Experiential Education, By Marin Burton

As a leader, I define myself as an experiential educator. Often, when I initially try to define experiential education for others, I receive blank stares or looks of confusion. Sometimes I receive comments such as, “Do you mean hands-on learning? or “Oh, you mean that ropes stuff.” While experiential education does involve an active, “hands-on” approach to learning and can use challenge (or ropes) courses as one tool to achieve its educational outcomes, there is a lot more to it than that.

The Association for Experiential Education offers the following definition: Experiential education is a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values (The Association for Experiential Education, 2010). Closely examining the combination of words in this definition helps to clarify its meaning even further. AEE chooses to refer to experiential education as both a philosophy and a methodology revealing the strong connection between the merging of theory and practice. It is both; not mutually exclusive but rather working in concert to create this educational approach. The words “purposefully engage” signify the intentional nature of the educator’s work as creating intentional learning processes as well as their active role within the educational environment. The use of the word with may seem like a small choice; however, it reveals a powerful idea concerning the interaction between educator and learner.

As a leader, I am concerned about how experiences inform us to learn to become engaged citizens in the world. I use experiential education as a medium for opportunities to examine how learning can become applicable beyond one isolated experience. To understand the process of learning, we can refer to David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle.

Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle

Kolb (1984) developed this cyclical model offering signposts for the process of learning. He argues that students must have an experience, reflect on that experience, make broader generalizations from their reflections and observations and then find ways to apply the new meaning to other aspects of their world.

Often, we can get caught in the trap of offering an experience and letting it speak for itself. When we do this, we miss about three fourths of the learning process an intentional experiential educator strives for. While the “hands-on learning” and “ropes stuff” might be beneficial on its own, it is within the reflection and application stages of experiential learning that we can engage in meaningful experiences that inform us as leaders and active citizens within society.

Author:
Marin E. Burton, Ph.D
Director, Team QUEST

Lead Today, By Tom Matyók

Leadership.

OK. So how do you do it? Lead.

I imagine that is one of the reasons for visiting this blog site; find out something about leading and leadership. I will do my best to be brilliant. If not brilliant, I will at least share some thoughts I think may prove relevant.

For nearly forty years I have been teaching and doing leadership. And one thing I know for sure, there is some significantly poor leadership out there. And, I am unclear as-to-why. A walk through any reasonably well-stocked bookstore shows no shortage of books on leadership and how-to manuals. Leadership seminars and workshops appear to be a growth business. So lets see what we can do to better grasp how to lead and avoid the bad leadership void. And, do it within the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

I propose those who want to lead should be aware of five suggestions: (1) get ready to lead, (2) step forward into leadership, (3) play an active role in the leadership process, (4) ensure you have all that is necessary to lead, and (5) lead. I will expand.

(1) Get ready to lead. Preparing to lead is a lifetime activity. Leading requires commitment to organizational and individual goals. Successful leaders are able to achieve organizational goals while simultaneously assisting individuals in achieving theirs. Not an easy task; however, it is fundamental to leadership. Any approach that does not attend to both individual and organizational goals borders on manipulation. Leadership is all about people. Leaders lead people, managers manage things.

(2) Step forward. When asked who the leader is, unhesitatingly say, “I am.” Seek opportunities in which to lead. Do not stand back, lean into the action. Leadership is needed at all organizational levels.

(3) Be part of the process. Leadership is a process activity. Know how much leadership to apply, and of what type. Supporting others’ leadership is part of the leadership process. It is not always about you. Remember you may be the star of your own movie, but you are only a supporting actor in other peoples’.

(4) Ensure you have the required materials with which to lead. Don’t show up to lead empty handed. Make certain you can influence the situation. For want of a nail, the empire was lost. The best fire chief will fail miserably as a leader if he or she fails to show up at the burning building with the fire engines.

(5) Lead. Leaders lead, it is as simple as that. Anyone can stand on the sidewalk and watch the parade go by. Leaders are part of the action.
Where are you leading today?

Author:
Tom Matyók, Ph.D.
Conflict Studies and Dispute Resolution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Leaders and Nuts, By Eric Durham

Walnuts and Leaders

While eating lunch at Brixx the other day with a colleague, I was enjoying a delicious Chicken Florentine pizza. I was taken aback, however, when I noticed a foreign object on one of my slices! It was brown, misshapen, and about the size of a beetle. I sat there puzzled. It looked gross--really nasty. For a fraction of a second, I considered throwing the piece out. But no, a quick flick took care of this mysterious stowaway.

My colleague gingerly picked it up. He pondered the object for a moment and his quizzical expression shifted to one that reflected surprise and satisfaction. He exclaimed, “I know what it is!” He gave me a chance to guess but I came up blank. If he'd have given me 5 or 10 guesses I think I'd have come up short. How in the world could whatever that was have gotten on my pizza? Dumbfounded, I watched as he flecked it apart. Then it dawned on me: "It's a walnut!"

Please understand this isn't my first rodeo. I've seen a walnut before. But in this instance I wasn't expecting a walnut (or anthing walnutty) to be in the immediate vicinity of my pizza. But when I looked at my colleagues pizza I noticed the pears, the gorgonzola cheese, and yes--walnuts. One must have jumped ship when the pizzas were enroute to our table. Now that I had processed the whole scene, I could make sense of the situation. I had to expand my mental framework to include a wider range of options. I had to realize that there were more pizza-topping possibilities than simply the ones used for the Chicken Florentine. Other folks' stuff can get mixed up in my own.

Believe it or not, I see a connection between pizzas, nuts, perspectives, and leadership: Mental models. I've learned about mental models as part of my Leadership Challenge program. Mental models are the frameworks we use to understand our environment. They affect what we see, how we act, and how we react. Mental models help us make sense of our surroundings--they help us make quick decisions and enable us to think efficiently because they permit us to filter out distracting details. My mental model of a Chicken Florentine pizza, for example, included a range of ingredients: crust, sauce, cheese, chicken, spinach...but not a lonesome, solitary walnut. Even though I knew full well what a walnut was, the Chicken Florentine mental model filtered my perceptions. I didn't have a mental placeholder for nuts, so when I was presented with a nut I couldn't interpret what it was. It was beyond my comprehension.

Sometimes it’s hard to see someone as a leader. Sometimes, it’s hard to identify leaders in a group of people or an organization. Positional leaders are often easy to identify because they have a title, sit on the executive board, or run the meetings. Most of our mental models of leadership have placeholders for positional leaders. We see them in media, on our campuses, and we hear stories of their great trials and tribulations. These leaders wield power, status, they speak boldly and they often stand out from the group. Lots of us recognize these kinds of leaders. Consider them the "poultry" on a chicken florentine pizza. But where does the walnut fit in this analogy?

Sometimes leadership happens right under our nose and we completely miss it. Behind the scenes leaders, also known as process-oriented leaders are easy to overlook. They might not stand out and sometimes they do things that may appear out of place for a leader. They don't seek status or even recognition much of the time--they get things done. Rather than telling people what to do (commanding), a process-oriented leader might ask others what they think should be done. They have subtle skills. Instead of telling someone to what to do, they'll frame the scenario as a question and ask the group to provide an answer. Since the group "owns" their response, they are motivated to see it through. Many times these leaders will adopt a servant-leader approach--working hard on behalf of those whom they lead. To the untrained eye, their actions might look like the farthest thing from leadership.

Consider them the aforementiond walnut stowaway. When our mental models of leadership are limited to traditional, stereotypical examples of leadership, we may have difficulty recogizing the process-oriented leader. Even more curious, sometimes these leaders don't even recognize themselves! If their mental models don't account for this form of leadership, then they may not see their contributions as a form of leadership. It’s important to identify these leaders in a group of people and commend their hard work and push them to improve their leadership abilities, because sometimes they themselves don’t even realize that they are being leaders! And that can drive me nuts.

Author:
Eric Durham
President of The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity

The 10 Commandments of Small Group Leadership, By Jessica Delk McCall

As a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies, I often have the opportunity to teach a course entitled “Small Group and Team Communication”. Being able to facilitate student development and growth throughout the semester is extremely rewarding and reminds me just how difficult it is to continuously implement effective communication skills in team and group settings.

Perhaps one of the most challenging concepts to actually embrace and apply is how to identify and develop leadership skills in the group context. After many experiential activities and analysis of key theories, I ask students to analyze the leadership skills within their groups. Many students find that Kouzes and Posner’s (1995) ten commandments of leadership help them better understand what leadership really requires in the group setting.

1) Seek out challenging opportunities for growth. There are always opportunities for growth in a group. This might require the group member to focus on individual areas for improvement or to recognize ways that the entire group can become more effective.

2) Be willing to take risks and learn from mistakes. Taking risks in a group requires confidence, while the ability to learn from mistakes requires all group members to be humble. Because group interaction is so prevalent in our society, we must seek ways to improve and become more effective. By embracing our confidence and humbleness we encourage growth in ourselves and others.

3) Visualize positive future interaction. While many group members enter group contexts fearing the worst, it is critical to keep a positive attitude about the group and the group’s abilities. Even though many of us have had negative group experiences at some point in the past, visualizing positive future interaction will enable us to focus on the group’s success.

4) Seek to develop connections with others to promote shared vision. Building rapport and connecting with others is priceless. It is only by letting down their guards and seeking commonality that group members can begin to create a shared understanding of what should and can be accomplished.

5) Facilitate the development of group goals and trust. Actually discussing group goals and working to develop trust, will unify members and enhance buy-in and interdependence.

6) Empower others. Leadership is certainly not about gaining individual power, but instead, about working to empower others. By assigning tasks that recognize competence, allowing members choice, and offering support when needed, we can give all members power.

7) Exhibit behaviors that model shared values. Leadership requires us to set an example for others by striving to behave in ways that uphold group values and ideals.

8) Set and achieve short term goals to increase commitment. As a group meets short term goals, they are able to better visualize success and thus, members are more committed to not just good, but great work.

9) Reward individuals. Group members will all contribute different ideas and abilities to a group situation. It is important to recognize and reward individual offerings so that all members know they are valued and appreciated.

10) Celebrate team success. Whether this is the reciting of a group slogan or a trip out to dinner, it is critical to recognize the team’s success. Succeeding as a team is a major accomplishment and should always be recognized (as cited in Cragan, Wright, & Kasch, 2004).

Over the years, I have found that many of the strongest and most effective small groups don’t rely on one or two leaders to guide them through the semester. Instead, all members of effective small groups strive for communication behaviors that provide leadership in the task domain, procedural domain, and interpersonal domain. Kouzes and Posner’s (1995) ten commandments provide all group members with a set of leadership guidelines that are critical for a group’s success.

References:
Cragan, J.F., Wright, D.W., & Kasch, C.R. (2004). Communication in small groups: Theory, process, skills (6th ed.). United States: Thomson.

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (1995). The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Author:
Jessica Delk McCall, Ph.D.
Jessica McCall serves as the Basic Course Director and Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at UNCG. Additionally, she is a Level III TeamQUESt facilitator and an advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences.