Volume IV: What works, what matters, what lasts

Postings in 2005

Leadership: Characteristics and tasks
January 24, 2005
Shaping A Personal Agenda For Leadership
February 7, 2005
The PKAL Volume IV postings on January 24, 2005 and February 7, 2005 explore shaping a personal agenda for leadership, one that reflects personal strengths and interest and is timely in the context of one's career stage, institutional culture, and other commitments.
Introducing PKAL Volume IV 2005 - 2006
August 15, 2005
PKAL began in 1989 with an initial vision of what works in building robust undergraduate natural science (STEM) communities. During the past sixteen years, that earlier vision has become the foundation for a process of planning advocated in all activities and publications sponsored by PKAL. This PKAL planning process has several dimensions, first focusing on the iterative consideration of mission, vision, goals, strategies and actions. Another dimension is the need to take the kaleidoscopic perspective, to ask questions about all facets of the undergraduate learning environment and to have the right people at the table; this perspective also signals the importance of understanding how different patterns of reform can be explored to find what works in specific circumstances and settings. Finally, the PKAL process of planning calls for leaders to be alert to and informed about the context in which they undertake their work, recognizing the potential to make a difference for their students, for the scientific community, and to the broader society to which we all belong.
Act as though learning matters, because it does
August 25, 2005
The August 25, 2005 posting of Project Kaleidoscope Volume IV: What works, what matters, what lasts explores issues to be addressed as America's colleges and universities set "goals for student learning" as the driver for informing decisions about institutional policies and budgets, program and pedagogies, and faculty and facilities.
Planning Spaces for Science
October 27, 2005
For over a decade, Project Kaleidoscope has been a major resource for campuses planning spaces for science—whether new construction, an addition or the renovation of spaces large and small. The upcoming PKAL Facilities Planning Workshop at Meredith College in the spring (March 3 – 5, 2006) is the 30th PKAL workshop, seminar or colloquium PKAL has hosted on facilities planning since 1992. Over 700 campuses from all sectors of higher education, from all parts of the country, have sent teams to these events. From these years of activity, PKAL has assembled an extensive archive on each stage of the planning process—from the point of grounding planning in institutional mission, and articulating a compelling vision, through the stages of considering options and opportunities to achieve spaces that contribute to institutional distinction, to figuring out how to secure the capital needed for such a major investment in the physical plant.
The Research-rich Undergraduate Community
September 9, 2005
Building and sustaining a research-rich learning environment of distinction calls for a supportive institutional culture. In this culture, faculty are equally passionate about undergraduate learning and their own intellectual vitality. By the same token, this culture also recognizes and rewards faculty for their work. This conviction as been at the center of PKAL’s efforts from the beginning.
Steps toward planning spaces for science
November 16, 2005
There are many steps to achieve sustainable institutional transformation, including: i) identifying the right questions; ii) addressing such questions to those with relevant expertise; iii) building on the work of experienced agents of change; and iv) focusing on what works. The November 16 posting for PKAL Volume IV gives examples of how campus leaders have taken these steps in the context of planning new spaces for science. The lessons learned from their experiences can inform the work of leaders tackling other facets of institutional transformation, as they all focus on building a collaborating community with a common vision of the future.
Leadership from the perspective of the department/program chairperson
December 20, 2005
Translating how people learn into a roadmap for institutional transformation
October 6, 2005