This course builds on PDP 150 by
continuing to develop your skills in critical reflection. You
will compile a record of your curricular and co-curricular
activities over the past year and use that record to prepare for
a structured reflective conversation with the course instructor.
You will also complete a written exercise that asks you to
reflect on specific experiences you find particularly
significant or meaningful. The goal is that by the time you
reach your senior year, the process of critical reflection will
have become second nature. The senior portfolio then becomes a
powerful and meaningful record of growth and development of the
whole person over the entire four-year college experience.
1.
Developed their skills in critical reflection
2. Practiced
the type of writing expected in their PDP reflective essays
3. Collected
and organized supporting materials documenting their experiences
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
A passing grade in this course
will be awarded for the successful completion of the following
tasks:
One week before you attend your
scheduled Reflective Conversation (please see schedule below)
you should complete the Self-Development List Exercise
(attached) and post it on your p-drive.
Please come to my office
(McKinney 231) at TBD pm on the day indicated below with a hard
copy of your preparation exercise (supporting materials should
all be posted to your p drive before the conference). During
these 50 minutes, we will discuss how you think you have
developed in each of the four areas of personal development:
intellectual growth and discovery; citizenship and community
responsibility; spiritual and ethical development; and emotional
maturation and physical health. In addition, we will discuss
some goals you might set for yourself in each of these four
areas.
You will find a CREE form in your
PDP 200/300 folder on the P drive. This exercise asks you to
choose four specific experiences from the past year and reflect
in writing on how these experiences have impacted your
development. The CREE are due two weeks after your conference.
Please post completed forms in your P drive.
By the
end of the semester, you should have posted Service Learning
documentation forms on your P drive for all service learning
hours to date. You can find these forms on the Service Learning
website at
http://www.bridgewater.edu/StudentLife/Service-Learning/PDPService-LearningForms.
Please move all documentation to the supporting materials folder
for your senior year - that way it will all be in one place when
you are graduating.
Sophomores will be graded according to satisfactory completion
of the following elements:
1. Pre-Conversation form
2. Conversation
3. CREE
4. PDP Day participation
5. Service Learning Hours
On PDP day (October 21st), Sophomores are required to attend 3
sessions of their choice. They will be given a "Passport" which
will be available in mid/late September around campus, and have
the passport stamped (or stickered) by the leaders of the
sessions you attend. Please return the passport to me or put it
in one of the bins located around campus on PDP day so I can
record that you fulfilled this course requirement.
1. Pre-Conversation form
2. Conversation
3. CREE
4. Resume and Cover Letter Convo Attendance
5. PDP Day participation
6. Service Learning Hours
In the past, students have requested more direction in
developing the resume and cover letter that are required as part
of the PDP 450 Portfolio. To this end, Juniors are required to
attend a convo on September 14th at 9:30 a.m. in the Carter
Center. You will swipe your ID card to verify your attendance at
this convo.
On PDP day (October 21st), Juniors are required to attend 3
sessions. One of these sessions will be a workshop from 1-1:50
p.m. that will help you work on your resume and cover letter.
You will need to come to the session with a rough draft of each
(you will learn about this in the convo). The other 2 sessions
will be of your choice. You will be given a "Passport", which
will be available in mid/late September around campus and have
the passport stamped (or stickered) by the leaders of the
sessions you attend. Please return this passport to me, or put
it in one of the bins lacated around campus on PDP Day so I can
record that you have fulfilled this course requirement.
CONFERENCE AND ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES:
All assignments are due at TBD pm on the dates listed below. Post all assignments to your P drive in the appropriate folder.
Group Meeting: Wednesday, September 2, TBD pm in TBD.
(schedule below example only, the semester schedule will be created and distributed)
|
Student |
Self-Development List Due |
Conference Date |
CREE Due |
Service Learning Forms Due |
|
|
9/9 |
9/16 |
9/30 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/11 |
9/18 |
10/2 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/14 |
9/21 |
10/5 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/16 |
9/23 |
10/7 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/18 |
9/25 |
10/9 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/21 |
9/28 |
10/14 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/23 |
9/30 |
10/19 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/25 |
10/2 |
10/21 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/28 |
10/5 |
10/23 |
12/2 |
|
|
9/30 |
10/7 |
10/26 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/2 |
10/9 |
10/28 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/5 |
10/14 |
10/30 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/7 |
10/19 |
11/2 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/9 |
10/21 |
11/4 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/14 |
10/23 |
11/6 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/19 |
10/26 |
11/9 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/21 |
10/28 |
11/11 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/23 |
10/30 |
11/13 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/26 |
11/2 |
11/16 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/28 |
11/4 |
11/18 |
12/2 |
|
|
10/30 |
11/6 |
11/20 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/2 |
11/9 |
11/23 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/4 |
11/11 |
11/30 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/6 |
11/13 |
11/30 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/9 |
11/16 |
11/30 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/11 |
11/18 |
12/2 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/13 |
11/20 |
12/4 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/16 |
11/23 |
12/7 |
12/2 |
|
|
11/18 |
11/30 |
12/9 |
12/2 |
Self-Development List Exercise:
An important
part of a liberal arts education is taking time periodically to
review and reflect upon your personal accomplishments and
development. The purpose of this exercise is to help you create
a list of all you have done and learned in the last academic
year, and then to see how those activities match up with the
educational goals of the college, the four dimensions of PDP,
and your own personal goals. It will pay dividends later to do a
thorough job in compiling your list. By your senior year you
will have a significant archive of “personal development”
material with which to write your final PDP essay. You may also
find items on your list that are beneficial to include on your
résumé.
Step One
The first
step is to compile a list of your activities, achievements,
academic and intellectual progress, and significant experiences
from the past year. You will find it helpful to consult your
course syllabi and last year’s convocation schedule. Do not
limit yourself to school activities; make as comprehensive a
list as you can. Include as much detail as you find useful.
1.
What have you read?
List the books, plays, poems, essays, and articles you read for
class, work, or pleasure.
2.
What have you written?
List research papers, essays, articles, stories, and poems you
have written for class, work, or pleasure.
3.
What have you seen?
List any convocations, lectures, movies, concerts, performances,
or other events you attended.
4.
Where did you go?
List any trips you took for class, work, sightseeing, or
visiting.
5.
Where did you work?
List any jobs you have held in the last year.
6.
How did you help?
List any service learning, volunteering, or charitable projects
to which you contributed.
7.
Were you in the spotlight?
List your performances (theater, music, etc.), lectures, oral
reports, and any classes you led.
8.
Did you take any leadership
roles? List times you
took charge of a group or activity, and any positions of
responsibility you held.
9.
Whom did you meet?
List individuals who inspired you in some way or who
sparked ideas for future learning or employment.
10.
What have you learned?
List any areas of knowledge you have explored. Think
specifically through your coursework over the last year. List
some of the topics you covered in each class. List topics you
explored outside of class, too.
11.
What academic skills have you
acquired or improved upon?
Some skills relate directly to a
class’s theme. For example, in calculus you learn how to
integrate functions. But many classes teach skills beyond the
subject matter. Perhaps, a particular course taught you how to
proofread and edit your own writing, to plan a big project, to
give an effective presentation, or to work with a team.
12.
What non-academic skills have you
acquired or improved upon?
Think through extra-curricular activities, sports, and any jobs
you held. List skills you picked up or developed through those
activities.
Step Two
Examine your
list in order to see how it intersects with the four dimensions
of PDP. After completing Step One
select items from your list that in your mind address each of
the following questions. List those
items under each of the questions. For some of the questions you
might find that nothing you have done in the past year is
relevant. That is fine; one cannot do everything at once!
2.
Have particular items on the list
impacted your ethical development?
3.
Have particular items on the list
impacted your spiritual development?
4.
Have particular items on the list
impacted your emotional development?
5.
Have particular items on the list
impacted your physical health?
6.
Have particular items on the list
impacted your sense of community responsibility?
Step
Three
Part of your
final PDP essay for PDP 450 entails reflecting on at least four
items of academic work from your time at Bridgewater. Choose
some pieces of your academic work (research papers, essays, lab
reports, tests, and creative works) that are particularly
significant to you and that could serve as supporting items in
your final essay. Post at least 4 academic pieces in your
supporting documents folder on the P: drive. In addition, post
supporting materials from your non-academic experiences (photos,
awards, newspaper articles about sport participation, etc.).
Step Four
Now that you
have reviewed your activities from the past year, set some goals
for the coming year. Were there questions in Step Two for which
you had no relevant experiences? You might choose to do
coursework, activities, or attend convocations to fill in those
gaps. Also, set some long term goals with respect to the four
dimensions of PDP: (1) intellectual development, (2)
ethical/spiritual development, (3) emotional/physical
development, and (4) citizenship and community service.