Summer F. Odom

Impact of Personal Growth Projects on Leadership Identity Development.

Within personal leadership education courses, leadership educators should include experiences which help students develop themselves as leaders. In this article, the authors discuss results from a qualitative research study involving the analysis of Personal Growth Project (PGP) assignments in a personal leadership education collegiate course. The authors analyzed PGP assignments using the lens of the Leadership Identity Development model (Komives et al., 2005). All aspects of the developing self component of the model including deepening self-awareness, building self-confidence, establishing interpersonal efficacy, applying new skills,

The Undergraduate Leadership Teaching Assistant (ULTA): A High-Impact Practice for Undergraduates Studying Leadership

To meet the demands for effective leadership, leade rship educators should integrate high-impact practices for students to dev elop, practice, and evaluate their leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities. The purpose of this application brief is to describe how undergraduate leadership t eaching assistant (ULTA) experiences can be a high- impact practice for unde rgraduates studying leadership. The ULTA experience at Texas A&M University in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications (ALEC) department was examined using the six characteristics purported by Kuh (200 8) to describe effective highimpact practices: considerable time and effort to p urposeful tasks, interaction with faculty and peers on substantive matters, increased likelihood of experiencing diversity, frequent feedback on performance, applic ation of learning to different settings, and better understanding of self in relat ion to others. The ULTA experience can be a high-impact practice that provi des leadership students with the opportunities to apply their leadership learnin g to their teaching roles and reflect on their experience to gain new leadership perspectives. Recommendations for implementing this practice include: purposeful interactions with ULTAs,

Social Media Tools in the Leadership Classroom: Students' Perceptions of Use

Social media is becoming more prevalent in the higher education classroom. As part of an ongoing study, the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University surveyed leadership students about their perceptions of their level of comfort and frequency of use of social media tools and the advantages and disadvantages that these students perceived when social media was used in the leadership classroom. A total of 79 students were surveyed in two upper level leadership courses. Facebook was the social media tool students were most comfortable with and used most frequently. Journal of Leadership Education Volume 12, Issue 1 – Winter 2013 35 Advantages included social media helping increase quality and efficiency of communication between students and the instructor, social media as a technological norm, access to class information, ease of collaboration, and stronger social connections between classmates. Disadvantages revolved around issues of use of and access to social media.

Leadership for Dummies: A Capstone Project for Leadership Students.

Capstone courses in leadership provide students opportunities to synthesize prior knowledge about various aspects of leadership. This article describes the Leadership for Dummies project, which could be used as a capstone experience for leadership majors. Based on his experiences as a psychological researcher, Gardner (2008) identified five minds individuals should develop: the disciplined mind (being an expert in one area), the synthesizing mind (gathering information from multiple sources and combining the information in a meaningful way), the

Undergraduate Student Perceptions of the Pedagogy Used in a Leadership Course: A Qualitative Examination.

This exploratory, qualitative, descriptive study examined undergraduate student perspectives of pedagogy used in an undergraduate leadership elective course to describe how students view the effectiveness and impact of pedagogies used in the course. Undergraduate students (n = 28) reflected on the effectiveness of the pedagogies and the learning environment created by the pedagogies used in the undergraduate leadership course elective. Student reflections at the end of the semester revealed student perspectives on the effectiveness of the pedagogies and were grouped into three themes: contribution to overall effectiveness, openness to different perspectives, and learning from peers. Two themes emerged for students’ perceptions of the learning environment including overcoming challenges with discussion and class logistics. This study lends support for discussion as a pedagogy used by leadership instructors which can be effective for learning leadership as perceived by undergraduate students.

Mindsets of Leadership Education Undergraduates: An Approach to Program Assessment

Students ( N = 313) in undergraduate leadership degree programs at Texas A&M University were surveyed to determine their leadership mindset using hierarchical and systemic thinking preferences. Significant differences in thinking were found between gender and academic classification. Male leadership students scored greater in hierarchical thinking than females. Seniors, leadership students typically in their last semester of studies, scored significantly lower in hierarchical thinking than juniors. Findings indicate formal leadership coursework influences students’ leadership mindsets.

A Content Analysis of Undergraduate Students' Perceived Reasons for Changes in Personal Leadership Behaviors

Leadership educators seek to understand how they can better develop leadership among their students through formal and informal course experiences. The purpose of this study was to understand how undergraduate students perceive reasons for changes in their leadership practices, after completing a personal leadership education course. The course focused on the five exemplary practices of college students. As part of the course, students completed the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (S-LPI) as a pre and post assessment. A qualitative content analysis of 107 undergraduate student reflections from multiple sections of a leadership course was conducted to examine students’ perceptions of what influenced their change in scores on the S-LPI assessment. Students perceived that the curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities of the course (including the high-impact service-learning project) affected their change in score for the leadership behavior(s) they intended to focus on throughout the semester. Students whose scores did not increase for the leadership behavior they chose to focus on still experienced leadership growth and development but attributed their growth to different items: their growth was in a different leadership behavior than intended or they developed a greater

Real Life Leader in the Mirror: An Online Undergraduate Leadership Course Assignment.

There has been an increased frequency of leadership courses being taught online. Scant research exists that describes effective practices for teaching leadership online. This application brief describes an assignment, the “Real Life Leader in the Mirror” given to undergraduate students in an online personal leadership course as an end of course final project. In this assignment, students synthesize leadership concepts by comparing and contrasting their personalities, interests, beliefs, and capacities with a leader in the media. Through this assignment, students demonstrated the leadership competency of self-awareness and development. Specifically, students articulated knowledge of self, an understanding of self, the value of understanding self, ability to understand self, and the behavior of actually enhancing their understanding of self through this assignment.

Measuring Significant Learning through a Personal Leadership Transformation Assignment in an Undergraduate Leadership Course

Leadership educators should strive to promote deeper learning within their students. Fink’s (2003, 2013) taxonomy of significant learning is a framework for intentionally grounding leadership curricula in the principles and practices of evidence-based learning. The purpose of this study was to measure undergraduate students’ significant learning after the completion of a PLTA in a personal leadership course and reflection about the experience. A content analysis of 24 student reflections was used to analyze the six domains of learning: foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn. Evidence of all six domains of learning were found within the student reflections and it was observed that students who had definite contexts in which to apply and well-defined goals for the assignment could better articulate their learning. Introduction & Background Leadership educators commonly understand the value of engaging pedagogy and active learning strategies in the classroom (Jenkins, 2012). This is evident in leadership education’s wide use of active learning techniques such as case studies, debates, role-playing, problem-based learning, small group activities, simulations, and community engagement within a broad range of leadership development programs. However, as the complexity of higher education increases and as student populations become more diverse, it is necessary for leadership educators to reexamine the active learning strategies and techniques used in their classrooms if they are to enhance leadership learning, as engaged pedagogies may apply differently to students from diverse backgrounds or experiences (Owen, 2015a; Roberts, 2007). Furthermore, as the problems leaders are called upon to solve grow in complexity and interdisciplinary nature, the field of leadership education needs to undergo a transformation “where powerful pedagogies and emerging knowledge about the scholarship of teaching and learning” are utilized (Owen, 2015a, p. 7). Incorporating integrative approaches to learning Journal of Leadership Education DOI: 10.12806/V16/I3/R3 JULY 2017 RESEARCH 68 enables students to “think the world together [rather] than think it apart” (Palmer & Zajonc, 2010, p. 22). Integrated learning is more than merely making connections between disciplines. Rather, it is the ability to synthesize and apply what was learned into new contexts (Owen, 2015a). Thus, in an integrated learning environment, the curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular experiences are not separated, but are valued equally. Encouraging students to consistently integrate their leadership learning experiences in their daily lives can be challenging; especially if the students have been exposed to competing or conflicting views towards leadership. However, utilizing integrative learning principles to leverage academic challenge, the interaction of faculty and students, and active, collaborative learning opportunities provides opportunities for students to overcome this challenge (Owen, 2015b). When faculty intentionally include the five hallmarks of integrative learning within a leadership course, students are exposed to a model whereby they can develop and refine their ability to integrate leadership concepts into other aspects of their lives, thereby deepening their learning. Owen (2015b) noted that the first hallmark of integrative learning is connections to experience. Finding ways for students to synthesize experiences outside the classroom with the content in the classroom enables students to deepen their understanding of both the experience and the course content. A second hallmark is enabling students to make connections across disciplines. Leadership is a dynamic and interdisciplinary endeavor; therefore, students must be able to combine information and content between classes/disciplines in order to know when and how to adapt their leadership approach effectively. Being able to adapt and apply what was learned in one context to another, or transfer, is the third hallmark of integrated learning. For transfer to occur, an experience cannot be limited only to the experienced context. Rather, students should be encouraged to draw from all of their experiences as they problem solve or confront complex issues. Integrated communication, or the ability to effectively communicate across formats and with diverse audiences or in diverse contexts, is key as the world becomes more interconnected and the speed of change increases. The fifth hallmark is reflection and selfassessment. Students need to understand that leadership development is a life-long process and necessitates being able to recognize the need for change as well as continual learning and development (Owen, 2015b). Leadership educators, as well as students, share the responsibility to create effective leadership learning environments (Roberts, 2007). In these environments, the focus turns from the leadership theories themselves to the process students use to learn the theories. Though efforts have been made to ground leadership in learning (Brungardt, 1997; Daloz Parks, 2005; Day, Harrison, & Halpin, 2009; Preskill & Brookfield, 2009; Roberts, 2007; Vaill, 1998) and multi-institutional research examining the influence of experiences and education in developing leadership has been done, limited research exists detailing the programs that apply these evidence-based practices. Consequently, leadership educators should strive to promote and research deeper learning-focused classroom approaches, as there is evidence that deeper learning will foster deeper leadership competency and capacity (Roberts, 2007). One way to engage in deeper learning is the use of active learning techniques paired with personal and shared reflection. Because of these integrative learning approaches and engaging Journal of Leadership Education DOI: 10.12806/V16/I3/R3 JULY 2017 RESEARCH 69 techniques, leadership educators are able to cultivate learning environments that help students effectively integrate knowledge, skills, and experiences (Owen, 2015a). Furthermore, active learning techniques should be considered levers of learning and that “they might apply differentially to students with diverse backgrounds and prior experiences” (Owen, 2015a, p.9). As a result, it is recommended that active learning techniques be intentionally used “to gauge learning in formative (i.e., during the process) and summative ways (at the end of the experience)” (Owen, 2015a, p. 9). Yet, utilizing active learning techniques in a classroom is not enough. Students must also learn to take ownership of their own education and become self-directed learners. To become self-directed learners, students must learn to “assess the demands of the task, evaluate their own knowledge and skills, plan their approach, monitor their progress, and adjust their strategies as needed” (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010, p. 191). As students progress through higher levels of education and into their professional lives, having the skills to be a selfdirected learner becomes increasingly important as students take on more complex tasks and are expected to accept greater responsibility for their own learning. According to Ambrose et al. (2010), there are five student stages within the cycle of self-directed learning. First, students must learn to fully assess the task at hand, including any major goals or constraints. Equipped with this understanding, students move on to evaluate their own knowledge and skills as well as any strengths or weaknesses they may personally have that would affect their work. Then, selfdirected students plan their approach to the task in such a way that accounts for the current situation. To enact their plan, students proceed to applying various strategies as they monitor their personal progress. Lastly, self-directed students take the time to reflect on the degree to which their current approach is working; this stage can lead to adjusting the plan and restarting the cycle. As research relating types of learning in an academic leadership context is limited, this study was an opportunity to expand the current literature. The active learning experience of a personal leadership transformation assignment (PLTA) in an undergraduate leadership course was used to describe the types of learning the students experienced throughout the three weeks of the assignment. This research study was designed to address the Association of Leadership Educator’s National Leadership Education Research Agenda Priority I (Andenoro, Allen, HaberCurran, Jenkins, Sowcik, Dugan, & Osteen, 2013). By focusing curriculum development frameworks to enhance the transfer of learning, leadership educators are better able to explore the developmental nature of leadership (Andenoro et al., 2013). Theoretical Framework Traditionally, educators have turned to the cognitive domain of Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy to formulate course work and measure student learning; this domain lists six kinds of learning arranged in a hierarchical sequence: Evaluation, Synthesis, Analysis, Application, Comprehension, and Knowledge. While the value of Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy remains unquestioned, it may be difficult to apply all six kinds of learning identified in the taxonomy’s cognitive domain to the goals and priorities of leadership education specifically in the areas of learning how to learn, ethics, communication skills, character, ability to adapt to change, and leadership and interpersonal skills (Fink, 2003). Journal of Leadership Education DOI: 10.12806/V16/I3/R3 JULY 2017 RESEARCH 70 As an alternative to Bloom’s taxonomy, Fink’s (2013) taxonomy offers a clear guide for leadership educators to intentionally ground their curricula in the principles and practices of evidence-based learning. The taxonomy is based on the belief that for learning to occur, change must also occur within the learner (Fink, 2003). Unlik

A Multidimensional Needs Assessment of Social Emotional Learning Skill Areas.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has often been an umbrella term for a wide range of competencies, including emotional processes, social and interpersonal skills, and cognitive regulation (Jones, Bouffard, & Weissbourd, 2013). We used the Borich (1980) needs assessment model to assess the professional development needs of Texas agricultural education teachers in core SEL skill areas. Data were collected with three forms of a paper questionnaire to determine teachers’ self-perceived levels of competence in core SEL skill areas. Twenty SEL indicators were assessed in four ways (Importance, Ability to Perform, Knowledge, and Ability to Teach), and then used to create three latent variables (Performance Competence, Knowledge Competence, and Consequence Competence), which served as dimensions of professional development needs. Agriculture teachers perceived the importance of all core SEL skill areas as having average or greater importance, their ability to model core SEL skill areas as average or greater, their knowledge of core SEL areas as average or greater, and possessing average or greater ability to teach core SEL skill areas. The findings of this study support the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL, 2003) report and emphasize the importance of SEL in agricultural education.