FinalPCWCurriculumPlan

Hart1

Purposely Chosen Women’s Leadership Series

Curriculum Plan

Nzinga Hart

Kent State University

September 21, 2014

Hart2

Executive Summary

The following curriculum plan overviews the theoretical foundation, design, and

components of an adult education program developed for the purpose of help women achieve

their goals over the course of 10­months. Goal achievement is the focal point of this program.

Curriculum organizers identified theory that supports successful achievement such as

self­efficacy beliefs and organizational learning, both focus on active reflection of the self in

conjunction with active engagement in the process of learning to meet goals. The design of the

program is influenced heavily by experiential learning model which takes a user’s experience

with content and allows them to have direct engagement with the content and reflection on how

the content connects with their subjective experience of meeting their needs of their final goal.

Many of the components of the program build reflection and experience within the

design. Curriculum stakeholders are identified and will be targeted in order to ensure that they

can reflect on the purposes and outcomes of the curriculum as a whole. Within the program,

participants will not only actively assess and reflect on their own progress, but also the progress

of their peers in order to further expand their subjective experience. This focus will be highly

useful for ensuring that the adult program participants can find value in our curriculum as it is

solely focused on their own targeted achievement goals and ensuring they have a supportive

community to meet their needs.

My experience with creating this plan has been very enriching. I began this development

with the idea that a curriculum stayed with in the class and was essential a syllabus. I know have

an understanding that a curriculum is a tool for communicating, organizing, and designing a

structured learning process that not only affects the student, but also the larger community in

Hart3

which the student will eventually contribute. This plan will be a useful tool in conveying the

purposes of the program to the community at large, but also communicating and focusing the

goals the organization at large.

Curriculum Plan

Limitless Ambition is a non­profit organization developing a community adult education

program titled Purposely Chosen Women’s Leadership Series. The focus of the program is to

equip women with the skills and tools they need to be successful in their careers or

entrepreneurial ventures. Limitless Ambition is with a mission to have educational, motivational,

and inspirational programs that use mentoring, community outreach and other resources to

increase the economic equity of the female gender. Incorporating this mission into the program is

a major component of the design. In addition, this program will be a way to further enhance the

lives of women ages 18­30 by helping them get to a level of success so they can, in turn, support

and mentor the success of emerging young women.

This is a new curriculum as the organization is a start­up and is in the process of

beginning to connect with the local community within the Akron, Ohio area. Our program

organizers firmly believe in the ideas of establishing self­efficacy through skills and tools

mastery. Using the time and space of the program to ensure practice is what, we believe, will set

us apart from other non­profit organizations. This means our curriculum will be designed with an

emphasis on experiential learning, which works as a “holistic integrative perspective” by

combining “experience, perception, cognition, and behavior” (Kolb, 1984, p.21), to help students

embody the content and proposed outcomes of the program. Additionally, we will connect with

community experts to provide leadership on session topics, as well as, build the network of local

Hart4

contacts that our program participants can connect with on their paths towards success.

The context of the curriculum closely aligns with the aims of the organization. Limitless

Ambition targets women who may not typically be on the path to career or entrepreneurial

success. We are marketing the program towards women in low­income areas that are not

considered to be economically thriving or economically driven by its community members.

Essentially areas business owners and leaders make economic gains but do not use as the

location of their primary residence.

The foundation of the program incorporates the research based on self­efficacy and

organizational learning theories. Both propose the importance of working with the root causes to

produce an effective outcome. The design of the program is rooted in the model of experiential

learning which provides an adequate format to sustain our theoretical goals. Self­efficacy ensures

that participants will gain confidence in the practices of career and entrepreneurial success by

enacting out the process it takes to achieve it. Propelled by Albert Bandura it can be defined as

“the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior to produce the outcomes”

(Bandura, 1977, p. 79). Organizational learning theory works to ensure that limits to success are

overcome through using group dynamics to “adapt to changing environments, draw lessons from

past successes and failures, and detect and correct errors of the past, anticipate and respond to

impending threats, engage in continuous innovation, and build and realize images of a desirable

future” (Harper and Quay, p. 145). Both focus on the development of the self and its ability to

respond on the way to accomplishing a defined goal. We find the experiential learning model to

be a great fit for driving forward our theoretical goals. The model places personal experience in

relation to abstract concepts as at the center of learning. Then it places a heavy emphasis on the

Hart5

feedback through reflection, observation, and active assessment by the student to integrate what

is being learned (Kolb, 1984). I outline the principals I will incorporate within the appendix

below.

Overall, the concepts incorporated with our mission will help develop curriculum that

helps every individual woman draft a plan and method for achieving their desired outcomes in

their careers. It will equip them with ways to successfully execute their plans and prepare them

for evaluating ways to overcome limits that arise on the path to their goal.

Curriculum Shareholders

Below is a chart organizing curriculum stakeholders by internal and external relation to the

Purposely Chosen Women Leadership Program. In this overview and an internal stakeholder is

consider to be those who work on a regular basis with the program and an external stakeholder is

those outside of the program that may have a strong interest. (US Department of Education,

2009).

Internal Stakeholders Description What is at Stake

Women members of the community

Our program will be based in Akron, women members will be between the ages of 18­30, and are targeted as having a low socioeconomic status

Personal success development throughout the program Leadership development Growth of future opportunities Possible career or business advancement

Speakers Our program will bring in a majority of women speakers to facilitate the success sessions. Women will be

Opportunity to self­promote business or services Opportunity to develop facilitation skills

Hart6

considered to be in an advance place within their careers or exhibit entrepreneurial success.

Volunteers Volunteers will be women who assist in facilitation of the monthly programs and organizing activities surrounding the program’s success (i.e. marketing and fundraising).

Personal success development through interaction with the program Opportunity to develop transferrable career skills Networking opportunities with speakers

External Stakeholders Description What’s at stake?

Community members of Akron

Members of the community will gain from increase in successful women leaders who can contribute to economic growth by establish businesses or earning more income through career advancement. These members will include shop owners, other service providers and tax officials

Increased economic contribution from women participants Increase women leadership skills within the community

Employers

Employers will be those who are currently employing the women or will employ women participants in the future.

Increase of women leaders on their workforce Opportunity to bring reduced curriculum workshops into their place of employment

Youth women (14­18)

Our women participants that are non­paying will be

Involvement with senior women members

Hart7

offered an opportunity to give back by volunteering to get involved with Limitless Ambition, Inc. This service opportunity will be targeted towards our younger participant groups that range from ages 14­18.

Interaction with positive role models

Influence:

The women participants, or learners, will and should have the most influence over our

curriculum. Their participation is crucial as the main outcome we are looking for is an

introduction or more career and women leaders into the community. Their growth will have a

ripple impact on all the other stakeholders involved as identified in the chart above.

Communication:

Since this is a pilot program feedback and consistent assessment will be involved so that

we can refine our curriculum to better serve our constituents. Considering the purpose of our

stakeholders will help us anticipate how they will influence and shape the curriculum. Our

internal stakeholders were identified because they will have direct contact with the curriculum.

Their purpose is to participate in the program and with the curriculum in order to gain from the

intended outcomes. This interaction will allow us to have feedback from those directly impacted

by our efforts. The purpose of the external stakeholders will be to assess how the goals that

Hart8

program participants are developing may lead to economic development within the community.

The will provide feedback for program leaders and participants as to how meaningful the

outcomes of their success will be relative to community needs. To develop this communication

we will hold an annual open house and invite community leaders, past and current program

participants, and other identified stakeholders to discuss the progress of the program and the

participants. Eventually the development of a committee that includes all stakeholders will be

developed to ensure that multiple stakeholders’ voices are included in future enhancement,

assessment and evaluation of the curriculum.

Curriculum Considerations

Developing a community based adult education program involves many factors to

consider within the process of designing the curriculum. Since the curriculum is being developed

by a non­profit organization the primary purpose is build a program that will fulfill the mission

and vision of the organization, as well as the mission of the program itself. The next

consideration would be designing the curriculum to ensure it effectively supports the adult

learner population’s diverse experiences, desires, and needs. The final consideration is the nature

of teaching career and entrepreneurial success skills. Many of the behaviors required to be

successful involves a tacit knowledge that is developed and observed while in action.

Characteristics such as passion, persistence, patience, and sense of self can only be embodied in

a learner through the active use (Prieto, 2013). While reading about these skills may provide

insight, a learner will not develop the self­efficacy needed to faithfully use these leadership skills

while attempting to reach any complex goal. Skill proficiency is needed ensure our curriculum

will truly be successful in educating, motivating, and inspiring the adult women population

Hart9

within a community.

The mission and vision of the nonprofit are depicted in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Vision and Mission (Limitless Ambition, 2013)

The mission of Purposely Chosen Women (PCW) program is to equip women with the

tools they need to be effective leaders, profitable business owners, and to excel in their careers.

The mission of PCW directly aligns with the vision of the organization. In order to carry out the

program in a way that aligns with the mission of Limitless Ambition, we focus on using

educational sessions that provide content knowledge in the form of expert speakers; resources

and design that incorporates motivational coaching; and an experiential learning base that

focuses on the use of individual and group reflection to aid in decision making process. Overall,

the purpose of this curriculum is to help the organization achieve its primary mission and vision.

The design of the curriculum is largely affected by our target demographic and the

outcomes we plan to achieve. We are targeting women ages 18­30 in lower income

neighborhoods. These women may or may not have had some college education or professional

experience. The only commonality we can assume is that the women have a desire to achieve a

Hart10

career or an entrepreneurial goal successfully.

This motivated us to use experiential learning as the foundation of the curriculum design.

Experiential learning focuses on engaging students through "critical thinking, problem solving,

and decision making" in a context that is "personally relevant to them" (UNESCO, 2010, para.

2). A career or entrepreneurial goal is typically very personal so ensuring that students engage

with their goal while learning the skills to achieve it drives the decisions of our curriculum plan.

Engagement is seen as a complex goal of giving students a “sense of connectedness, affiliation,

and belonging, while simultaneously offering rich opportunities for learning and development”

(Axelson, & Flick, 2011, p. 41). There are many points in which will give participants the

opportunity to directly engage with the curriculum experience and the curriculum itself.

Participants will, individually and collectively, develop tools that they promote, share, and reflect

on during the monthly meetings. In addition, they will play roles in assessing and evaluating the

work of their peers and the curriculum itself. This way they will not only be actively reflecting

on their own experience, but also they experience of the group in relationship to the overall aims

of the program.

In Educator as Designer, Marienau & Reed, (2008) overview some conceptual

frameworks associated with community­based programs for the adult learner. These concepts are

direct experience, genuine problems, reflection on experience, and social relationships. Direct

experience “invites the designer to organize events that test the learners preconceived ideas” by

putting them “into action” (Marienau, et. al, 2008,. p. 63). Direct experience works well when

coupled with a genuine problem which would be meaningful to the student. The curriculum plan

is built to achieve this by setting aside segments of the meetings for where students apply

Hart11

content knowledge directly to the tasks needed to achieve their own set goal. For instance, a

session on financial planning would involve a demonstration where students build a budget plan

in relationship to their goal. This way the meaningful problem is their own goal to achieve and

the direct experience would be reflecting on overcoming typical perceived obstacles.

Reflection on experience is also considered to be a “critical element” of experiential

learning, this process is done on both “an individual and social level” (Marienau, et. al, 2008, p.

64). Our curriculum plan will incorporate elements of journaling to “provoke reconsideration of

preconceptions and prior experiences,” (Marienau, et. al, 2008, p. 64) We will include the social

relations concept by incorporating group discussions, bringing career and business leaders to

engage with and hosting semi­structured networking sessions at the end of every meeting.

The final consideration would by my own judgment of what a curriculum should be. I am

attempting to build a curriculum that is pragmatic. Students should be able to use every aspect of

the curriculum and find use within its design. The content of the curriculum will be designed to

be used and bring users closer to achieving their goal. The design of the program will use our

space and time to both learn success skills and practice being successful. According to

Ramos­Sanchez & Nichols (2007) the “level of self­efficacy is related to whether or not a person

engages in a particular behavior or activity” (p. 8), and essentially the more engaged and

involved the student is the more they will develop a level of belief in their ability to achieve a

certain behavior or skill set. This way Purposely Chosen Women will be a user­friendly

curriculum that nurtures success by working to instill the belief in our students that they can

successfully do the tasks needed for career or entrepreneurial goal achievement.

Curriculum Instruction and Learners

Hart12

The program's is meant to be applicable to any woman looking to test and grow her limits

in a nurturing environment. An adult education program means that students are there willfully

and our program developers must work to ensure completion of the ten month program. This

means including the learner’s "needs, abilities, prior preparation...and future plans" (Lattuca &

Stark, 151) will be essential in encouraging long­term commitment from participants. For adult

learners this means building engagement, making sure the program enhances their lives, and that

the program is practical. The reflection and feedback will serve as important input as we develop

the curriculum to better serve our target demographic.

Engagement with the curriculum is necessary for long­term development. We are

targeting students that may fall into the non­traditional college age or have never attended

college meaning their "external influences may remain very strong" (Lattuca and Stark, 146).

Families, careers, and other obligations outside of the program will affect the level of

engagement a participant feels they can bring into the program. The curriculum will allow for

space to consider the different dimensions of their lives by asking them to reflect on these

dimensions in relation to the goal they set at the beginning of the program. By connecting their

goal to the other aspects of their life students will be able to "organize information" by making

"intellectual connections" (Lattuca, et. al p 155) between their goal and their life outside of the

program. We will also have to ensure the program is practical, since our mission is to develop

tools for women to use. Thus continuous feedback will be built into each monthly session, in the

form of journals, discussion questions, and one­on­one feedback with the program facilitators to

make sure women understand the concepts and are able to use them in their daily lives.

The experience of forming connections between knowledge and understanding relates to

Hart13

the cognitive perspective. Since our curriculum is meant to ensure students gain the experience

to learn, a main foundation of our design is a focus on experiential learning, which means

students will take concepts they learn prior to or at the beginning of the session and then they

will "practice the kinds of thinking and inquiry" (Lattuca & Stark, p. 159) taught. For instance a

student may be taught the fundamental and philosophical aspects of a budget then a portion of

the course will be set aside for the students to create or refine their own budgets. Then follow­up

activities will include tracking financial spending for two weeks and relating to their financial

practices in comparison to the budgets they set for themselves. This level of experience allows

them to use what they need to know in order to understand how it may enhance their lives so

they can manage accomplishing their goals.

Some of the fundamental activities behind the philosophies of our curriculum plan and

curriculum design are all associated with reflection on the process of learning to do a particular

concept (Marienau, 2008). Organizational and experiential learning both emphasize the

importance on reflection. Organizational learning highlights the need for students to "draw

lessons from past success and failures” (Harper, et. al p. 145), while experiential learning finds

reflection to be a key component of learning because it causes students to focus "our attention on

what we have learnt and thus consolidate" (UNESCO, 2010) it. So this main activity will help

ensure that students are actively engaged with what the learning process is.

From our point of view we must ensure that the participants understand the concepts we are

teaching and are able to use them. The use of our time will be crucial since each monthly session

will only be 90 minutes long. Incorporating "one­minute papers" (Lattuca, et. al, 2009, p. 151)

will help curriculum developers quickly gain feedback and develop for the next monthly session.

Hart14

Finally for a longer­term gain, students will use assessment surveys and the opportunity to

participate in focus groups, which will allow us to develop and refine the new curriculum over

time.

In Knowing and Becoming Barnett (2009) writes "any discipline worth its presence in

higher education calls for each student to form the wherewithal to keep going" (p. 437) to have

resilience and flexibility. Since the key desire of our mission is to get women to achieve complex

long­term dreams their level of determination is a measure of success within our program. How

can we get a student to dedicate themselves to achieving their own dreams? They must be

compelled to do it and have the confidence they can do it. We need to ensure our curriculum

gives them the motivating reasons to act and we nurture their emotional well­being to stick with

it.

A curriculum that expects an outcome of students being able to apply and do the concepts

and thus build self­efficacy needs to ensure that students are engaged with and committed to the

concepts they are learning. Thus we need to ensure that the students are engaged with the

curriculum itself. By gaining feedback through active and continuous reflection we will be able

to design and enhance the curriculum to ensure we are practically enhancing a student’s lives and

thus their ability to reach their goals.

Curriculum Assessment

One philosophies of assessment that I find to be a key component of assessment design is

the student component. The program wants to ensure that students will use what they learn after

completing the program to continue developing and meeting their long­term goals. A guiding

Hart15

question will be: Does assessment “effectively equip students for a lifetime of assessing their

own learning”? (Boud & Falchikov, 2009 p. 400). So a blend of formative and summative

assessment tools will be designed to ensure that students will be “active players” (Boud, et. al p.

402) in the curriculum. Thus assessment of the program’s curriculum will fall into three levels.

Program which will measure how well the program is meeting its mission, session assessments

which will evaluate how well the students are meeting the outcomes, and self­assessments which

will help students use assessment practices to measure how well they are meeting their goal.

Students will play a role in every part of the assessment practices to ensure their feedback is

collected and evaluated and to help them take an active role in their own learning.

Program Assessment:

The purpose of this aspect of assessment is to ensure that our mission is being met through

the purpose and design of our plan. There are several methods that will help us collect data and

analyze our program. This will include

The initial program application and exit survey: The program application asks women

Hart16

what goal they want to achieve and what perceived limits are preventing them from doing

this. At the end of the entire program women will revisit these questions to see if their

limits have increased, decreased, or remain the same. In addition the exit survey will

inquire what sessions contributed to their success the most and the least to help guide

future session planning. Finally the exit survey will review what connections were made

within the program or as a result of the program and how those connections were

beneficial to the participant’s goal achievement.

Focus Groups: Participants will be given the opportunity to participate in a mid­year and

end­of­the year focus group session. Open ended questions will be used to observe a

student’s “beliefs, attitudes, and experiences” (Cal Poly, n.d.) about the program itself as

well as improving it. A final and informal focus group factor will include having students

meet with curriculum constituents in an annual program review. They will be able to

share their experiences with the community and speak with leaders on shaping the

long­term design of the program.

Session Assessments:

Since each session is broken down by a topical knowledge piece, every session will have its

own assessment tool in order to measure and evaluate growth of the students. Students will play

an active role by both assessing themselves and a peer within the program in order to build on

the experiential process and increase the opportunity to engage with the curriculum. Program

facilitators will be senior evaluators and provide multiple views of a student’s learning progress.

Tools to collect data to evaluate will include:

The monthly roadmap (see Appendix) ­ This roadmap will be a poster board with

Hart17

segments for each of the months sessions. Constants on the road map will include the

S.M.A.R.T. goal that was set at the beginning, tasks to achieve by next sessions, and

tasks completed since the last session. According to organizational learning theory this

will allow students the opportunity to “draw lessons from past successes and failures, and

detect and correct errors of the past, anticipate and respond to impending threats, engage

in continuous innovation, and build and realize images of a desirable future” (Harper and

Quay, p. 145). By having a visual board to return to students will be able to reflect and

represent their progress from month to month. Program facilitators will also get to

evaluate their progress by how engaged students are with the use of the board. In

addition, program participants will be grouped to evaluate each other’s work on their

boards and will leave comments for improving what was on the board.

Session rubrics (see appendix for example) ­ The rubrics will help students evaluate how

well they are being engaged in discussions and utilizing the demonstration components of

the program. The rubric will measure attendance in all program components,

contributions to the discussion, and effective us of the demonstration guides to complete

activities. To include active participation of the students the rubric will be completed by

two program facilitators and one program participant. This student will use the rubric to

assess another student progress. This practice will allow the student to effective assess

others as well as help them reflect on their own experience.

Self­Assessment:

Self­assessment, in congruence with experiential learning, will ensure that students actively

reflect on their learning experience. Tools will include the reflective journal and the capstone

Hart18

project presentation.

Reflective journals ­ These brief journals will be offered at the beginning and end of each

session that focuses on the students’ decisions on a subject prior to learning content and

after learning the content.

Capstone Presentation ­ Students will spend presentation time to evaluate their roadmap

journey as a whole and the network they built along the way. Capstone presentations will

be evaluated by a panel of independent judges to observe how well the student evaluates

their progress within the program.

The review of these different assessment pieces will occur at different points throughout the

program for continuous assessment. Program assessment will be evaluated at the end of the

program and during the mid­year. Session assessments will occur after every session and the

self­assessment will occur after every session and at the end of the program. A complete analysis

of all the program components will be included in the annual program review which will be

distributed to curriculum shareholders. Finally the annual review of the program assessments

will be used in improving next year’s curriculum starting in the October prior to the program

start in January.

Hart19

Appendix A

Program Outline and Outcomes

Program Mission:

The mission of Purposely Chosen Women is to equip women with the tools they need to be

effective leaders, profitable business owners, and excel in their careers. We connect a positive

network of women who can add value to society and act as positive role models for younger

generations.

Curriculum Mission:

Increase the amount of women leaders in all industries by equipping them with the tools, skills,

and network to be successful in the careers, businesses, and personal lives.

Our Philosophy:

Our curriculum is built off of the following theoretical tenets:

Organizational Learning Theory (Harper & Quay, 2003)

“According to Argyris and Schön (1996) learning occurs when organizations ‘adapt to

changing environments, draw lessons from past successes and failures, and detect and correct

errors of the past, anticipate and respond to impending threats, engage in continuous innovation,

and build and realize images of a desirable future” (Harper and Quay, p. 145)

These are the outcomes of the activities we wish to model in relation to building

Hart20

businesses and careers

A second feature of organization learning is that “learning extends beyond the individuals

and instead collective”

The group session format and accountability pairings will ensure that learning is not done

alone throughout the program’s curriculum.

Self­Efficacy Building (Bandura, 1997)

Defined as “people’s beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of

performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives.” (University of Kentucky

n.d., para 2). In short the belief a person has that they are able to accomplish something strongly

influences the success of the outcome. Building belief in the self, using recommended practices

of Bandura will be interwoven in our curriculum. Elements of these practices include:

Experience Mastery ­ Successfully achieving a task until the process is mastered

Vicarious experience ­ Witnessing the successful competition of a task by others

Social persuasion ­ Being encouraged by others that one has the ability to complete

a given task

Stress Reduction ­ A negative or stressful state can be an internal measurement of

failure, understanding how to read and alleviate stressful responses acts to build resilience while

going through the experience mastery. (Bandura, 1997)

Double­Loop Learning Method (Bensimon, 2003)

When building efficacy and ensuring the goals offered by organizational learning

one of the the limits is a participants own thinking. Bensimon describes this line of thinking as a

cognitive framework or reflection of how individuals think. A faulty cognitive frame is the

Hart21

foundation of the belief system that supports an individual’s potential capabilities. In order to

ensure that cognitive frames are shifted from faulty to effective we will use a process proposed

as double­loop learning which pays “attention to the root causes of a problem, and the changes

that need to be made in the attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices of individuals to bring about

enduring results” (Bauman 2002) . A major aspect of our program will be assessing and

evaluating root causes of limitations to success of the participants. Self­discovery exercises and

evaluation of tasks completion and successes will be a major component of the curriculum.

Curriculum Objectives:

The participants will analyze ways to develop and enhance personal, leadership,

communication, decision making, problem solving, and social skills by participating in monthly

discussion groups on the various topics listed.

Educate and spread awareness on various issues/roadblocks that women face in today’s

society

Equip women with tools and practices needed to evaluate root limitations to their success

and methods to overcome them

Outcomes

Program participants will relate topical knowledge to personal and career decisions by

analyzing the ways personal, leadership, communication, decision making, problem solving, and

social skills affect them during the monthly discussion group.

Program participants will be able to make and support meaningful decisions regarding the

Hart22

personal and professional lives by using the worksheets developed to guide them through the

process.

Program participants will exhibit career or entrepreneurial growth by maintaining a

consistent relationship with their accountability partner and membership within the group

Program participants will establish meaningful relationships with other women by

maintaining active membership and participating in the active growth of the network.

Program participants will effectively practice the goals of organizational learning theory as

outlined above

Hart23

Appendix B

Road Map Review

Hart24

Appendix C

Example Session Rubric

Hart25

References

Argyris, C., and Schön, D. A. (1996) Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method, and Practice.

Reading, Mass.: Addison­Wesley.

Axelson, R. D., & Flick, A. (2011). Defining Student Engagement. Change, 43(1), 38­43.

doi:10.1080/00091383.2011.533096

Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. N.J. Prentice­Hall, Inc.

Bandura, A. (1997) Self­efficacy: The exercise of control. NY: W.H. Freeman and Company

Bauman, G.L.(2002) Developing a culture of evidence: Using institutional data to identify

inequitable educational outcomes.” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of

Southern California

Boud, D. & Falchikov, N. (2006). Aligning assessment with long­term learning. Assessment &

Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(4), 399­413.

Bensimon, E.M. (2005). Closing the achievement gap in higher education: An organizational

learning perspective. New Directions for Higher Education, No. 131 (99­111).

Wilmington, DE: Wiley Publication

Cal Poly (n.d.) Assessment Methods. Retrieved from:

http://www.academicprograms.calpoly.edu/content/assessment­methods

Harper, S.R & Quay, S.J. (2008) Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical

Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations. NY. Routledge.

Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice Hall. Retrieved from:

Hart26

http://academic.regis.edu/ed205/Kolb.pdf

Gerber, C., Mans­Kemp, N., & Schlechter, A. (2013). Investigating the moderating effect of

student engagement on academic performance. Acta Academica, 45(4), 256­274.

Limitless Ambition (2013) Vision and Mission Retrieved from: www.limitlessambition.org

Marienau, C., & Reed, S. C. (2008). Educator as designer: Balancing multiple teaching

perspectives in the design of community based learning for adults. New Directions For

Adult And Continuing Education, (118), 61­74.

Nelson, K., Quinn, C., Marrington, A., & Clarke, J. (2012). Good practice for enhancing the

engagement and success of commencing students. Higher Education, 63(1), 83­96.

doi:10.1007/s10734­011­9426­y

Prieto, B. (2013). Establishing and building leadership skills. Leadership & Management in

Engineering, 13(3), 209­211. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)LM.1943­5630.0000235

Ramos­Sánchez, L., & Nichols, L. (2007). Self­efficacy of first­generation and

non­first­generation college students: The relationship with academic performance and

college adjustment. Journal of College Counseling, 10(1), 6­18.

UNESCO (2010) Experiential Learning. Retrieved from:

http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_d/mod20.html

US Department of Education (2009) Engaging stakeholders: Including parents and the

community to sustain improved reading outcomes. Retrieved from:

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/support/stakeholderlores.pdf