Session Title: Developing Community Based Learning & Anchor Strategy to Support Transferable 21st Century Skills with College Graduates
Your Name and Title: Dr. Kristen Betts, Clinical Professor
School or Organization Name: Drexel University
Co-Presenter Name(s): Dr. Cyndi Rickards & Jennifer Johnson Kebea
Area of the World from Which You Will Present: United States
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience(s): Teachers, Faculty, Educators, Administrators, Students
Short Session Description (one line): Learn how Drexel University’s Side-by-Side Community Based Learning courses and anchor strategy support civic learning, democratic engagement, and preparing students for career placement, career transition, and advanced studies
Full Session Description (as long as you would like): Institutions of higher education have a longstanding commitment to democratic engagement and civic learning. This commitment is most apparent in institutional missions, visions, and strategic plans as well as co-curricular programs that emphasize civic engagement, experience with diverse populations, a responsiveness to globalization, and transferable 21st Century skills. However, employers suggest that recent college graduates do not have the desired skills needed for employment and are underprepared. While course evaluations traditionally assess academic course content achievement and student opinion, subsequently they neglect to assess whether larger university goals of 21st-century skills emerge and students’ abilities to transfer their understandings to real-world situations.
This presentation has three parts:
The first part of the presentation identifies skills that employers want in new college graduates as well as comparative data from employers and students on employment preparedness.
The second part of the presentation provides data from a study that examines acquisition of 21st-century skills within Drexel University’s Side-by-Side Community- Based Learning Courses offered during the spring 2015 term. This study used the National Student Survey of Engagement (NSSE) survey to measure the acquisition of 21st-century skills in four topical modules. These modules are short sets of questions covering: (1) experiences with diverse populations, (2) transferable skills, (3) civic engagement, (4) global perspectives, and (5) course engagement. Data from this study reveal that students who completed their required course, “Foundations in Civic Engagement” had greater engagement and global perspective skills upon completion of the Side-by-Side course. Additionally, individual NSSE survey items suggest that students became more aware of opportunities on campus and in their community, students increased their “ability to lead a diverse group where people feel included” and “contribute to the well-being of their community.” Furthermore, students report the ability to “learn on your own” as a result of the course. The results of the study provide institutions with information useful for aligning larger university goals of civic learning and democratic engagement with course curriculum and academic experience.
The third part of this presentation introduces the concept of the “anchor institution” and research being conducted at Drexel University on how colleges and universities worldwide can serve as anchor institutions within their communities, while also being inclusive of student involvement in the anchor strategy. As an anchor institution and through anchor strategy, colleges and universities can develop democratic engagement and civic learning opportunities for students. Embracing an anchor strategy uniquely positions an institution as a “citizen” within the community. In this capacity, college and universities have an opportunity to model an authentic and democratic form of engagement to their students. Students have the opportunity to enhance civic learning through knowledge building and participation in the anchor strategy of the institution. Connecting these two concepts presents a compelling case for colleges and universities to consider how the role of the anchor institution might support student civic learning and democratic engagement.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:
- Lindy Center for Civic Engagement: http://drexel.edu/lindycenter/
- A New Kind of Classroom: http://askmagazine.org/a-new-kind-of-classroom/
- Side-by-Side Program & People First: https://peoplefirstdrexel.wordpress.com/
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