Research shows that when students make personal connections in college, they are more likely to persist in their pursuit of personal, career, or educational goals (Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews, & Smith, 1990). The Learning-to-Learn Camp is an excellent opportunity for students to build community with peers and with staff that can enhance their connectivity during their first year at college. Some have referred to the camp experience as a boot camp for college. In five days, participants are given a taste of the college experience: managing an intense workload and meeting deadlines, making choices and processing the consequences of those choices, developing time management skills, exploring the importance of setting short and long-term goals, recognizing the significance of self-validation and continuous self-assessment, and discovering (for many) that learning can be fun. Camp participants assess their skills in meeting these challenges in ways that will help them successfully complete their first semester in college. When students take the ownership for their learning, they realize just how different college expectations are from those experienced in high school, and they build the self-confidence needed to take control of their lives. The following testimonials by camp participants at Madison Area Technical College, Sinclair Community College, and the University of the District of Columbia underscore these benefits.

“The Learning to Learn Camp brought me closer to myself and helped me learn that I don’t have to be afraid of college.”

“In this one week alone I have learned how to think more in-depth and how to assess myself and find out what I need to do for the next day. I never thought I could do what I’m doing, challenging myself.”

“I have become more confident in what I can accomplish in and out of school.”

“It taught me a lot—time management was especially valuable.”

“I learned how to handle stress.”

“It was fast-paced, hard work, but very worthwhile.”

“You fail only if you don’t try.”

“The camp staff helped make all students feel comfortable about themselves and learning.”

Benefits to Faculty and Staff

The Learning-to-Learn Camp provides a collegial environment where faculty, staff, and administrators come together with the common goal of producing a quality learning environment. The camp staff have a unique opportunity to improve their skills in mentoring, assessment, facilitation, communication, and peer coaching. Camp participation encourages faculty to experiment with new teaching methods, further refine their affect management skills, and develop their desire to be risk-takers and to become self-growers (3.3.1 Overview of Effective Teaching Practices). Networking with other faculty and staff helps instill a respect for the diversity of skills and roles of other staff. After the camp, as a result of their newfound capabilities and connectivity to the greater school community, staff often become role models in their own institutions. The two most common discoveries for staff during the week of the camp are the destructive role that enabling has on student growth and how much more students can accomplish than is often expected of them. These discoveries are illustrated in the following sample of faculty/staff comments.

“I’ve changed how I teach, how I assess and evaluate......The camp completely changed me as a teacher.”

“The changes are subtle, but important. I turn more control over to the students.”

“The experience reaffirmed my belief in self-directed learning. It stimulated me to use student self-assessments as a tool to foster critical thinking analysis skills.”

“As faculty we were witnesses to genuine life transformations in attitude and self-image. In addition, as faculty we were mentoring one another all day long.”

“The camp is a living laboratory of the power of mentoring.”

“The Learning-to-Learn Camp is the only opportunity we have for faculty to be in a laboratory setting with real students and therefore to see firsthand what works and what doesn’t work.”

“The Learning-to-Learn Camp takes process learning from intellectual theory to reality.”

“Working with staff and faculty from across disciplines promotes bonding and appreciation of the work of others. A few hours here and there cannot begin to approach the effects of intense work over long hours for a full week.”

“During the Learning-to-Learn Camp, we learn from each other by actually seeing one another work with students and by giving and receiving structured and informal feedback. Teachers get very little professional level feedback on performance, and it is both affirming and challenging to have that opportunity.”

Concluding Thoughts

The Learning-to-Learn Camp is laboratory for transforming our students and ourselves. The week-long retreat-like experience provides an opportunity for all those involved to step aside from the everyday roles and behaviors that impose a glass ceiling on their personal and professional growth. For students, the focus on learning skills, the writing of a life vision portfolio, and mentoring relationships significantly enhance the likelihood of college success. For faculty and staff, the success of the camp is often an awakening to the potential of Process Education in the classroom. For administrators, Learning-to Learn-Camps can be welcome catalysts for cultural change at their institutions.

References