American College University
Code
HED 605
Short Course Description
This course explored the history of the American College and University through a critical lens. Students were exposed to tools offered by the University Library and Archives to study this history. Group and individual products allowed students to study the influence of history on modern institutions and examine a topic and university of their choosing.
Greatest Course Takeaways
This was one of the first courses that I completed towards my Master of Science in Teaching and Curriculum. This was an important introduction to the history of the American College and University. This class opened my eyes to many of the systemic issues that influenced the construction and operation of colleges and universities in the past and in the present still. This course improved my understanding of the different struggles many minority groups endured and continue to face while working towards higher education. My greatest takeaway from this course was a stronger sense of social awareness towards those around me, including students that I may teach in the future. This course taught me the importance of always keeping your eyes and heart open to the people you work with, and to continually listen to their perspectives, learn their history, and to understand and work towards creating more equitable experiences in higher education.
Course Product Description
The course product selected for this portfolio was the final individual project for the course. This was a historical research report that was connected to a higher education topic of our choosing (and that was approved by the course instructor). The project allowed for a variety of topics or angles to be taken, such as tracing the history of a specific aspect of student affairs or higher education, examining the effects of important past legislation in higher education, or diving into a specific historical event that impacted higher education.
For my topic, I dove into the history of female undergraduate students at my college. This was of significance to me for many reasons. My home institution was SUNY-ESF, a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics focused college centered on topics and areas of study related to the environment. Growing up, my parents always encouraged me to study what I wanted and never held me out of science or math because they were "boy" subjects. It wasn't until I entered college and the workforce that I realized this mentality was more commonplace than one would like. I was the only woman in my freshmen class of Paper Engineering undergraduates, and I was one of only two women working on the operating floor at each of my industrial internships. Eventually, I met more female students in my department, which helped me realize I wasn't alone, but we were often in the minority compared to our peers. My department also had only one female faculty compared to other departments that had a much greater diversity of scholars.
Throughout my time at my college, I had learned that my Paper Engineering program hosted two of the first three female undergraduate students to graduate at the college back in the 1940's. I wanted to learn more about the history of women at my college and what the driving forces were for their lack of and then emerging enrollment. Through this, I learned that my department not only had the first female undergraduate students to complete their degrees, but they also hosted the first female faculty at the college in Dr. Renata Marton, whom we have a scholarship dedicated to for her work in the industry and at the department. It was unfortunate to see how administration at the college outright refused to enroll female students or give any effort to accommodate female students at their campus and off-campus facilities early in their operation. It also gave me a chance to see how the student population grew over time to where it is now - a nearly 50/50 split between male and female students.
Click Here to See the Course Product for this Course and Others in the Portfolio.
Selection of Product for Portfolio
I included this in my portfolio because it is important to me. In the workforce, in higher education, and in society, I continue to see the narrative that certain people are "not allowed in" or "not capable or good at" or "don't belong in" science and math. That strikes me to my core not just as a woman in science and math but as an educator. It is my utmost belief that any and every student is capable of learning math and science if they are given the right structure, attention, practice, examples, and support. Seeing how women persevered in a very male dominated field and school and continued to expand into the field of science was inspiring, but it also reminded me of how much work we still have to do to make the higher education system and experiences more equitable for all groups - not just women. It is a constant reminder to be considerate, reflective, and thoughtful with my students when I am selecting topics, creating lessons and media, engaging in lecture and classwork, and interacting with students when I am teaching.
I also included this in my portfolio because it is one of my first pieces of work where I was not bound by strictly quantitative means of assessment. Much of my scientific training in my engineering degrees centered around the importance of quantitative data and observations and strict "facts" of what science was indicating based on the results. However, this work allowed me to pursue a more qualitative aspect of research by investigating primary resources like news articles, yearbooks, and photographs. It allowed me to delve into a very important aspect of higher education outside of GPA and research work: the social aspect and how that can be as influential to one's professional development as laboratory and writing skills can.
Contribution of Product to Overall Program
The focus of my degree and how I constructed my Teaching and Curriculum program and courses was on higher education. Particularly, I am focused on how I can be a better professor in collegiate science, engineering, and mathematics to make the learning environment and activities better and more equitable for students. The importance of this course and course product is that it forced me to have a new perspective on higher education as a system, my place in that system, and my place overall in society and in academia as a queer white woman. I cannot and should not assume that I know everything about everyone's upbringing and experiences in this world, and that is important to consider when working with students and building materials and lessons to help them learn. This course product allowed me to look into the history of people like me and see their struggle to get the same things that I obtained in my own lifetime without as much oppression to face. It reminded me, as well, that many students are enduring that level of struggle today to get the same opportunity that I have, and that I am a force in and outside of the classroom that can advocate for them and support them so that these opportunities and chances at equity don't have to take nearly as long as they did in the past.
This was one of the few courses and projects that offered me the chance to explore topics and perspective outside of just teaching and designing instruction. Because of this project and others in this program, I am more sensitive to the needs of my students, how to accommodate and support them, and most of all, how to have empathy for their struggles instead of judgement. This has taught me to be a more flexible and responsive instructor, especially to student feedback. This project also showed me how important it is to advocate for others when they feel like they don't have a voice, as my findings showed that female students still felt uneasy at the school despite the changes that had taken place since the first women enrolled in the 1940's. One of my core philosophies as an instructor is to advocate for the needs of my students and to make their experiences in higher education better - whether it's the curriculum, the classroom environment, or even their lives outside of school. It is one of the things that inspired me to get into this field after my experiences as a student and after observing my students enduring the same struggles that I did from their professors. This project and course reminded me of that goal and just how important it is to be conscious of each individual and group around you and how you can dismantle systems that oppress to help build those that support all. Learning history is important, especially the history of the individuals that you serve as an educator.