Elements of Student Commitment
In every learning situation, success depends in large part on how committed the participants are to themselves, to the community of learners, and to the process of learning. Commitment to self entails a belief that one’s potential is not limited by current abilities; that every learner can learn to learn better (2.3.1 Introduction to Process Education). Commitment to the community of learners involves accepting a shared vision in a cooperative venture and being willing to participate fully, even though participation may entail significant risk-taking in front of others and the need to work past failure of self and others. Commitment to the process of learning requires openness to diverse learning approaches, such as active learning (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991), cooperative learning (Millis & Cottell, 1998), and reflective learning or metacognition (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Students also need to be open to faculty efforts to build commitment.
Elements of Faculty Commitment
Most faculty are committed to their discipline and to their course content, but this alone will not result in shared commitment. A faculty member must also show passion for student learning, create a mood of trust within the learning environment, challenge student performance, and believe in the unlimited ability of students to grow as learners. Faculty must convince students of their commitment to student growth and to student success in the course and beyond. Students must know that faculty have their best interests at heart. To create a foundation for negotiating shared commitment, faculty can use tools such as organized classroom management and effective time management.
Techniques for Negotiating Commitment
Once both students and faculty are willing to commit themselves to the learning process, the facilitator needs to negotiate a public declaration of this shared commitment. Here are two approaches.
Analyzing a Learning Contract
One technique is for the facilitator to hand out a list of expectations for performance for both himself or herself and also for the students. (See Figure 1 for an example.) The students discuss this list in teams; they decide which elements are acceptable, and add additional ones. From the team reports, a common list can be created and all parties sign the bottom and receive a copy. It should be emphasized that the course involves a non-traditional learning environment, so it is important to think outside the box. For example, students will not be lectured about material that can easily be read from the book outside of class. In class, they will take part in activities that require them to work through the material, learning to understand it in their own way.
Drafting a Learning Contract
Another technique is to have teams brainstorm a list of what they hope to gain from the learning experience of the course. As this list is inventoried, the teams create another list of what each party will have to do to reach that outcome. From this second list, a shared commitment agreement can be drawn up and signed. There are many modifications of this technique. For example, students can brainstorm the top five things about their earlier courses they want to keep and the top five things they want to change. As these lists are inventoried, the facilitator may or may not agree to avoid behavior falling in the first list and adopt recommended changes from the second list. After making sure the other teams agree with each proposal, the facilitator can describe his or her expectations about how the students would have to behave in order for the change to work. From this list of behaviors a shared commitment document can be prepared and signed.
Once the commitment has been negotiated, it is important that both students and faculty hold each other accountable to fulfill the shared agreement.
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Faculty Holding Students Accountable
After each student has signed the public commitment agreement, often called a learning contract, it is the responsibility of the instructor to hold them to it. During every interaction with the student, both in and out of class, the faculty member looks for ways to challenge the student to improve his or her performance. It is important to carry a copy of the learning contract, so that, should the student resist the performance challenge, the instructor can remind him or her about the signed commitment. It is best to do this in private if at all possible, unless peer pressure to excel is necessary. A good way to talk privately with each student is to set up a sequence of performance reviews. Similar to performance reviews in business or industry, this scheduled meeting allows both faculty and student to review their level of commitment to the course, to negotiate adjustments in the contract, to set performance goals, and to review grade expectations.
Students Holding Faculty Accountable
Because of the disparity in power between students and faculty, many students are reluctant to challenge a faculty member. It is, therefore, important to build opportunities into a course for students to give feedback in a formal assessment process. Three natural opportunities are the mid-term evaluation, the learning assessment journal, and the performance review discussed above. A recommended time for the performance review is about four weeks into a course, usually after the first exam or equivalent assignment. At that time faculty can solicit feedback from each student, asking each to give strengths, areas for improvements and insights about the course (3.3.6 Mid-Term Assessment). Students can mention deficiencies in faculty commitment as an area for improvement. The learning assessment journal contains a free writing section that is perfect for a student to express frustrations about faculty commitment. Faculty should collect and read the journals early in the term. No matter how the faculty member becomes aware that some students are disappointed in the level of faculty commitment, the instructor should address the issue openly in class and either announce changes to conform to the shared commitment agreement or discuss the reasons why it is not possible make the changes at that time.
Concluding Thoughts
Shared commitment among faculty and students in a learning experience is a precondition for building a quality learning environment. It takes maturity on the part of both students and faculty to make and keep such a commitment. Faculty may find it awkward and students may find it embarrassing to challenge each other to fulfill the public agreement. Fortunately, Process Education philosophy and practice encompasses a number of strategies and techniques which make it easier to hold each other accountable, resulting in rich and dynamic learning experiences.
References
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991). Active learning: Cooperation in the college classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction.
Millis, B. J., & Cottell, P. G. (1998). Cooperative learning for higher education faculty. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.