Resources & Key Terms

Chick, Nancy. “Metacognition.” Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, February 10, 2013.

In this resource for teachers (but that will be of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the research surrounding metacognition, or thinking about thinking), Nancy Chick of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching reviews the research surrounding the benefits of metacognition for improving student learning. The article also provides an overview of several easy-to-implement strategies for incorporating metacognitive exercises into the classroom.

Hart Research Associates. “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success.” Liberal Education 99, no. 2 (Spring 2013).

Public opinion research firm Hart Research Associates surveyed 318 employers about the skills they want colleges to emphasize to help prepare graduates for the workplace success. A few results from the survey that will interest Jefferson students, faculty, and administrators include employers’ interest in e-portfolios, their embrace of the blending of liberal arts education and applied learning, and the importance employers place on skills such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, and written and oral communication.

Miller, Ross, and Wende Morgaine. “The Benefits of E-Portfolios for Students and Faculty in Their Own Words.” Peer Review, Winter 2009.

The authors of this article provide a brief overview of current research on the effectiveness of e-portfolios for not only student learning, but for institutional and course assessment as well. This article also provides a number of responses from students and faculty who have worked on and with e-portfolios regarding the value of their experiences.

Porter, Jennifer. “Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It).” Harvard Business Review, March 21, 2017.

Executive coach Jennifer Porter confronts several excuses business leaders typically make in order to avoid self-reflection. She also offers strategies for overcoming such resistance, citing the importance for leaders in all sectors of business to practice reflection in order to “pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions.”

Schrand, Tom. “Design Thinking as a Strategy for Consensus in General Education Reform.” Peer Review 18, no. 3 (Summer 2016).

Associate Dean for General Education Tom Schrand recounts the complex process of campus-wide collaboration among faculty, students, and administrators that went into the development of the Hallmarks Program learning goals and curriculum. His article provides key insight into the careful thought and detail that contributed to what would become the reform of general education at Jefferson.

Schrand, Tom, Katharine Jones, and Valerie Hanson. “‘Reflecting on Reflections:’ Curating EPortfolios for Integrative Learning and Identity Development in a General Education Senior Capstone.” The International Journal of EPortfolio 8, no. 1 (2018): 1–12.

In this article, three of the key engineers of the Hallmarks Program at Jefferson reflect on the integration of the e-portfolio into the general education core and the role of the senior capstone in shaping students’ sense of professional and personal identities. One of the conclusions these authors drew after studying students’ e-portfolios and capstone experiences was that, “our general education capstone allowed students to think beyond their general education class experiences and to identify moments within other experiences that connected to the larger learning goals.”

Artifact: An example of work done for a class or as part of an activity. Artifacts may include written essays, notes from class, quizzes, tests, lab reports, or video recordings of oral presentations. You can also approximate the work, activity, or event you want to represent. For example, if you want to represent a meeting between you and club members, you could photograph yourself working with club members. That photograph, as a representation of your activity, becomes the artifact that you add to your Hallmarks Pathway to document the experience.

Co-Curricular: Learning activities and experiences that occur outside the classroom, such as clubs, sports, study abroad, and internships. 

Curriculum Map: A guide for how coursework in each major will satisfy the Hallmarks learning goals. Each major’s curriculum map provides a recommendation for courses (and, by extension, the work produced in them) to reference when selecting items to add to your Hallmarks Pathway. Please remember that the courses listed on the curriculum map aren’t the only place where you might address the learning goals in your major; instead, think of them as a starting point and feel free to use work from other courses if appropriate. The important thing is for students to find work that addresses the learning goals, wherever they think they have done that.

General Education: A common liberal arts and sciences curriculum required by all college undergraduates at a given institution, regardless of major. 

Hallmarks Core Course: a general education course at Jefferson; that is, a specific course or category of courses taken by all undergraduates regardless of major. These provide training in a broad set of skills that go beyond the specialized work performed in major courses.

Hallmarks Pathway: a digital collection of highlights from your Jefferson academic journey that are aligned with the eight Hallmarks learning goals. These items can reflect learning experiences in your major, in the Hallmarks Core, or in co-curricular activities such as study abroad, internships, or participation in student organizations.

Hallmarks Program: Another name for the general education program at Jefferson; this program focuses on eight key qualities that are essential for students’ personal and professional success.

Learning Goal: The action, knowledge, or skill a student should possess and/or be able to exercise after completing a program or course.

Major Course: A course required by all students in a particular major. 

Metacognition: A way of referring to practices of “thinking about thinking.” Developing an awareness of our thought processes helps us understand how we study, how we process and remember information, and how to use those realization to tackle new projects. 

Reflective Essay: A mini-essay of about 300 words that explains how a particular example of work for a course (an artifact) relates to one of the Hallmarks learning goals. 

Touchstone courses: The four courses in the Hallmarks Core that support the development of your Hallmarks Pathway. Sequenced in the first, sophomore, junior and senior years, the courses include time and instructor feedback for adding and reviewing new items in your Hallmarks Pathway, in addition to the course’s designated content.