Leadership Curriculum
Classes and teaching methods
The ALSCS curriculum comprises 11 class sessions that occur across a four-month period. Each two-hour class has specific course objectives, readings, class activities, and follow-up. Table 1 provides an overview of the curriculum, and List 1 provides an overview of the objectives and activities for one class. Most classes start with a short leadership exercise, icebreaker, or quote. The faculty and students also check in with one another, reporting anything new in their lives as a way to inspire one another, build trust, and strengthen teamwork necessary for successful leadership. Students then share any examples of leadership—germane to any previous class sessions—that they have witnessed or experienced. For example, one student discussed witnessing a bus hit a pedestrian and his opportunity to practice several leadership competencies. The class subsequently sent a condolence note to the family of the injured pedestrian and examined the issue of pedestrian walkways around campus (see below). As expected, some of the examples the students share are of poor leadership (e.g., a meeting run without an agenda or time limits and with little facilitation), and some are of excellent leadership (e.g., a student using inspiring techniques to recruit a fellow classmate to join a community service project).
Table 1
Table 1
Image Tools List 1
List 1
Image Tools
The principal portion of each class is devoted to active learning, whereby students discuss, practice, and reflect on a new leadership skill. All class sessions emphasize interaction and discussion rather than lecture. After a brief (five- to eight-minute) summary of a topic pulled from preassigned class readings and an opportunity for any clarifying questions, students break into smaller groups to discuss cases, examples, and scenarios that apply to the selected leadership competency. For instance, when discussing soliciting funds from an individual—whether family, friend, or stranger—students practice asking each other for money, knowing how and when to be silent, countering objections, and providing appropriate follow-up after the conversation. When discussing facilitation, students monitor and comment on class dynamics, or they may teach one part of the class, noting when class instructors or fellow students perform a facilitation skill well or when facilitation skills need improvement. To practice the leadership skill of giving feedback, students critique one another using scenarios developed for the course as well as examples relevant to their current experiences with peers. At the end of each small-group exercise, the whole class debriefs, sharing what they have learned and/or experienced.The remaining class time starts with a discussion of a reading from the course textbook as it applies to the examples discussed in class until that point in time. The required course text, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, features the life and mission of Dr. Paul Farmer and his colleagues to alleviate poverty, HIV, and tuberculosis among the poor in the United States and internationally. Usually, students read 30 to 40 pages between class sessions, and both they and the instructors select quotes to bring into class for discussion. The book inspires students, giving real examples that relate to classroom exercises.Two or three faculty guests come to the class each year, spaced out over the course. Guests are selected by the group, based on student or faculty suggestions, and represent alignment with students' service and leadership interests. Faculty guests receive extensive previsit preparation to ensure that they know the overall course objectives and that the content and process of their visit reinforce the class objectives for the day. Faculty ensure that guests selected represent diversity of opinions, gender, and ethnicity, are recognized leaders in health care, and have strong records of community service. To ensure interaction between guests and students, guests are asked to talk for only 10 minutes at the start, and students come to class with prepared questions to ask guests, based on their knowledge of the guest's professional work, class readings, and objectives.Classes end with a review of the day's objectives and accomplishments, followed by a brief overview of the next class and any upcoming written assignments. Instructors post readings for each class, as well as written assignments, on a Web-based instructional system that allows for varied teaching interactions between faculty and students (Blackboard Learning System 6.1.0, 2005). Instructors try to finish class early to allow students time to meet in small groups to discuss their community projects.