences, and move in the direction of change for the sake of creating a more just world. More than 700 students from over 180 colleges and universities have participated in CGE's six undergraduate study abroad programs in Mexico, Central America and Namibia, approximately 200 per year. More than 7000 people have participated in CGE's short-term academic programs (including Weekend College students) and international travel seminars. 5) Community Service-Learnin~ includes over thirty courses a year which include a community service field study component linked to course objectives. Central to service-learning are on-going partnerships with community organizations such as the Cedar-Riverside Charter School where students enhance their own learning by providing science education, piano, band and general tutoring in a community often described as the "Ellis Island" of the Twin Cities. Similar partnerships exist with the Franklin Learning Center, Project for Pride in Living, Benjamin Banekker and Seward Schools. Community Service-Learning involves students in "participatory action research" through the Neighborhood Planning and Community Revitalization collaboration and the Twin Cities Neighborhood Network. Co-curricular servicelearning takes place through the First Year Experience [Augsburg Seminar], Residence Life, Campus Ministry, the Sabo-Johnson-Torstenson Scholars, and the LINK, a student led commission of the Student Senate. 25 a) Minnesota Campus Compact awarded a mini-grant to Rebekah Validivia to integrate service-learning into a course last spring. "Students in Mathematical Modeling and Differential Equations will work on two modeling projects in the community. The first, in collaboration with the Bloomington school district, will analyze the busing system and provide alternatives to reduce cost while maintaining a high level of service. Other collaborations included Citizens for a Better Environment involving analysis of industrial toxin release data from the EPA and projection based on economic trends, Minnesota AIDS project, et al. Professor Valdivia' s efforts have received national and regional recognition. b) Kathy Schwalbe, MIS, and her students have played key roles in the development of information systems and web sites for non-profits and community-based groups as part of the CURA-NPCR-Neighborhood Network. c) "For the last four years we have been partners with Augsburg's Community Service-Learning Office in providing meaningful service-learning assignments for your students. During this time, service learning opportunities have evolved from that of feel-good volunteerism to integral, course-embedded components that lend rigor by bridging theory to practice, and the campus to community." [Kristin Keller, Literacy Coordinator, Franklin Learning Center] d) FYE Day in the City through service [FYE orientation] This has been in operation for six years. The program involves over 300 students who participate in a community service project the day after Labor Day. Last year the students worked in more than 15 sites. 6) The establishment of the Center for Service, Work and Leaming in January, 1998, is already a national model of the seamlessness that should exist between academic and student affairs. By bringing together the synergies of internships, service-learning, career development and cooperative education, experiential learning will be further enhanced and supported. 7) Education Depanment: Three examples/points where students have practice and experience in the experiential learning include: a)EDU 265 requires students to have 30 hrs. experience with teaching-learning in an urban environment. Students are assigned to a site where they observe, tutor, write journals in response to structured questions and other assignments. b)EDE 352 or EDS 354 students spend a month, full time, in either an elementary or secondary classroom to observe and practice. c)Student Teaching prior to licensure recommendation. 8) Music Therapy Standards set by the national association for music therapy require 6 semesters of practica, generally one practicum per semester with a 10 week minimum placement. Students must have a minimum of one hour of contact with a client. Students start with observation and then work on reading charts, set goals and objectives, evaluate and assess clients etc. Students are usually placed with a licensed 26 music therapist at the participating facility. (cf. the Physician Assistant Clinical Medicine requirement). 9) Social Work includes a wide variety of required field work placements for both Juniors and Seniors, as well as an "Exploring Human Services" course offered in Interim. These placements include Ebenezer Luther Hall, East Side Neighborhood Services, Senior Resources, Ramsey Crisis Nursery, Children's Home Society, Lao Family Services, Minneapolis Consortium of Community Developers, American Red Cross, Fairview Southdale Hospital, Hennepin County Juvenile Probation, Richfield Schools, Courage Center, Mental Health Association, et. al. The Social Work faculty collaborate with the Center for Global Education and the Center for Service, Work and Learning to expand opportunities for student learning. ex. Tony Bibus, BSW director, described that: seeing how educators (in Cuernavaca, Mexico) involved people from the local community in the classroom and set up opportunities for students to work in the local neighborhoods and surrounding villages led me to develop the project with the Center for Global Education: 'Connecting the classroom to clients'. There are many similar initiatives in progress at any given time here in the Twin Cities- our classrooms tend to be very active places with an emphasis on a partnership between instructors and students in exploring and learning. 10) The Nursing Program developed a clinical site, the Augsburg Central Lutheran Nursing Center for Health promotion. The clinic is open year round, six hours a week and has been operating for five years. This clinic provides experience for Augsburg nursing students. It is run on a nursing model, their purpose is to educate, not diagnose. The clinic is funded entirely by the nursing alumni association and contributions. Many students continue their involvement after the course commitment is done. Many students return upon graduation and volunteer at the clinic. 11) The Student Research Fair underscores the importance of basic research and discovery that comes from the research and laboratory experience, increasing opportunities for students to engage in and share their independent study and research through. For many years, the Physics Department has led the campus in providing opportunities for students to engage in on-going research. Summer research opportunities at Mayo, the University of Minnesota and other sites is supported by the Natural Science departments, Psychology, Sociology/Urban Studies, et al. These have been exceptional learning opportunities for Augsburg students. The revised Honors options will enhance these opportunities as well. 12) Theater, Choir, Band, Orchestra, and other Fine Arts programs expand the opportunity to learn from experience. Large numbers of students participate in Forensics and studio experience which are hallmarks of the Communication program. And varsity and intramural athletics and coaching opportunities further expand the opportunity to learn from experience, both on and off campus. 27 13) Laboratory requirements have long been an essential aspect of virtually every science course and an important introduction to research in Psychology. Many Universities and Research Institutions provide summer research interships. Students are recruited on the basis of their competence, motivation for careers in science and laboratory skills. Similarly, the good programs take care to craft research opportunities which are matched to the student's level of preparation and appropriate for a ten week stint. These programs are structured to provide training in scientific communication teaching students how to prepare platform or poster presentations. Lastly, efforts are made to develop a community of researchers to help students understand that science in almost always a highly social or cooperative activity. Dale Pederson writes: The sciences, by their very nature, are experiential. Training people in science requires that they gain experience in the process -- learning science by doing science. Experimentation is part of the curricular design in many biology courses including the non-majors course - BIO 102. Majors are first introduced to the process of science in BIO 114 where students conduct long term experiments on genetic drift in populations of fruit flies. This experience introduces students to elements of unpredictability in science, as well as data gathering and analysis techniques. Careful observation and interpretation are taught through histology projects in which groups of students are asked to describe the three-dimensional organization of animal or plant organs from a few two-dimensional sections. A second small-group project involves posing useful questions about the control of cell growth and designing and executing experiments to test the hypotheses. Both of these projects include training in another essential aspect of "doing" science -- effective communication. Platform (spoken) and poster presentations represent the product of the experience. Building on this foundation, several upper-division Biology courses include research components requiring greater independence and effort .. Another step for many students is a full-time research position during the summer months. Many Universities and other research institutions provide summer research internship opportunities which are awarded through a competitive process. In the best of these, students are selected on the basis of their competence, motivation for careers in science and laboratory skills. Similarly, the good programs take care to craft research opportunities which are matched to the student's level of preparation and likely to be productive within the ten week program. In addition to the focused training in a specific research area, students are given training in the preparation of platform and poster presentations and are introduced to a community of researchers in ways that make them aware that science is a highly social and cooperative activity. Most of our students in sciences have sought and been awarded summer research positions at the University of Minnesota. Our faculty is very deliberate about informing students of the opportunities, encouraging them to apply and helping them produce effective applications. Our collective familiarity with many University faculty and an institutional reputation for providing good research student prospects helps applicants 28 from Augsburg. Some summer internships have developed into extended collaborations between Augsburg students and University researchers. Augsburg also has an endowment which funds summer research internships at the Dodge Nature Center in Mendota Heights. Opportunities exist through Minnesota Dept of Agriculture and Natural Resources, private firms and foundations. Listed below are a sampling of summer research internships. Summer 1996 Maiko Papke - University of Minnesota, Dept of Plant Biology Ario Miller - Washington University Anna Maria Lervik - University of Minnesota, Veterinary Microbiology Jean Peebles - Dodge Nature Center Angel Reu - University of Minnesota - Dept of Ecology Jesse Dalaska - University of Minnesota - Dept of Ecology Kelly Oakland - University of Minnesota - Dept of Ecology Summer 1997 Erik C.B. Johnson - University Supercomputer Center Patrick Puskala - University Neurosciences Dept Mark Harswick - Minnesota Dept of Agriculture Dana Larson - Minnesota Dept of Agriculture Keri Marxhausen - Prairie Restoration Inc. Summer 1998 Tasha Hamann - U of M Neuroscience Internship Program (1 of 14) Erik C.B. Johnson - University of Washington Aaron Smith - Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Dept of Oncology Karin Johnson - Dodge Nature Center A sampling of current Physics students' internships follows: These opportunities to conduct research are augmented by opportunities to work as research and lab assistants at 3M, General Mills, et al." Sandra Olmsted offers an example of a chemistry lab assignment (the Kekule Experiment) that shows how a multi-step research experience can be integrated into the learning of traditional course content. In CHM 352, the second semester of organic chemistry, one half of the lab grade is determined by a challenging and legendary (a course expectation set by John Hoium in 1965) synthesis problem. Students are given a certain amount of a known starting material and asked to find the best method to carry out the synthesis of the product to be achieved. In the process they must search the relevant primary literature, find and compare several possible methods, perform the math for scaling to the proportions given, carry out the synthesis, and present their results as an oral report, as well as write it up in journal-article style. Students learn to be critical readers of journals and to think independently, while working in a simulated supervisor/researcher relationship. The student who presents the best overall solution (quantity, purity yield, oral and written report) is rewarded with a subscription to "Scientific American" . 29 Eric Klatt-Johns Hopkins University-Applied Physics Laboratory Larye Pohlman-MIT, Millstone Hill Observatory Erick Agrimson-University of Minnesota, Physics Research An Augsburg Psychology student recently expressed her appreciation that Augsburg students actually do research, and don't just learn about others who do research. Research includes designing a study, measuring behavior of real human participants and the use of computer software to analyze the statistics. "Hands-on" research is required of Psychology majors. The small class sizes and dedicated faculty provide these unique opportunities, unlike a neighboring institution where students are not required to do actual research for their major. 14) Faculty Development devotes a good proportion of its energies and budget to the support of active learning approaches. This includes workshops on teaching and learning (e.g., last September's workshop on cooperative learning with Karl Smith), grants to support undergraduate research, two summer workshops on service-learning, course revision grants for incorporating service-learning into existing courses, and more. The Director of the Faculty Development Program, Vicki Littlefield, authored the Community Service-Learning at Augsburg College: A Handbook for Instructors, which has been widely distributed. This handbook grew out of one of the summer workshops. Emphases on "learning communities" will encourage further utilization of experience in teaching and learning at Augsburg. Over the years the Faculty Development Program has assisted the faculty in "teaching for learning" and promoting teaching that leads to more engaged learners and learning. Under the leadership of Norma Noonan, Eddie Hertzberg, Marie McNeff, and Vicki Littlefield, Faculty Development has led the faculty in learning about active learning pedagogies. computers. collaborative learning. and the kinds of experiential. relational aoproaches to teaching and learning that this report advocates. 15) Examples of classroom collaboration and experiential Learning illustrate what our commission is espousing. "In our "Issues of Science and Religion" class we held a "debate" on creationism versus evolution. We supplied the students with materials and gave them some suggestions for web resources, but then turned them loose on preparing for this debate. We had a student in the class with debate experience and she helped us with the rubrics. We had small groups (3 of about 6 students each) provide initial statements of their position on the thesis to be debated, then a clarification of terms and then a free-for-all. Although it was relatively unstructured after the initial statements, we found it quite worth while. For awhile I was unsure it would turn out to be anything, but I guess I've learned to trust the students. I think we should do more of this: get live issues on which there are two sides, and give students the opportunity to struggle with both sides." --John Benson and Mark Engebretson [Religion and Physics] 30 "... for my spring Precalculus course I decided to try class-testing a draft of a text in which students work mostly in groups on problems in environmental studies, primarily water usage and polution control. These problems are more-or-less case studies. They're not so open-ended as the problems I have students work on in more advanced courses, sometimes but not always in groups. For example, students in my junior-level geometry course are investigating four problems that touch on all aspects of the course-turning in an occasional progress report on each problem relating it to the readings and class discussions. They're having to construct their own geometric concepts and, in the process, are getting a feel for doing research in mathematics." --Larry Copes [Mathematics] Another example consists of a weekly reflective journal in which students describe something very specific that they have experienced in the past or present [approximately 100 words] and then use 3-6 specific concepts or ideas from the weeks reading and class that enables them to deepen their understanding and interpretation of their experience [approximately 200 words]. Case study approaches, cooperative learning and base groups, teaching for engagement, problem-based pedagogy, simulations, intercultural learning are some of the current classroom based approaches that make use of past and current experiences to deepen understanding and foster the quality of learning espoused in the college's mission and catalog. Augsburg has a sound, nationally recognized history and foundation, a cadre offaculty consultants who work with colleges across the nation, a critical mass of well-informed and effective teachers, and access to an unlimited set of resources because of our urban location. How can we utilize this rich collection of resources as we move into the 21st century? 31 III. STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLACING EXPERIENCE AT THE CENTER OF AN AUGSBURG EDUCATION RECOMMENDATIONS: Our position is that Augsburg must strengthen and support our current efforts and the staff who facilitate our wide range of experiential education programs. At the same time we must expand and deepen our commitment to and operationalizing of the full continuum of experiential education. The continuum includes the classroom itself, as well as increased attention to the preparation for and reflection upon the experiences that are identified and integrated into each students education. As was stressed previously, this does not mean that experiential education is the only pedagogy to be pursued, for "good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (Palmer 1997: 16). However, the research is clear that the kind of learning and meaning making that Abbott and our own catalog describe happens best when experience and reflection are an integral part of everything that we do. GENERAL GOALS: 1) Every student should leave Augsburg having participated in at least one off-campus Internship, Cooperative Education and/or semester program which has as its central focus the linking of first-hand experience with the ideas and concepts of one or more disciplines. 2) Every student should take at least one course with a service-learning or field study component which explicitly links that experience to the basic ideas of the course. 3) Every course taught at Augsburg should maximize the resources available in the metropolitan area as well as the wealth of experience and life-history that each student brings to the class. 32 " 4) Faculty and staff development should equip the entire community to learn from experience, whether the primary locus is outside the formal bounds of the classroom or the classroom itself. SUPPORTIVE STRATEGIES: 1) The staff at the Center for Service, Work and Learning, the Center for Global Education, staff in Faculty Development and Professional Studies, and active participation in HECUA are absolutely necessary colleagues and collaborators who make it possible for faculty and staff to maintain and expand our utilization of experiential education pedagogies. It may be necessary to increase staffing if we are to establish ourselves as the premier college for experience linked to learning. As we become a learning community which fully utilizes our metropolitan location and wider global resources we will develop the kind of learners our catalog describes. 2) Augsburg must focus its attention and energies on publicizing and giving public recognition to students, staff and faculty who practice the art of integrating experience into the educational enterprise and learning that takes place here. Ironically, the college is better know for its experiential education and engaged teaching outside of our "stakeholders". Those who lead us in effective teaching and learning should be acknowledged! This public acknowledgment will bring us students, faculty and staff who can and will take fuller advantage of our metropolitan location and enable us to expand our efforts to incorporate experience into learning. 3) The college should fully integrate the Faculty and Staff Development initiatives to include staff, as well as faculty, throughout the college. We must utilize the existing experiential education professionals and our own acknowledged faculty and staff expertise as we strive to become the premier urban college, committed to learning in a continuous improvement as a collaborative learning community. 4) Augsburg should make every effort to become one of the 80-100 colleges and universities that will be a part of the network of AAHE's "Academies of Teaching" and 33 the Carnegie-Pew Academy of Teaching. Participation in these academies will enable us at Augsburg to learn from one another, from the higher education community and fromthe ongoing research on learning and effective teaching. As stressed earlier, whatever pedagogical approaches we pursue, we should remember John Dewey's admonition that not all approaches to teaching are "genuinely or equally educative". If we are to continuously improve so that our teaching is indeed educative and engaging, it will require that we engage and learn from one another as a learning community. We will be well served to collaborate together as we strive to come ever closer to our mission and goals as educators, and with T. S. Eliot: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. (f .S. Eliot, Four Quartets) 34 41 REFERENCES Abbott, John. 1996. "21st Century Learning Initiative." AAHE Bulletin. March: 3-6. Chickering, Arthur and Zelda Gamson. 1987. Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. Racine, WI: The Johnson Foundation. Chrislock, Carl. 1969. From Fiord to Freeway: 100 Years of Augsburg College. Minneapolis: Augsburg College. Cross, Patricia. 1998. "From Taking Teaching Seriously to Taking Learning Seriously." Plenary address at AAHE National Conference, Atlanta, March 24. Cross, Patricia. 1994. "The Coming of Age of Experiential Education." NSEE Quarterly. Spring [vol 19, no 3]: 1; 22-24. Dewey, John. 1933. How We Think. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. _ _ _ _ . 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Ewell, Peter. 1997. "Organizing for Learning." AAHE Bulletin, December, 1997, pp. 3-6. Freire, Paulo. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Press. _ _ _ _ . 1985. The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation. MA: Bergin and Garvey. Gardner, Howard. 1993. Creating Minds. NY: Basic Books. Hesser, Garry. 1998. "On the Shoulders of Giants: Building on a Tradition of Experiential Education at Augsburg College." in Ed Zlotkowski, Successful Service-LeamingPrograrns: New Models of Excellence in Higher Education. Anker Publishing. _ _ _ . 1995. "Celebrating our Past. .. Embracing our Future" in Augsburg Now p. 4, Spring 1995. Jensen, Patricia and David Kolb. 1994. "Learning and Development". Perspectives on Experiential Education: Prelude to a Global Conversation About Learning. Raleigh, NC: NSEE. Keeton, M.T. & P. Tate. 1978. Learning By Experience--What, Why, How. San Francisco: JosseyBass. Kendall, Jane and Associates. 1987. Strengthening Experiential Education in Your Institution. Raleigh, NC: National Society for Experiential Education. Kolb, David. I 984. Experiential Learning. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Mintz, Suzanne and Garry Hesser. 1996. "Principles of Good Practice in Service-Learning." in Barbara Jacoby, Service-Leaming in Higher Education. SF: Jossey-Bass. Moore, David. 1997. "Thinking about Learning from Experience: A Modest Proposal." NSEE Quarterly. Vol 22, No 4: 12-23. NSEE. 1998. "Foundations of Experiential Education." NSEE Quarterly 23, No 3: 1, 18-22. Palmer, Parker. 1997. The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. _ _ _ _ _ . 1983. To Know As We Are Known. 35 - - - - - . 1987. "Community, Conflict, and Ways of Knowing". Change (vol 19, #5, Sept/October): 20-25. Sheckley, Barry and Susan Wamer Weil. Using Experiential Education to Enhance Leaming: Perspectives and Questions." Perspectives on Experiential Education: Prelude to a Global Conversation About Learning. Raleigh, NC: NSEE. Shulman, Lee. 1998. "Taking Leaming Seriously." Opening Keynote Address, AAHE National Conference, Atlanta, March 22. Torstenson, Joel. 1968. "The Liberal Arts College in the Modern Metropolis." Mpls: Augsburg College. Weil, Susan and Ian McGill. 1989. Making Sense of Experiential Leaming: Diversity in Theory and Practice. UK: Society for Research into Highe Education & Open University. Wutzdorff, Allen. 1994. "Forward". Perspectives on Experiential Education: Prelude to a Global Conversation About Learning. Raleigh, NC: NSEE. 36 ' TEACHING AND LEARNING AT AUGSBURG COLLEGE: EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE "WJ,at is t/,e proper form, role a11dfi111ctio11 of experie11ce to t/,e wide variety of effective lear11i11g pedagogies at A11gsb11rg?" Experiential learning is intertwined in a very profound way with the core of good leaching practices, both in and out of the classroom. It is imJ>erative that our pedagogy and educational programs reflect the insights of scholars and researchers in cognitive psychology, learning and pedagogy. Fortunately, Augsburg College has both a long history and strong set of experiential education programs. Augsburg's location in the midst of a thriving metropolitan community affords an unlimited set of resources for active involvement and the use of learning strategics essential for producing graduates prepared for the 21st Century and consistent with Augsburg's objectives and mission: "to nurture leaders ;,, service to the world by providi11g high <Juality e,lucatio11al opportu11ities which are based in the liberal arts a11d shaped by the faith a11d values of the Christian Church, by the context ofa vital 111etropolita11 setti11g, and by a11 i11te11tio11al/y diverse campus commu11ity. " We propose a continuum of experiential learning. The continuum includes the classroom itself. The continuum of "outside the classroom" experiences runs the gamut from semester long, fully integrated programs to short tenn experiences. This continuum embraces the experiences that our students bring with them and experiential learning pedagogics that add texture and specificity to the classroom, e.g., labs, case studies, simulations, cooperative and collaborative learning, and others. It also involves increased attention to preparation for experience and reflection upon the experience that links course work in ways that transform the educational experience for students. As Augsburg pursues more "learning communities" and approaches lo teaching for engagement, faculty development initiatives can assist the entire faculty in a greater utilization of our urban location. Augsburg must strengthen and support its current efforts and the staff who facilitate our wide range of experiential education programs. At the same time we must expand and deepen our commitment lo and opcralionalizing of the full continuum of experiential education. Our catalog begins with the statement: ..At Augsburg College, we believe that the college experience should he a time of exploratio11, ofdiscove1J 1, of new experiences and new possibilities. We also believe that a liberal arts education is your best preparation for living in the fas/paced. clumging ancl complex world of today mu/ tomorrow. Upon graduatio11, you will he able to demonstrate not only the mastelJ' ofa IIU{jorfielcl ofstudy, hut lllso the ability to think critically, solve problems and communicate c.ffectively. " . The commission reached the conclusion that the kind of learning and meaning making that our catalog describes happens best when experience and reflection are an integral part of everything that we do. As we point the way for Augsburg's future as a unique and effective learning community, this is our answer to "What is the proper form, role and function of experience to the wide variety of effective leanii11g pedagogies at Augsburg?" GENERAL GOALS: (supportive strategics which complement these goals have been listed in the full commission report) 1. Every student should leave Augsburg having participated in at least one offcampus Internship, Cooperative Education and/or semester program which bas as its central focus the linking of first-hand experience with the ideas and concepts of one or more disciplines. 2. Every student should take at least one course which has a service-learning or field study component which explicitly links that experience to the basic ideas of the course. J. Every course taught at Augsburg should maximize the resources available in the metropolitan area as well as the wealth of experience and life-history that eacb student brings to the class. 4. Faculty and staff development should equip the cnth·e community to learn from experience, whether the primary locus is outside the formal bounds of the classroom or the classroom itself. Prepared by the Commission 011 Expcricn tial Pedagogies: Lee /-10011 Be11so11, Carl Casperson. Teny Cook, Helga Egertson, GanJ' Hesser, Letitia Hooyma11, Chris Kimball, Jim Trclstcul-Porter, Frankie Shackelford, Joel Torste11son, Rebekah Valdivia.
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