Valparaiso University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology have received a joint Institutional Impact Grant from the Educating Character Initiative, a project of The Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. The grant, totaling $492,703, will support Building Lives for Good: Character Formation through Story, a new initiative that will benefit individual students by helping them to form a consistent, internal narrative that helps them grow and develop through the implementation of narrative pedagogy.
Narrative pedagogy uses storytelling and the shared experience as tools to help students make connections in their lives and communities. Today’s students manage an overwhelming number of fragmented identities — different versions of themselves that are expected to present as in different contexts. For instance, they must continuously switch between multiple expectations of who they’re expected to be with their families, who they have to be for their friends, and their identities on social media, among others.
In higher education, this fragmentation can intensify as students build professional identities and navigate lives within their major and in their general education courses. Building Lives for Good addresses this fragmentation through narrative pedagogy, or teaching and learning through the exploration of stories.
This initiative, and narrative pedagogy as a whole, is based in narrative psychology, a subject with deep ties to Valparaiso University. Dan McAdams ’76, Ph.D., a Valpo graduate and student in Christ College — the Honors College as well as the College of Arts and Sciences, is credited with doing foundational work in this field. His former Ph.D. student at Northwestern, Ariana Turner, Ph.D., is now working with Valpo and Rose-Hulman to research and implement this new initiative.
“Through story-driven learning, this initiative will more intentionally connect what students learn with who they are becoming, helping them develop the character, sense of purpose, and commitment to others that will guide how they use their gifts throughout their lives,” said Eric Johnson, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
All incoming students will encounter narrative pedagogy in the classroom, either in the first-year Valparaiso University Experience or in Christ College — the Honors College. This will include a focus on learning to articulate their own stories, as well as learning from the stories of older students, alumni, authors, and members of the community.
The College of Engineering will pilot narrative approaches within technical courses, encouraging students to embrace all facets of their character, regardless of the setting.
“There’s something of a tradition in engineering to put up walls and leave parts of yourself outside the discipline,” said Reva Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering and the driving force behind the proposal of this initiative. “I would love to see students bringing their full and integrated selves to the classroom and to their engineering work. This will help students develop a coherent sense of character, which will allow them to be consistent in living out their values.”
Students will continue to experience narrative pedagogies throughout their time at Valpo, After piloting each stage of the program, Valparaiso University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will incorporate what was learned and begin piloting a revised version of the practice in their own programs.
Building Lives for Good has been made possible by the efforts of a cross-disciplinary team of faculty and staff from across University departments including Professor Johnson, Anna Stewart, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Leadership and Service, Michael Chikeleze, Ph.D., J.D., professor of leadership studies and Richard C. & Francelia A. Gozon University Chair, Lisa Jennings, clinical associate professor, and Sam Graber, Ph.D., associate professor of humanities and literature, and Devin Sodums, M.S., director of the office of sponsored and student research. University President Rev. Brian Konkol was also involved in the conversation, refining the idea and contributing to the overall direction. The Educating Character Initiative is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.
