Education Commons^™

Student-Faculty Partnerships In Curricula, Kari Goin Kono, Sophia Ryker

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

This is a peer reviewed blog article offering ideas about student engagement with curriculum development.

Teaching Sustainability: Recommendations For Best Pedagogical Practices, Heather L. Burns, Sybil S. Kelley, Heather E. Spalding

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although sustainability has become a key focus in higher education, developing a better understanding of how sustainability competencies can be cultivated in college and university courses and programs is still needed. This article argues that learners who are to become capable of affecting holistic sustainable change, transforming values and culture, healing the earth and human communities, and designing creative solutions, must have the opportunity to engage in learning processes that reflect these learning outcomes. We outline key elements of sustainability pedagogy and suggest best pedagogical practices for designing engaging and holistic sustainability learning, and highlight these practices through a sustainability …

Modify And Adjust: Senior Inquiry As A Transformative Whole-School Program For Race And Social Justice, Andrew Kulak, Sarah Dougher, Michael Mooradian Lupro, Sonja Taylor

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Senior Inquiry is a dual-credit bridge program partnership between University Studies and regional school districts. The partnerships with Portland Public Schools have prioritized serving first-generation students and other underserved populations. As the program has grown, equity concerns among the collaborative teaching teams prompted experimenting with a whole-school model at Jefferson High School Middle College for Advanced Studies while working within the frame of the course theme of Race and Social Justice. This article documents how the Jefferson Senior Inquiry team attempts to authentically address the accumulated systemic inequities encountered by students in our classrooms. Student-centered pedagogy must be modified and …

Eportolios And Self-Reflection: Equity, Race, And Social Justice, Oscar Fernandez

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this presentation, attendance members learn how ePortfolios--and eWorkbooks--help students recognize their sense of belonging on a college campus. By asking a series of equity-minded, student-centered questions, the CEWE eWorkbook is a toolkit for assessing whether or not resources on campus are diverse and equitable for a variety of learners.

The Sharing Campus Equity Walkthrough Evaluation (CEWE) eWorkbook is available online: https://pebblepad.com/spa/#/public/GctzZ7RbZczmzs3q4q4jp3zRWy?historyId=Rsz4bQlCTk

Rubrics As A Foundation For Assessing Student Competencies: One Public Administration Program’S Creative Exercise, Billie Sandberg, Kevin Kecskes

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since implementation of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) standards for accreditation in 2009, public administration programs have been developing programmatic competencies that reflect NASPAA’s universal standards. Likewise, myriad efforts have analyzed data related to student and program progress toward achievement of these competencies. This article adds to that conversation by recounting the approach to assessing competencies used in the Department of Public Administration at Portland State University. There, newly developed rubrics reflect each of the department’s 10 competencies to examine whether students are acquiring the desired knowledge and skills. This article discusses the development …

Sustaining Innovation: Capstones, Curriculum, And Community Partnerships At Portland State University, Amy Spring

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland State University (PSU) is honored to have the opportunity to create this special issue of Metropolitan Universities. “Curricular Innovation: Engaged Capstones at Portland State University” has offered PSU the meaningful opportunity to reflect and identify some of the hallmarks that have contributed to the successful launch, evolution, and sustainability of the university’s community engagement efforts. This publication shares the story and the lessons derived from PSU’s innovative general education reform, particularly in regard to the senior-level capstone which is the signature and culminating aspect of our community-engaged curriculum. Articles also review complementary pedagogical practices and institutional policies, and some …

Cultivating Community: Faculty Support For Teaching And Learning, Celine Fitzmaurice

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emerging approaches to faculty support are moving away from a “fixing” model to a “relational” model. In this article, the author describes a program of faculty support that places trust and community-building at the center of its efforts. The result is a program in which faculty members engage in a peer-to-peer approach to mentoring, professional exchange, assessment, and reflection.

Online Community-Based Learning As The Practice Of Freedom: The Online Capstone Experience At Portland State University, Deborah Smith Arthur, Zapoura Newton-Calvert

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Given the design of Portland State University’s (PSU) undergraduate curriculum culminating in a capstone experience, the dramatic growth in online courses and online enrollments required a re-thinking of the capstone model to ensure all students could participate in this effective learning model and have a powerful learning experience. In recent years, a number of capstone courses have been developed that are offered fully online. This article examines PSU’s development of and institutional support for community-based learning (CBL) capstone courses in a fully online format. Emerging best practices and lessons learned may be useful for other institutions seeking to integrate experiential …

From Capstones To Strategic Partnerships: The Evolution Of Portland State University’S Community Engagement And Partnership Agenda, Erin Flynn

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland State University’s (PSU) reputation as an engaged, urban-serving university continues to distinguish it both nationally and locally. Key partnerships with local, public, and private partners provide students, faculty, and staff with remarkable opportunities to contribute to the physical, social, and economic development of the Portland metropolitan region. This article traces the evolution of PSU’s engagement and partnership agenda and shares lessons learned by PSU as it seeks to better coordinate and centralize key components of its vast engagement and partnership portfolio. This reflection describes why and how PSU created an Office of Strategic Partnerships and the role of the …

Capacity Building For The Common Good: Psu's Interdisciplinary Minor In Civic Leadership, Masami Nishishiba, Kevin Kecskes

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Since the early 1990s, Portland State University has furthered its commitment to civic engagement education by adopting an integrated approach to its general education curriculum. As an outgrowth to this initiative, the minor in Civic Leadership was developed in 2004–05. This interdisciplinary minor was designed with the intent to further integrate and sustain institutional engagement with the Portland Metropolitan community and beyond. This article discusses the history, structure, and roles of academic and community partners associated with the Civic Leadership minor, and elaborates the philosophical foundation of the interdisciplinary curriculum that aims to build student capacity for the common good.

In Their Own Voices: Assessing Student Learning Through Analysis Of Reflective Writing, Patti Haack, Seanna Kerrigan, Vicki L. Reitenauer

Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to assess students' experiences of their service-learning Capstone, researchers used a qualitative design to study 50 students' reflections from seven distinctly different Senior Capstone courses. In these reflections, students demonstrated integrative learning while deepening their understanding of communication, critical thinking, diversity, and social responsibility.

"Varying Realities Of The Human Experience": University Studies Program At Portland State University, Charles Ryan Brown, Grace L. Dillon, Celine Fitzmaurice, Greg Jacob, Yves P. Labissiere, Antonia Levi, Cherry Muhanji, Candyce Reynolds, Jack C. Straton

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Like many institutions of higher education, Portland State University (PSU) has engaged in initiatives to promote a more equitable and democratic society, from curricular changes to institutional policy implementation. In the late 1980s, PSU required students to complete a certain number of “diversity” credits as part of its general education requirements. During the 1990s, PSU radically revised its approach to general education, creating the University Studies Program that places diversity awareness among its core goals. Most recently, current President Daniel O. Bernstine has instituted a comprehensive “Diversity Initiative” as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the quality …

A Model For Comprehensive Reform In General Education: Portland State University, Charles R. White

University Studies Assessment Research

Article presenting General Education Working Group Recommendations, research and rational for implementing the University Studies program.