Our Six Educational Committments

Interdisciplinary
- Reach across academic disciplines
COE projects foster integrated, holistic, interdisciplinary approaches to important issues of our times. For example, English professor Gabrielle Civil and Computer Science/Engineering instructor Yvonne Ng collaborated in a project they named “Re-Composition: Combining English and Computer Science Classes.” This project considered and redressed women’s marginalization in today’s technological world. Students in Computer Science 106 (Introduction to Computers) and English 200 (Composition) learned how to relate critically to the technology and understand the conceptual underpinnings of the technical process rather than superficially how to use machines. The computer science course used writing exercises to better understand the application of technical knowledge. The Composition course integrated technology as a theme to increase awareness and engagement of technology and its effects on the writing process. Students in both classes reported an increased confidence level in writing skills and an increase in their comfort level with technology.

Collaboration
- Engage faculty and students in collaborative work
COE projects engage faculty and students in collaborative work that encourages inno­va­tion and active learning, and that focuses on issues of mutual concern. Together with the Student Center and Activities office, the COE has implemented the Assistant­ship Men­tor­ing Program, which pairs students with a faculty/staff mentor to work in teaching, research, or program development. In these positions students apply their knowledge of an academic field as they develop new skills in pedagogy, research, leadership, and institutional change. Mentor-student pairs work together to plan and implement their projects. In some cases they make joint presentations at regional and national scholarly conferences.

Diversity
- Include diverse participants and perspectives
COE projects and initiatives engage with multiple and intersecting differences, in order to foster more inclusive teaching, learning and scholarship, and to address the deep, and sometimes hidden inequalities associated with difference in contemporary society. From 2004 to 2006 the Centers of Excellence hosted Scholar in Residence Paulette Sankofa, Ed.D., supported by the University’s Bush Foundation Grant for Diversity and Democracy. Dr. Sankofa undertook community-based, ethnographic research, exploring the life-stories of early adolescent African-American girls, ages 8 to 11, and their mothers/female caretakers, to identify the girls’ hopes and dreams, the challenges they face, and how resilience might be fostered through formal and informal education. This project examined the intersections of culture/ethnicity (race), class and gender through the lens of Womanist Thought and Theology and Critical Pedagogy.Dr. Sankofa organized an annual Womanist Convening, gathering local and national scholars, community activists, ministers, parents, and St. Catherine faculty, staff, and students to participate in analyzing her research data and planning actions to support the development of young African-American women.

Learner-centered
- Involve active, participatory approaches
COE projects promote learner-centered educational experiences that focus on students as active learners, use varied pedagogical approaches to engage different learning styles, and cultivate new competencies. The Center for Women and Health has supported the pioneering work of nursing faculty member Joyce Abel to implement the Skills and Attitudes for Grade Excellence (SAGE) program. Test anxiety is more prevalent among women than men students, and one study found that nursing students have the highest incidence of test anxiety, fear of failure, panic and feelings of inadequacy. Professor Abel and the nursing department recognized that a number of CSC nursing students have incapacitating test anxiety that obstructs their ability to demonstrate their mastery of nursing material. Professor Abel developed and piloted a 10-session course that employed intentional caring, cognitive restructuring, relaxation techniques and test-taking strategies. All twelve participants in the pilot program exhibited a statistically significant reduction in anxiety between pre- and post-test evaluations, and all went on to successfully pass their national licensing exam for nurses (NCLEX). A Centers of Excellence grant is now enabling Professor Abel to expand this program by training faculty and professional staff of the O’Neill Center for Academic Development, Counseling, and Campus Ministry to work with SAGE groups. She is collecting and analyzing data on the impact of intentional caring since this is the only program in the professional literature to use caring as an intervention for test anxiety.

Community
- Work with community partners
COE projects build meaningful, reciprocal partnerships with community organizations to enrich and enhance the education we provide and strengthen the communities in which we live. The Center for Women, Economic Justice and Public Policy has worked closely with Community Action Partners of Ramsey and Washington Counties in their War on Poverty. During 2004-05 the Center and CAP together implemented a series of discussions and Town Hall Forums that brought St. Catherine faculty, staff and students together with community members to better understand the causes of domestic poverty. In 2005-06 they began to develop a “Blueprint for Action” to end poverty in Ramsey and Washington counties, involving, as “fellows,” persons who have lived in poverty.

Action Research
- Conduct research that pursues understanding and change
COE projects engage in action research that involves rigorous, systematic and purposeful inquiry to serve community and educational objectives. For example, the Center for Women and Health has sponsored a multiyear research collaboration between the University’s graduate and undergraduate nursing programs and NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center in North Minneapolis. In successive years, this project involved students in community-based collaborative action research to learn from and with NorthPoint as it sought to identify and address barriers to health for women and girls of color in North Minneapolis. Students learned a process of listening to the lived experience of women, partnering with women to identify community strengths and factors underlying health disparities for women in the community, conducting a systematic inquiry into an identified priority health issue, and developing a plan of action to address the issue and evaluate outcomes. Upon graduation, students who have participated in this work are able to take this knowledge of how to affect change through action research into the communities they serve.