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Curriculum: Syllabus Construction and Reflection

Jon Merrill

Loyola University Chicago

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The syllabus designed was for Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) 102:

Introduction to Inclusive Community Building in Residence Halls. The purpose of this course is

to provide new undergraduate resident assistants (RAs) with formative training during their first

semester within the position. Two overarching objectives were identified for ELPS 102. As

result of taking this course, resident assistants should be comfortable engaging in conversations

around social identities and be able to increase their self-awareness through reflection.

Logistically, ELPS 102 is a two credit course that meets for an hour and a half once a week.

Each course section will hold around twenty RAs and will be instructed by two staff members

from the Department of Residence life. Focusing on the three core elements of Fink's (2013)

integrated course design, the following section of this paper will examine the learning outcomes,

feedback and assessment, and learning activities utilized in ELPS 102.

Learning Outcomes

According to Fink (2013), having clearly defined and articulated learning outcomes

identifying what students should be getting out of a course is crucial for a learning-centered

approach (Fink, 2013, p. 82). Six learning outcomes were identified for this course in order to

achieve the overarching course objectives. Upon completion of this course, RAs will be able to

(1) articulate their core personal values, (2) identify elements of social justice, (3) connect their

personal values with issues of social justice, (4) utilize communication skills to mediate conflict,

issues of bias, and mental health, (5) use knowledge of reflection skills to increase self-

awareness, and (6) value creating inclusive communities. Each of the six learning outcomes

correlate with one of the major categories in Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning:

foundational knowledge (2), application (4), integration (3), human dimension (1), caring (6),

and learning how to learn (5) (Fink, 2013). Although each of these categories creates an

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impactful learning experience, it is in the intersection of all six that significant learning occurs.

Fink emphasized that through incorporating more of the six different types of learning into the

learning outcomes "…the more likely each kind of learning will happen" (p. 91).

As previously mentioned, the first objective focuses on preparing RAs to be comfortable

engaging in conversations with individuals who hold differing social identities, especially about

their differences. Through the second and fourth learning outcomes, RAs will learn about

different identities and effective communication skills. Through practicing these skills and

raising their foundational knowledge, RAs should be more confident in their ability to engage in

difficult conversations. The second objective revolves around RAs having a more in-depth

understanding of themselves. Through the first and fifth learning outcomes, RAs will creatively

identify their personal values and then learn how to reflect on how these change over time.

Additionally, with the third learning outcome, RAs will continually reflect on how their personal

values connect with content related to social justice. Ideally, through these first five learning

outcomes, RAs will begin to value creating inclusive communities in their position as well as in

future communities they are a part of or create.

Feedback and Assessment

  A key feature of Fink's (2013) model is that all components are integrated - they all

"reflect and support each other" (p. 71). Furthermore, Fink recommended using a backward

design when creating a course by identifying the way students will be assessed and then using

learning activities that will support these assessments. It is the goal of following sections to

begin demonstrating the integration between the three components of ELPS 102. Assignments

were crafted to be educative in nature and provided students with further opportunity for growth

(Fink, 2013). Four assignments were created that have a clear connection to at least one of the

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learning outcomes previously mentioned: expression of personal philosophy, weekly journals,

confrontation video with reflective essay, and e-Portfolio presentation.

  The full description of each assignment can be found within the attached syllabus;

however, the connection to the learning outcomes will be examined in this section. The first

assignment RAs complete is the expression of personal philosophy. This assignment connects to

the first learning outcome. Furthermore, this assignment was inspired by Wagner and

Compton’s (2012) work Creating Innovators. One of the consistent themes throughout this book

was the role creativity plays in generating intrinsic motivation for students to learn. Therefore,

this assignment encourage RAs to not only articulate their personal values, but to do so in a way

that is meaningful for them and connects to their passions.

  The weekly journal assignment connects to the fifth learning outcome and is an ongoing

assignment that focuses on allowing students space to reflect on and connect their experiences

within the position, the values that they have already articulated to the novel information they are

learning within the classroom. This assignment also provides instructors the opportunity to

utilize Fink's (2013) FIDeLity feedback. This assignment provides frequent, immediate, and

discriminating feedback to students in a loving way (Fink, 2013). RAs will complete these

journals during the end of class and instructors will provide feedback on their reflections,

prompting them to challenge themselves further or consider other viewpoints. Although this

assignment will be graded on completion, a rubric will be provided so that RAs understand what

is expected of them in these reflections.

  The confrontation video with reflective essay connects to the fourth learning outcome and

is a mix between forward-looking assessment and self-assessment. Forward-looking assessment

focuses on "authentic tasks" that RAs will complete in their roles and models the assessment

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after these tasks (Fink, 2013, p. 95). RAs will first video record themselves acting out three

different scenarios with a partner. Referring to the videos, they will then complete a written self-

assessment of their performance. As recommended by Fink, students will have an opportunity,

based on the information provided by campus partners, to develop the criteria and standards in

which they will evaluate themselves. Furthermore, this assignment will provide another

opportunity to develop their self-reflection skills.

  Finally, the cumulative assignment for this course will be the e-Portfolio presentations.

This assignment is associated with the third learning outcome and tasks RAs with identifying

themes regarding social justice that arisen in their journals and presenting on how they connect

to their expression of personal values that they articulated in the beginning of the course. This

assignment not only requires RAs to identify what was learned over the semester, but also how

this new knowledge fits into their value system. This is a skill RAs will use in their future;

therefore, this also serves as a pseudo- forwards-looking assessment.

Teaching and Learning Activities

  In broad overview, this course has three distinct 'blocks' – intrapersonal level,

interpersonal level, and community level - that comprises the teaching strategy. The

intrapersonal block focuses on self-awareness and RAs general knowledge of identities and

social justice topics. The next block, having this self-awareness as a foundation, focuses more

on the communication skills necessary for interpersonal connections. The final block focuses on

community-wide concerns and builds off the previous two blocks. Broadly speaking there are

three distinct learning activities that are utilized within the course, each connecting to multiple

learning outcomes.

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In general, active learning experiences are used throughout the classroom. Fink (2013)

specifically identified these type of experiences as “indirect doing experiences” (p.120). In these

type of experiences, students are engaged through such activities as small group problem

solving, role play, and case studies (Fink, 2013). Students are engaged in some type of 'doing'

experience, however, what is being done is representative or students learn vicariously. Two

indirect doing experiences are utilized in ELPS 102 in the form of activities and role play.

Activities are used to allow students to gain a further understanding of their values and issues of

social justice, and were selected from Adams, Bell, and Griffin (2007) work Teaching for

Diversity and Social Justice. This book includes instructions, materials, and facilitation guides

for learning activities that focus on both broad and specific topics of social justice. This is used

during the first and third blocks to engage RAs. The activities used specifically relate back to the

first and second learning outcome. During the second block, students will practice the

communication skills through role play. At the beginning of the three classes that comprise the

second block, campus partners will be invited in to identify the skills necessary to mediate

conflict, address mental health concerns and bias incidents. The following portion of the class

time will allow RAs the opportunity to practice these skills with their peers. This learning

activity specifically relates to the fourth learning outcome and prepares students for the

confrontation video and reflective essay assignment.

  The journals, in addition to being an assessment and feedback tool, also serve as a

learning activity. Fink (2013) classified reflection as learning activities that encourage students

to make meaning of the information that has just been learned. Overall, the journals serve as the

primary learning tool for the fifth and third learning outcomes. More specifically, the fifth

learning outcome focuses on students learning how to reflect on their experiences and identities.

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This is accomplished through weekly journals where staff continually offer feedback to RAs on

how to further challenge themselves. Additionally, the focus of reflection is on connecting RA's

values and experiences with the different content that is being covered in class that day.

Therefore, RAs are also practicing for their cumulative project.

Reflection of Syllabus Creation

  Overall, I enjoyed the process of creating a syllabus. Integrating the course on all levels

made it easier for me to understand the intentionally between the different components. The

easiest part throughout this process was making sure the course was integrated on a linear level.

In other words, it was easy to integrate one learning outcome with one assignment and one

learning activity. For example, in the syllabus I found it very easy to integrate the second block

focused on the interpersonal communication skills. The learning outcome was focused on using

communication skills and was assessed through forward-looking role play. It then made sense

for RAs to practice these skills within the classroom where they could get feedback from their

peers. However, the difficult part for me was attempting to integrate across all of the learning

outcomes. While crafting my syllabus I tried to incorporate multiple learning outcomes into

specific assignments and learning activities. From the previous example, the assessment used

was the confrontation video with reflective essay. The reflective essay portion of the assignment

was an attempt to also integrate the learning outcome focused on developing self-reflection

skills. I think the process of integrating multiple learning outcomes throughout the various

components is where Fink's model loses traction. However, this is slightly in conflict with his

earlier sentiment that being able to incorporate multiple types of learning experiences into one

assignment produces more significant learning.

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  I approached integrating multiple learning outcomes into specific assignments by

creating a learning outcome that focused on this integration. Specifically, the third learning

outcome focuses on learning how to connect RA’s values with issues of social justice. These

two components - personal values and issues of social justice – correlate with the first two

learning outcomes. Therefore, when structuring the remaining components, I needed to create

learning opportunities and assessment where students would be able to connect the first two

learning outcomes. This approached helped to connect the course as a whole; however, I still

had difficulty connecting the interpersonal skills that were focused on in block two to the entire

course. I was able to partially navigate this challenge through the weekly journals - students had

the opportunity to reflect on how the skills they were learning were applicable. Ideally, the skills

they are learning in this block would be used and built upon in the class dialogues.

  Another challenge that I ran into was needing to reconsider situational factors as I

developed my syllabus. These factors were taken into consideration when I first began to

develop my syllabus, but re-emerged as I began to think about learning activities. Specifically,

Fink (2013) identified that a third activity that promoted active learning was getting information

and ideas (in addition to experiencing and reflecting). In reading through other syllabi, this was

accomplished through assigned readings outside of class. I realized that the course I was

designing would be in addition to the academic requirements that RAs would need to complete

as student. Furthermore, the RA position already required a significant amount of time, and this

class and any other assignments outside of class would be competing with time they had to

complete their other academic responsibilities. I felt that students would be more likely to

engage within this class more fully if it was not competing with their primary responsibilities as

students. Therefore, outside of the three core assignments, I decided that all other learning

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activities would be completed during the scheduled class time. Using Adams et al., I focused on

finding learning activities that would engage them with key topics during the class and allowed

time and space for reflection to further make meaning of these concepts. Since this class was a

co-curricular requirement and not necessarily part of their academic responsibilities - it was

important for me to justify how I was using their time.

  Overall, this assignment challenged me to approach learning-centered pedagogy both

intentionally and creatively. One area that I wanted to improve in was being more intentionally

in creating learning experiences for students - following Fink's (2013) model of integrated course

design provided me with a practical experience. However, no model or theory is perfect and

there were places where my syllabus construction troubleshooted Fink's model. These

disconnects, especially when it came to integrating multiple learning outcomes across the,

created the opportunity for me to introduce some creativity into my syllabus.

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References

Adams, M. J., Bell, L. A., & Griffin P. (2007). Teaching for diversity and social justice

(2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wagner, T., & Compton, R. A. (2012). Creating innovators: The making of young people who

will change the world. New York: Scribner.

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LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGOSCHOOL OF EDUCATION

ELPS 102 (001): Introduction to Inclusive Community Building in Residence HallsFall 2015

Thursday, 1-2:30PMMundelein 612

Instructor Information:

Jonathan MerrillAssistant Resident Director, Department of Residence LifeOffice Phone: (773) 508-3680E-mail: jmerrill@luc.edu

Tim GriffinResidential Director, Department of Residence LifeOffice Phone: (773) 508-8961E-mail: tgriffin3@luc.edu

Office HoursOffice hours are scheduled by appointment.

Description:

This course is designed to increase resident assistant’s competence in building inclusive communities and is supplemental to the positional training offered in August. Specific attention will be paid to developing skills in intrapersonal reflection and interpersonal communication skills. Resident assistants will need to be aware of their intrapersonal processes and values and how these impact their interpersonal and community relationship in order to understand how to build inclusive communities with their residents. This course will prepare resident assistants for service as competent, well-balanced student staff in Loyola University Chicago’s diverse residential communities.

Objectives & Outcome:

Course Objectives:As result of taking this course, resident assistants will be comfortable in engaging in conversations with people who hold different identities about their differences as well as have a greater understanding of their self. Ideally, students will be motivated to continue to practice of self-reflection in their everyday lives.

Learning Outcomes:Upon completion of this course, resident assistants will be able to:

1. Articulate their core personal values.2. Identify elements of social justice. 3. Connect their personal values with issues of social justice.

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4. Utilize communication skills to mediate conflict, issues of bias, and mental health.

5. Use knowledge of reflection skills to increase self-awareness. 6. Value creating inclusive communities.

Institutional Policies & Philosophies:

Academic Honesty Academic honesty is an expression of interpersonal justice, responsibility and care, applicable to Loyola University faculty, students, and staff, which demands that the pursuit of knowledge in the university community be carried out with sincerity and integrity. The School of Education’s Policy on Academic Integrity can be found at: http://www.luc.edu/education/academics_policies_integrity.shtml. For additional academic policies and procedures refer to: http://www.luc.edu/education/academics_policies_main.shtml

AccessibilityStudents who have disabilities which they believe entitle them to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should register with the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSWD) office. To request accommodations, students must schedule an appointment with an SSWD coordinator. Students should contact SSWD at least four weeks before their first semester or term at Loyola.  Returning students should schedule an appointment within the first two weeks of the semester or term. The University policy on accommodations and participation in courses is available at: http://www.luc.edu/sswd/

Harassment (Bias Reporting)It is unacceptable and a violation of university policy to harass, discriminate against or abuse any person because of his or her race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, age or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Such behavior threatens to destroy the environment of tolerance and mutual respect that must prevail for this university to fulfill its educational and health care mission. For this reason, every incident of harassment, discrimination or abuse undermines the aspirations and attacks the ideals of our community. The university qualifies these incidents as incidents of bias.

In order to uphold our mission of being Chicago's Jesuit Catholic University-- a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice and faith, any incident(s) of bias must be reported and appropriately addressed. Therefore, the Bias Response (BR) Team was created to assist members of the Loyola University Chicago community in bringing incidents of bias to the attention of the university. If you believe you are subject to such bias, you should notify the Bias Response Team at this link: http://webapps.luc.edu/biasreporting/

Electronic Communication Policies and GuidelinesThe School of Education faculty, students and staff respect each other’s rights, privacy and access to electronic resources, services, and communications while in the pursuit of

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academic and professional growth, networking and research. All members of the university community are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of integrity, communication, and responsibility while accessing and utilizing technology, information resources, and computing facilities. A link to the Loyola University Chicago and School of Education official policies and guidelines can be found at: http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/education/pdfs/SOE_Cyberbullying_Policy.pdf

Requirements & Expectations:

AttendanceAs a supplemental course to the resident assistant position, this class will only meet once per week. Therefore, you must be present to engage fully in the course content. I understand that sometimes life priorities can make this challenging. However, the expectation is that you will be present for the full class session each week. Should you miss a class, arrive late, or leave early, you are responsible for identifying and obtaining missed material from your peers. Please notify the instructor via email prior to the start of class should you need to be absent. Any absence will result in the loss of participation points for that day. Routinely arriving or leaving late will result in the loss of participation points as well.

Preparation This course is designed using a traditional seminar format in which much of the learning is emerged from group discussion, activities, and student engagement with each topic. As such, preparation through completion of each week’s readings as well as thoughtful reflection on the topics are critical not only for each individual’s intellectual development, but the group’s collective development as well. Readings and multimedia sources have been purposefully selected for their relevance to the given topic and contribution to the overall literature. Given much thought has gone into the readings, students are expected to complete them in advance of each class.

ParticipationGiven the seminar format of this course design, student participation in discussions and learning activities is critical. However, it is important to note that how a student participates is often a function of their particular learning style. Therefore, participation is less about the frequency with which a student engages in class discussion and more about the quality of the contributions. For the purposes of this course, participation is valued in which students build upon one another’s comments, provide meaningful connections to practice, share critical observations and insights on a topic, and generally increase the complexity and richness of the discussion. Students are also encouraged to act as gatekeepers to the conversation and encourage the participation of others as well as pose questions to one another. To achieve this, a variety of pedagogical approaches are used to ensure that each individual’s preferred learning style is addressed over the course of the semester.

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Civil DiscourseAlthough deep and meaningful learning often comes as a result of cognitive and emotional dissonance, I firmly believe that transformative learning is the result of compassionate learning communities in which individuals feel both challenged and supported. The underlying expectation of this course is that participants will approach one another with the same ethic of care and developmental concern with which they deal with students. This approach requires a willingness to engage in critical and controversial, but ultimately civil discourse aimed at advancing our individual and collective knowledge. Students are expected to engage in social perspective-taking, a skill that requires both empathy and the ability to acknowledge multiple points of view.

EmailEmail will be used as the primary mode of correspondence for this course. As such, it is imperative that you activate your Loyola University Chicago account and check it daily. Please also check your Loyola spam mail and mail foundry to ensure course related messages are not misdirected.

Assignments, Evaluation, & Grading:

Assignment Expectations: Assignments are due at the time specified in the course syllabus and should be submitted according to the directions provided. Assignments are expected to be turned in on time so please plan appropriately to avoid unnecessary penalties. Any assignment submitted after the due date will be reduced by a half letter grade. An additional full letter grade reduction will be applied for each 24 hour period after the original time due. Extensions will not be granted. Note that the instructor will not hunt down missing assignments and it is your responsibility to ensure that they are turned in by the stated deadlines.

Note that if an assignment fails to follow the instructions provided, a grade of zero will be assigned. This includes adherence to page lengths and formatting as well as addressing the core content specified for each assignment. Detailed explanations of assignments are provided in the assignments section of the Sakai site. Students are encouraged to consult with the instructor regarding any questions associated with assignments. Additionally, most assignments will be submitted electronically through the Sakai system with clear instructions on how to do so.

For all assignments focused on writing, please use the following guidelines when writing your papers: Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1 inch margins. Cite all references in-text and in a separate reference section at the end of the paper. Students will be provided substantial feedback regarding content, structure, and grammar. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the feedback provided for an assignment is integrated into the next assignment. If problems repeatedly appear across assignments, the percentage of point deduction will be increased

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NOTE: Students should not exceed the suggested length of assignments as dictated by the full assignment descriptions.

All coursework and assignments must be completed by the end of the term as grades of incomplete are generally not assigned. The following point distribution will be used to determine the final course grade:

Total Points Earned Final Grade100 – 94 A93 – 90 A-89 – 87 B+86 – 84 B83 – 80 B-79 – 77 C+76 – 74 C73 – 70 C-69 – 60 D59 – 0 F

Assignment Approach: Assignments and potential point distributions are detailed below:

Express 20 pointsWeekly Journals 20 points Confrontation Video & Reflective Essay 30 pointse-Portfolio Presentation 30 points Total 100 points

Expression of Personal Philosophy – Students will be tasked with articulating their personal philosophy and value system. Students are encouraged to express their personal philosophy and values in a creative form – poetry, art, etc – but writing a traditional paper is also acceptable. Traditional papers should be 2-3 pages in length. Students interested in pursuing a more creative form to express their personal philosophy will need to provide a short paragraph (no longer than 1 page) to curate their submission.

Weekly Journals – Students will be provided journals and will be required to complete a short journal reflection on assigned weeks. In these reflections, students are asked to connect their current experiences within the resident assistant position and personal values to topics of social justice and other related course content. Ten minutes will be allotted at the end of class for students to complete these journal reflections. Instructors will collect these journals and provide feedback for each entry.

Confrontation Video with Reflective Essay – In groups of two, students will video tape themselves addressing a conflict, bias incident, and mental health concern. Each student

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will complete a scenario in each of these three areas. Using the criteria established within class, students will then write a 3-5 page reflection where they will evaluate and reflect on their performance.

e-Portfolio Presentation – Students will develop and e-Portfolio and present it to the class. Students will identify themes of social justice that have arisen in their journal entries throughout the semester and connect them with their expression of personal philosophy statement.

Evaluative Rubric:Assignments in this course will be graded according to rubrics provided in advance. This should aid students in focusing on the specific areas of evaluation. Different assignments draw on different learning outcomes with specific evaluative criteria outlined in the detailed assignment descriptions.

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Sequence/ Weekly Calendar

DATE TOPIC ASSIGNMENT DUEAugust 27 Course Description and Expectations

Course Expectations Ice Breakers and Team Builders

September 3

Identification of Values In-Class : Values Activity

September 10

Principles of Social Justice In-Class Activity: Social Group

Membership Profile

Express & Journal #1

September 17

Communication Skills: Mental Health Skills In-Class: Guest Presenter from Wellness

Center In-Class Activity: Role Play

Journal #2

September 24

Communication Skills: Conflict Mediation In-Class: Guest Presenter from OSCCR In-Class Activity: Role Play

Journal #3

October 1 Communication Skills: Bias Incidents In-Class: Guest Presenter from SDMA In-Class Activity: Role Play

Journal #4

October 8 Behind Closed Door In-Class Activity: Behind Closed Doors Group Discussion: What is a set of criteria

for evaluating “good” performance in these skills?

Journal #5

October 15 What is Community?

Class Activity: Self-Assessment Discussion

Class will convene over dinner at a restaurant chosen by the class

Confrontation Video & Reflective Essay

October 22 Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: Denial In-Class Activity: Exploring Privilege and

Disadvantage In Class Dialogue

Journal #6

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October 29 Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: Defense In-Class Activity: Multiple Identity Wheel In Class Dialogue

Journal #7

October 29 Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: Minimization

In-Class Activity: Micro-aggressions In Class Dialogue

Journal #8

November 5 Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: Acceptance In-Class Activity: Critical Incident Review In Class Dialogue

Journal #9

November 12

Model of Intercultural Sensitivity: Adaptation & Integration

In-Class Activity: What is an Ally? What is Empowerment?

In Class Dialogue

Journal #10

November 19

Presentations e-Portfolio

November 26

Thanksgiving Break

December 3 Presentations