Learning with the ELP
The ELP is powerful because it is the students’ live record of learning. Students working with the tool begin to watch their evolution over the New School experience. They form ownership of what they learn and how they learn.
a. Build Inquiry
Inquiry is the process of asking questions to collect information. Often inquiry leads to more inquiry. For students to work productively in the world they need to know how to observe, wonder, pose questions and collect research.
How to include inquiry on the ELP? Students might start to wonder as a part of course readings or lectures. They may find new ideas riding the subway or attending museum exhibitions. Or they may begin to observe everyday experiences in new ways.
The rubric below outlines some attributes of inquiry that appear in ELP posts.
b. Develop Reflection
Mapping the iterations of a performance or paper from inspiration to resolution demonstrates learning. Self-evaluation of the learning process makes a reflective student.
How to include reflection on the ELP? An ELP post that demonstrates a procedure of working and a sequence of choices often leads a student to self-reflect. Prompt a student to not only record the steps, but to examine what happened. When did you make a plan? When did you trust your intuition? When did a mistake turn in to a discovery? When did you need to consult an expert or find a new source? What would you do differently in the future? Where will you go from here? The goal is for the students to understand the learning process, build strengths and try new methods.
The rubric below outlines some attributes of reflection that appear in ELP posts.
c. Communicate Relevance
Presenting work on the ELP asks students to place work into a larger context of ideas, summarizing the meaning and stating the relevance of the piece or study.
How to state relevance on the ELP? Framing a graph or music piece for the reader requires the student to describe the elements of the work and identify the ideas behind the work. How does this piece fit into a social context or provide a new approach to technology? How does the work relate to a specific discipline or popular culture? Why does your work matter?
The rubric below outlines some attributes of communicating relevance that appear in ELP posts.
d. Form Personal Practice
As students build connections across courses and years of study at the New School, they begin to see personal practice develop. This illusive “voice” is the unique mark of the student, defined by the subjects they choose to study, the questions they ask, in what they produce and in the causes that they champion. They will take this sense of personal agency into the professional world.
How to form personal practice on the ELP? The student does not need to try to form a personal voice on the ELP- it will just happen. The accumulation of courses and years of study builds a map to the student’s education and personal passions. Shifts in perspective and growth are apparent. In the connections between courses and ideas we find the individual student.
The rubric below outlines some attributes of personal voice that appear across ELP posts.
