|
An essential
part of learner-centered curriculum is growing student learning skills. A
Learning to Learn Camp is an intensive week-long experience that transforms
student expectations of college and sets them up for success across the
curriculum. Pacific Crest has been facilitating Learning to Learn camps for many
years for many types of students, but there is always one common result: the
students want everyone they know to have the Learning to Learn Camp experience.
For example,
at Hinds Community College, students who had been unsuccessful in the nursing
programs were given a second chance and they really dug in with
determination. Although the Camp is tough, requiring that the students complete
20 activities in Foundations of Learning, a 20-page Life Vision
Portfolio, and a 6 to 10 page Personal Growth paper in just four days,
students can rise to the challenge. At Hinds more than half of the 42
participants completed the camp at the highest level to be Star Performers.
Other Camps
in 2009 have focused on developmental math students and on engineering students,
but just about any group can benefit, including honors students. The Camp also
works just fine with a cross-section of typical students early in their college
or late in their high school years. Every Camp contains some of the same
essentials, but is tailored to the specific needs of the host institution and
the participants.
What are
some of the behavioral differences because of the student’s camp
experience? After having experienced successes and
failures, students exhibit confidence in
their ability to perform in a variety of areas, including listening, reading,
writing, time management, problem identification, and teamwork.
|
 |
At
the same time, the faculty and staff of the host school get to experience a
unique growth opportunity of their own. When do faculty members get to see
expert facilitators at work, consult with others in planning their own
facilitation, and then get peer feedback in a supportive atmosphere? At
Learning to Learn Camp that happens every day, as the faculty model for
students that learning is a way of life. Faculty and staff from diverse
disciplines find that they have common ground in their desire to help
students—and one another—to succeed. What is abstract in faculty development
institutes becomes concrete in Camp. |
Also faculty
get to know students much more personally than in many class situations, which
carries over into deeper understanding of the many issues that students have to
handle today. Camp faculty emerge with greater confidence in the ability of
students to respond to challenge in a positive way, a strong impression of the
power of cooperative learning, and stronger relationships of trust and respect
for one another.
What Staff, Coaches, and Instructors Have to Say
-
"I plan
to revamp my math courses following this model."
-
"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."
-
"It
stimulated me to use student self-assessments as a tool to foster critical
thinking analysis skills."
-
"Self-assessment—what an economical tool. It costs five minutes of your time
and can give a lifetime of returns."
-
"The
camp is a living laboratory of the power of mentoring."
|
