Program Evaluation - Elaine Bruns

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SFyxH1UftKO89mJJXsXJesFn1K6uzA1QhE2ugXDVJbw/edit?usp=sharing

Narrative Learning Group Project

Reflection completed by Elaine Bruns: current Adult Education administrator, equipping students with resources necessary to achieve the high school equivalency diploma and complete college and career goals by entering the workforce or a postsecondary institution.
            As a former adjunct instructor and collegiate student services advocate, I understand and appreciate the impact a FYS course has on the new college student. A required FYS course for the incoming non-traditional student is even more crucial, sometimes defining the success and retention of that returning student. It is vital, then, that the FYS course be designed to connect the students to each other and the institution.  Using narrative learning seems an excellent approach as it encourages deep introspection which may be new and uncomfortable,  yet allows the students to reflect and share using story-telling which feels familiar.
            First and foremost, from my experiences, people love to talk about themselves (see the rise of social networking, facebook, instagram, etc.). This is not necessarily a narcissistic flaw, rather I would argue, a survival strategy.  In talking about my own experiences, I encourage those around to share with me. When I was pulled over and had a positive interaction with the police officer, which resulted in a warning only, I shared. When my 2-year-old son fell in the bathtub, requiring stitches in his chin, I shared. When I book an excellent travel deal to Las Vegas and am proud of my Expedia sleuthing, I share.  I don't share to exploit all my failures or to gloat in my wins. I share because something I have done may encourage learning. I expect my peers to do the same, so that I may learn about the world around me and in turn, exist more comfortable, more aware, more intelligent. Narrative learning in a non-traditional FYS course embraces this story-telling-as-survival ideology. It encourages students to share so that they may grow and succeed.
            My own personal philosophy embraces narrative learning's most outstanding feature for an FYS course: appreciation of diversity.  The different stories adults bring with them into a classroom are absolutely astonishing. Some of the stories are harrowing tales of disaster, others painfully normal, but none of them in a non-traditional collegiate setting are 'perfect'.  These imperfect stories help students connect with each other and encourage a sense of pride in their own paths.  Narrative learning will help broaden the understanding of others' backgrounds, almost forcing empathy for situations one student may have never envisioned. 
            In my own adult education classrooms, the stories told can become stories suppressed if those in more privileged positions speak first and/or too often. Addressing systems of privilege should occur day one (a recommended tool to include is Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack") so that students can start to accept the oftentimes foreign idea.  Note that while the particular tool recommended has white privilege in its title, it can and should be expanded to include the privileges that come when being in the 'right' class, economic bracket, social sphere, gender, sexuality, religion, etc. While it is a tough pill to swallow for some (straight, white, middle-class, Christian men), it can assist in conversations going forward, allowing the instructor and/or students to point out when someone may be speaking from a position of privilege.
            Sometimes, narrative learning in non-traditional adult classrooms encourages stories shared to become stories with way too much information about way too many people with way too little tact.  I think this is because the students are eager to share with those who want to listen; a notion many have never felt wholeheartedly. In my classrooms, if someone perceives another of having a tough road to hoe, the conversation can quickly become a dramatic outpouring of descriptive proof regarding tough roads and the difficulty in hoeing.  I've witnessed classroom conversation take a turn from being about the struggles as a recovering addict to a 'hit list' of current drug dealers and where they live. While there are still benefits to this conversation, the instructor must be equipped with the grace it will take to move students toward more productive discussion.  In an online setting, it should be decided whether any posts would ever be deleted or edited.
            To avoid the FYS course becoming  "that class you have to take for no reason", I might encourage stricter guidelines in assignments. It is already a very open, discussion-based, 'there is no wrong answer' course, so further allowing students to just write about themselves, and choose any three people for the interview may be a little too lax. Asking the students to incorporate ways they are each privileged into their individual beginning narratives then again at the end could help determine what level of understanding the student has in regards to privilege. Perhaps in their individual narratives, each student picks a historical or fictional character they most resemble and explain why (I relate to Frankie Heck from The Middle, and unfortunately could provide references), or each student chooses an historical or fictional character they would like to be and why.  This could just add a bit more research/collegiate-feel to the assignment.  In choosing interviewees, maybe they instead must choose one who is a different race, one who is a different gender and one who is a different sexual orientation. They must ask each at least the same five questions:

1. What do you fear when you're pulled over by a police offer?
2. Do you feel comfortable kissing your significant other in public? Why/why not?
3. Do you think you've ever been denied an opportunity at work or home because of your race/gender/orientation/etc.?
4. Do you think you've ever been given and opportunity because of your race/gender/orientation/etc.?
5. What is your biggest fear?