SElf & CircumstancEs
REFLECTION
"Self
and Circumstances introduces
you to the Portfolio Program, a four year sequence of course work in which your
liberal arts education at VWC will be carefully coordinated with experiential
learning both on and off campus. In the main portion of this course, we will
focus on YOU, who you are at this moment in your life. Through reading and
discussion and through both informal and formal assessments, you will explore
and learn to methodically reflect upon your interests, your beliefs, your
strengths, and your aspirations for the future. Then, you will shift your focus
from "self" to "circumstance", the context in which you have
chosen to spend your college years. The reference here is not just to Virginia
Wesleyan College but to the Hampton Roads Area, the commonwealth of Virginia,
and beyond to the larger world. At the close of the semester, you and your
classmates along with faculty from the humanities, the social sciences, and the
natural sciences will come to understand how self and circumstance come together
to define individual lives.
In
the Freshman Seminar portion of this class, we will meet to help your adjustment
to college life – academically and socially.
You have an advantage over other VWC students because your freshman
seminar classmates will all be members of the PORTfolio Program.
This will assist in your transition from high school to college.
The Freshman Seminar Advisors will also be upper level PORTfolio students
to provide additional insight into your development throughout the fall
semester.
As
the course progresses, you will learn to document your development and insights
about that development in an electronic portfolio. This portfolio begun now will
serve as a comprehensive tool for examining the interplay between liberal and
experiential learning as you progress from your freshman to your senior year. In
this course, we will start this four year process by helping you acquire the
basic computer skills you will need to accomplish this task.
Its
teaching staff is large as the course is co-taught with two instructors to guide
you through this course. In
addition, peer advisors as well as many other Virginia Wesleyan College Faculty
will assist in teaching and advising you throughout the semester
It explores connections between academic and experiential learning
It
is interdisciplinary.
TEXT:
Sternberg,
R. (1997). Successful intelligence. New York: Plume. Becoming
a Scholar:
A course pack of readings for this course is also available in the bookstore