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Fred Glennon, Ph.D. (Courses) |
Church and State in Comparative Perspective
LEARNING COVENANT
Guidelines
The learning covenant is an explicit agreement
between the student, the professor, and other students concerning the
involvement of the student in the class. As such, it sets down the formal
requirements for your participation in this course. It lists the learning
objectives the student will seek to achieve, the activities the student will
perform to meet those objectives, and explicitly identifies the criteria which
will be used by the professor to evaluate the student's learning. It has the
following advantages over more traditional methods of evaluation: (1) it allows
for greater individual flexibility and freedom on the part of the student to
select those activities which she or he finds of most interest; (2) it states
everything clearly and explicitly so that there is no confusion or ambiguity
about what is expected; and (3) it allows the student an opportunity to take
responsibility for his or her own learning.
We both know that this is a required core
course. Some of you probably would not be taking the course otherwise. Because
it is a core course, Le Moyne College has certain objectives they require the
course to achieve which I must honor. I also have some objectives for the
course and for student involvement. The combination of these objectives
constitutes the course objectives which every student must meet successfully to
pass the course. However, learning is about more than meeting someone else's
requirements. Learning is a life-long adventure that contributes to our
development as mature, responsible persons in relationship with others. The
learning covenant is a means to enhance your potential as life-long learners.
That is why in addition to course objectives you have the opportunity in this
course to meet objectives you have chosen based on your own interests and
needs.
Before deciding on your objectives take the time
to assess your learning needs. A learning need is the gap between where
you are now and where you want to be in regard to certain competencies and
abilities. These competencies can relate to your knowledge, your understanding,
your skills, your attitudes, and your values. For example, do you want to learn
more about the Supreme Court’s reasoning on church-state issues? Do you
need to enhance your analytical writing, public speaking, listening, or
discussion leadership skills? Are you interested in appreciating the diversity
of religious arguments on public policies? Clarity about your needs or
interests can help you to be more specific about what objectives you would like
to pursue.
You are now ready to start listing your learning
objectives. A learning objective is a clear and concise statement that
defines specifically what you want to learn. Your learning objectives should
describe what you will learn, in terms most meaningful to you, not what you
will do to learn them. Look at the examples I have provided (course objectives
and others). You can write as many learning objectives as you want within the
parameters of the course. Write these on the covenant in the space provided.
Clarity is important because these objectives will provide the basis for the
final assessment activity, a self-assessment.
Once you have listed your objectives, you will
need to describe how you propose going about accomplishing each objective, your learning activities. I have provided a list of Activity Options from which you can select to
meet your objectives, or you can identify your own. The key is to make sure
that the activities selected help you to meet your objectives. For example, an
objective to improve your ability to write analytically may lead you to write
three focused thought papers. An objective to learn more about a religious
organization’s political policies may lead you to analyze such an
organization. Accomplishing your learning objectives fully may lead you to
engage in more than one learning activity. Once you have identified your
learning activities, write them on the covenant in the space provided.
Next you will have to give evidence that
you have in fact achieved each objective. For example, evidence that you
learned more about social justice might lead you to do a collage and write a
report about what you learned. Evidence that you have a clearer understanding
of the Supreme Court’s reasoning on church and state may lead you to lead
a class discussion on what you have learned. The list of Activity Options
provided includes the evidence associated with each option. However, you may
select one of those options but offer different evidence to demonstrate your
learning. Write the evidence you will provide in the space provided on the
covenant.
After specifying what evidence you will provide
for each objective, you must then specify the criteria by which the evidence
will be evaluated. Make sure that the criteria are appropriate for each
objective. On the document which lists suggested activities you will find
"Evaluation Criteria" attached to each activity. These are
evaluation criteria I am suggesting are appropriate to determine the quality of
the project. You can make changes to those criteria on your covenant, but we
will negotiate any disagreements. Only the evaluation criteria listed with each
objective may be used by the professor to determine the quality of your
evidence (and a grade). You should pay careful attention to them when
completing your activities. It is also possible to have persons other than or
in addition to the professor to evaluate your work. If you choose to do this,
then you must state what their qualifications are and how they will express
their judgments (e.g. rating scales, grades, etc.).
In the final column of the covenant, you must
identify due dates for each learning activity. I have selected due dates
for the activities I require. You are in the best position, however, to
determine when you have time to complete the activities you choose. Just remember:
feedback is essential to learning. You will receive more feedback from me the
earlier you complete your activities. Waiting until the end of the semester
limits your chances for constructive feedback.
Finally, you must indicate how each activity will
be weighed so that a final course grade may be calculated. This should
be indicated in terms of points (with the total of 100 points) (e.g.
participation = 100 points; group final project= 75 points; midterm exam = 100
points; thought papers = 75 points and film review = 50 points). (See Activity
Options for allowable points per assignment). This means that you must identify
at least two learning objectives and related learning activities to complete
your learning covenant.
After you have completed the first draft of your
covenant, you will find it useful to review it (you may also review it with
others as well). Some questions you might ask about your covenant to help you
include:
- Are the learning
objectives clear, understandable, and realistic? Do they describe what you
propose to learn?
- Do the learning
activities seem reasonable and appropriate? Can they suggest other
possibilities?
- Does the evidence seem
relevant to the objectives? Or would other evidence be better?
- Are the evaluation
criteria clear, relevant, appropriate? Are there other ways or persons
that might be more appropriate?
After completing the final draft of your
covenant post it on Canvas under Assignments (Assessment Activity #3: Learning
Covenant), which you must do no later than Feb. 7. I will review your
covenant and make comments on Canvas.
Since this is new to some students, I will be glad to meet with you
individually during office hours.
We will negotiate any revisions necessary at that meeting. The
final step is to carry out your covenant. Remember, the implementation of the
covenant is your responsibility. Failure to fully implement any or all parts of
your covenant may result in receiving a grade of "F" for those
uncompleted sections and/or withholding of the final grade. Your covenant may
be revised and/or modified any time prior to April 24. Revisions
after that date will only include final allocations of weights for each graded
activity.