PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO 150 is an introduction to the liberal arts academic community of Bridgewater College. Students begin their personal development portfolios which document the processes of intellectual discovery, emotional and physical wellness, ethical and spiritual growth, and citizenship. Special attention will be given to practicing reflection skills and evaluating personal and social choices.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE:

1. To introduce students to the liberal arts. Students will explore the purposes, goals and values of a liberal arts education. "˜Liberal' means free, thus we will focus on understanding the ways the liberal arts can make us free.
   
   
2. To develop students' skills in critical reflection. Critical reflection involves the practice of liberal learning: being open to new ideas, evaluating ideas in the light of experience and our preconceived values and ideas, and exploring the implications of the conclusions we come to for ourselves and our society.
   
   
3. To introduce students to the four dimensions of PDP: intellectual discovery, emotional and physical wellness, ethical and spiritual growth, and citizenship. These dimensions express the four distinct areas of our lives in which the liberal arts education can foster human freedom or the development of the "whole person"�.

THE FOUR PERSONAL DIMENSIONS OF THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO:

A key piece of the Bridgewater experience involves challenging ourselves to become free human beings by reflecting on our personal development. There are four distinct areas in which the College hopes to foster students' development.

• Intellectual Growth and Discovery. In addition to meeting the minimum academic standards specified in the catalog, Bridgewater students develop the skills and perspectives to be passionate lifelong learners who can integrate their varied academic experiences in a meaningful way.
  
  
• Emotional Maturation and Physical Health. Bridgewater students understand the importance of emotional and physical well-being, and possess the skills to pursue wellness during their college years and throughout the rest of their lives.
  
  
• Ethical and Spiritual Growth. The curricular and co-curricular experiences at Bridgewater require students to examine and act upon fundamental ethical choices, and to define, refine, and pursue their personal spiritual paths.
  
  
• Citizenship and Community Responsibility. At Bridgewater, students become more aware, involved, and effective citizens of the communities-campus, local, national, global-to which they belong. Responsible citizenship at Bridgewater implies the ability and willingness to provide leadership and other forms of service to the community.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

You have each signed the honor code statement and it is expected that you will internalize and abide by this norm. Cheating and plagiarism are taboo and are considered "serious offenses, which can result in dismissal from Bridgewater College." [See your Student Handbook p. 39] Violations will be treated seriously and swiftly. Come see me if you are in difficulty.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION:

The course will require participation by students at every level and in every activity. Seminar sessions, debates, presentations, group projects, labs, multimedia, and social occasions will be integrated to encourage learning together and to encourage personal relationships formed among students and between students and faculty. Students must come to class prepared for each day, expecting to carry much of the responsibility for the success of the course.

WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS:

CLASS ACTIVITIES:

Different kinds of activities will be suggested and required to make the class interesting and complete. Participation is expected.

• Regular Class Sessions
• Social Events and/or field trips
• Service learning fair, Koestner lecture, PDP150 convocations
• Possibly one service learning project

REFLECTIVE ESSAYS:

Step One
You always need to include an explanation of the texts and ideas you encounter in PDP 150. Critical reading is crucial in this stage of the process because you cannot reflect on what you have not understood. So the first important consideration in reflective writing is ensuring that you read critically - that you grasp the ideas and the relationships among the ideas in a text. In this stage of the process, address the questions "What is the subject of reflection?" based on your reading.

Step Two
Next, reflection requires that you turn your attention to exploring your own preconceptions and assumptions about the topic: the beliefs, attitudes, and values that you bring to the subject. In this stage, you should articulate these preconceptions and compare them with the texts you are encountering. The point here is to explore these preconceptions and not to make an argument for them. Reflective writing requires that you demonstrate a certain amount of openness to revising your preconceived beliefs and values in the light of new information and reflection. Indeed, such openness is the essence of a liberal arts education. Several strategies of exploration might be pursued:

• Express confusion, the possibility that you may be pulled in several directions by conflicting values and ideas, or uncertainty about the topic.
• Identify just where your preconceptions conflict or agree with the texts confronted.
• Identify some questions, implications, or issues about the topic that could be analyzed further.

Step Three
In the next stage you should clearly lay out and explain a conjecture that comes out of your exploration of the texts and your own preconceptions. When making a conjecture, you are raising a question, proposing a path for expanded speculation, or laying out a supposition that you want to explore. A strong conjecture is worthy of further analysis. Likewise, a challenging conjecture can help you to achieve greater depth and rigor as you reflect. A question or supposition that is too superficial will make it difficult for you to do the necessary examination and synthesis that is essential to critical reflection. Make sure your conjectures are interesting enough to meaningfully reflect on! At the most basic level, making a conjecture is akin to developing a thesis statement, but a conjecture isn't a position you are arguing. Instead, it is an issue you are exploring. In a reflective essay this thesis statement should be neither the same as the texts you are reflecting upon, nor your common sense take on the subject. Rather, your conjecture sets out a new way of looking at the topic that can provide you with a new sense of perspective on the topic or allow you to work through the ambiguities and confusions in your thinking.

Step Four
Next, reflection requires that you analyze your preconceptions, experiences, the assigned texts, and other evidence in order to draw some conclusions about your conjecture. Make sure your analysis considers several such sources of information. At the very least you should revisit the texts you discussed at the explanation stage and reevaluate the information and evidence presented there. In this phase of the reflection process your personal experiences may also be relevant, but be specific and make sure that any anecdotes you offer are truly relevant to your conjecture. In other words, relating personal experience is not an end in itself. Treat your personal experience as one among many sources of evidence for exploring your conjecture, not as the ultimate authority on the topic. You might also want to bring in information from other classes or additional research at this stage.

Step Five
The final stage in the process of reflection is synthesis/re-examination. Here you should discuss the implications of your analysis in stage four. This means not only drawing some conclusions about your conjecture, but also engaging in a new exploration of the implications of those conclusions. Thus, in this stage you shouldn't just restate what you have already discussed. Synthesis involves a new examination (a re-examination) of the topic. Ideally, this re-examination from a new (informed and analyzed) perspective casts new light on your former, current, and future knowledge. Some strategies for synthesis may be:

• Explore the implications of conclusions rather than just stating them. Explain how the conclusions you arrived might impact your activities in college, in life after college, or public policy.
• Explore the consequences of changing or not changing certain values, actions, or beliefs in the light of the reflective process.
• Explore remaining uncertainties about the topic and discuss future research or activities that could address these issues.