Winter 2003 Feature

Brown Foundation Awards PMC $3 Million Challenge

[ return to Brown Foundation Challenge page ]

Leadership Learning: Academic and Co-Curricular Programs

Outcomes-Based Education

At PMC we recognize that learning is a relationship between and among learners that requires the active engagement of the participants to be successful and that integrates the processes of learning and its assessment in each academic field. Learning is not simply viewed as instruction that is given by the professor to the students with results that are measured by tests. Each student is required to demonstrate through a portfolio her proficiency in 12 specific learning outcomes, each of which has an immediate relevancy to ilsr: effective communication; information literacy; computer proficiency; critical thinking; quantitative reasoning; application of knowledge; effective team and inclusive leadership skills; multicultural perspective; ethical perspective; creativity and the arts; breadth of knowledge of the contemporary world and its roots; and depth of knowledge.

Portfolio Learning Program

A portfolio system of assessment documents the student's progress toward the 12 outcomes. Each student is required to prepare (and regularly update) a personal portfolio in conjunction with her professors and advisors, documenting her social and intellectual growth and development. This portfolio consists of representative artifacts chosen by the student and drawn broadly from her life. They may include academic papers prepared for courses, images in print or video, computer presentations, products produced during internships or community service, and personal items. As students develop their portfolios they are encouraged to make connections between classroom learning and the learning that takes place elsewhere, to identify what they wish to gain from their college years, to key in on strengths and weaknesses, and to actively direct their own education. The work in the labor-intensive portfolios is not graded, but portfolio completion is a requirement for graduation. The opportunity to work with professors who are focused on the individual student as a whole person is a critical component of an education that is well integrated and is keyed to assisting each student in the inclusive processes of change, growth, and leadership.

ilsr Themes in Course Content

The College is engaged in a systematic review of the curriculum and co-curriculum to assure that the principles of ilsr are being integrated into those areas. Over the next two years the faculty will review their programs and courses for discipline-related content that underscores the fundamental liberal arts roots of ilsr principles. Progress to date includes: An introductory course in Leadership and a course in Conflict Resolution have been added to the curriculum; a community action research component has been added to the social science research methods courses, merging the needs of community groups for data and analysis with the teaching of the methodology of social science research; an honors course in social responsibility.

Four-Year Leadership Program

A review of co-curricular programming has included the refocusing of the Four-Year Leadership Program away from programs for specific groups of students (first-year through senior) to offering every aspect of the program to all students. The challenge is to create sufficient opportunities for all students while allowing some students to concentrate in the programs if they wish. An “ilsr transcript” will serve as a permanent record of the student's participation in the ilsr experiences. Examples of programming include: a conflict resolution/peer training program, to be expanded; Office of Career Services programming to demonstrate the relevance of ilsr in the workplace and to continue providing a diverse network of women as role models; a campuswide community service task force to make service a more visible activity on all fronts. Student Life staff are committed to emphasizing the principles of ilsr in their work with students, connecting experiences to ilsr themes.

Leadership Retreats

At the beginning of her first year of study, each student is encouraged to take part in a two-day, off-campus retreat designed to give all of the new students a common frame of reference for the principles of inclusive leadership and social responsibility. Student Life staff and faculty participate with groups of 20 to 30 students in each retreat.

Through a series of group experiences, exercises, writing assignments, and discussion, students explore their own personal stereotypes and look for commonalities in their feelings and beliefs, in the way they relate with each other, in the way they tackle problems, and in the way they propose solutions. Students also engage in action planning as a way of introducing system thinking and focus on strengthening their community. All of these activities help students forge strong bonds with each other, reduce frictions caused by stereotypes, and elicit a greater commitment to working together as women to create an inclusive, participatory community. At the request of students, Leadership Retreats will be expanded to allow upper-level students to participate.

Community Service

All students are encouraged to give back to the community by participating in various community service projects. A campuswide Community Service Task Force helps to heighten the visibility of service projects, to make students aware of the needs of various members of the local community, and to encourage their active collaboration in meeting those needs. Most student organizations, including all of the athletic programs, have a community service component as part of their year-long activities. Students teach song, dance, art, and sculpture to younger children in the local schools. They make audio recordings of books for the blind. They help maintain and restore sites of historic significance in the local area. They serve as tutors, mentors, and coaches.

Internships and Career Services

During the fall semester, all seniors are required to spend 16 hours a week as interns in positions reflecting their interests and their majors. Each internship is designed to complement the student's learning experiences and to help her sharpen specific skills and abilities. Students have worked in radio and television newsrooms, in police forensics labs and in medical research labs, in classrooms, and in various public health professions. They have developed advertising and public relations campaigns for various clients and they have designed Web pages. Many students have created jobs for themselves as a result of their internships and all have gained invaluable experience. The Office of Career Services also works with students as they explore various career paths and routinely sets up talks and presentations on campus by successful women in various fields. One of its major roles is to provide networking opportunities for both current undergraduates and alumnae. Career Services and the Office of Alumnae Relations collaborate to introduce students to successful alumnae who serve as mentors, resources, and role models.