How can graduate programs apply the principles of formative education?
The Graduate Student Services (GSS) office is pioneering new ways of growing the intellectual, ethical, social, and spiritual capacities of Lynch School master鈥檚 and doctoral candidates. A new set of programs developed specifically for graduate students鈥攔etreats, meet-and-greets, and panel discussions鈥攁re creating the opportunity for self-reflection that leads to an understanding of one鈥檚 own purpose and a blueprint for a meaningful life. This programming benefits students throughout their academic journeys, and propels them after graduation to careers and community engagement that contribute to a just and compassionate society.
The promise of a liberal arts education is to prepare students for lifelong learning and exploration. In their coursework and practicum placements, students apply the skills of critical inquiry to their communities, careers, and lives. But an education that focuses exclusively on the classroom misses the full scope of the student experience: jobs, family responsibilities, volunteering, and interactions with the wider community beyond campus, to name a few. So how can the University nurture its students鈥� full development if much of their growth is happening outside the school鈥檚 walls?
FORMATIVE EDUCATION
This holistic approach to student growth helps students discern their greater purpose in the world and the societal benefits from their explorations.
At 涩里番下载, the answer is formative education. A formative education helps facilitate the intellectual, social, ethical, and spiritual growth of each student, recognizing each dimension as essential to the development of becoming a whole person and a member of a larger community. This holistic approach helps students discern their greater purpose in the world and determine how their explorations can benefit society at large. So while students at the graduate level have significant agency over the shaping of their education, the University also has a responsibility to assist and encourage their self-development.
Steven Viveiros
Steven Viveiros, associate dean of Graduate Student Services at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, is determined to provide graduate students with a formative education that will support their continued growth and the communities they serve.
鈥淲e have a responsibility to develop not just the mind but the soul of the student,鈥� Viveiros says. 鈥淎nd those students pay it forward in our communities, our nation, and our world.鈥�
The challenges of fostering community
When creating new programming for the graduate student population, it鈥檚 important to take the diversity of backgrounds and expectations into account. 鈥淭he graduate student experience isn鈥檛 as developmentally delineated as the standard four years of undergraduate education,鈥� says Viveiros. 鈥淵ou have to differentiate between the needs of a master鈥檚 student, who might only be here for one year, and a doctoral student, who has a long-term commitment and follows an expected trajectory.鈥澛�
Master鈥檚 and doctoral students also face challenges that extend beyond school, from supporting families and changing careers to acclimating themselves to a new culture. 鈥淥ur students are fitting in this formative work among a lot of other obligations,鈥� Viveiros says, 鈥渟o in our programming, we offer many opportunities to give students a choice of when to engage. By providing more broad-based, open, accessible programs, we鈥檙e creating space for students who want different levels of engagement and reflection.鈥�
Deepshikha Banerjee
Deepshikha Banerjee, who completed a master鈥檚 at the Lynch School and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, knows firsthand how hard it is to find community as a graduate student. 鈥淲e鈥檙e loaded with lots of courses, and that doesn鈥檛 leave much opportunity to socialize,鈥� she says. In the master鈥檚 programs, where students and faculty have a shorter timeline to form connections, students can find it difficult to sustain a sense of community. 鈥淚 was really saved by the initiatives that Graduate Student Services offered,鈥� Banerjee says.聽
These events range from meet-and-greets and colloquia to casual lunches and year-end celebrations. 鈥淎ttending all these events inspired me to apply for a Ph.D.,鈥� says Banerjee. 鈥淢eeting and building relationships with other students helped shape my decision.鈥�
Sarah Sprinkle
One key to the success of these initiatives: accessibility. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the fact that something is offered, but how it鈥檚 offered,鈥� explains Sarah Sprinkle, a master鈥檚 candidate in Higher Education. 鈥淢aking sure that people feel welcome to attend or to drop in if they can鈥檛 stay for the whole time.鈥澛�
Sometimes making students feel welcome means a pasta dinner where students can come and go as they need; other times it means a celebration that honors the holiday traditions of international students. Students have voiced appreciation for this flexibility in programming, which creates a welcoming and low-pressure environment for them to engage as often as their schedules afford. But in all GSS programs, students are invited to reflect and question where they fit in the world and what the world needs from them.聽
Creating opportunities for connection and reflection
The self-discovery questions that guide formative education at the undergraduate level grow more specific at the graduate level. 鈥淚n graduate school, there鈥檚 an element of certainty,鈥� Viveiros says. 鈥淪tudents have made the decision to pursue a certain discipline, so their exploration is happening within a window.鈥澛�
Even as the questions change, the goal remains the same: to help students seek out opportunities for joy, self-knowledge, and generosity toward their communities. 鈥淥ur grad students aren鈥檛 just minds reading books, but minds that we can take care of,鈥� says Sprinkle. 鈥淥ver the year and a half I鈥檝e been here, I鈥檝e seen those formative undertones emerge.鈥�
Babatunde Alford
One of GSS鈥檚 signature events is a two-day retreat in which first-year doctoral students reflect on their experiences and their intentions. Babatunde Alford, a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction who assisted in organizing this retreat, says many students arrive with a feeling of disconnection. 鈥淧eople wonder, Are the feelings I have unique to me?鈥� Alford says. 鈥淎bsolutely not鈥攕o a big takeaway folks had from the retreat is that we鈥檙e not alone in our feelings.鈥�
Feedback among students following the first-year retreat was positive, with some coming forward to request similar retreats for second- and third-year doctoral candidates, Viveiros reported. 鈥淭hat feeling of community is something students really appreciate,鈥� Alford says. 鈥淎 space to reflect and reconnect with your sense of purpose鈥攁nd also, honestly, just to take a break and catch up.鈥�
The dual recognition at the heart of the Lynch School鈥檚 approach is that graduate students must have agency over their education and holistic development, and that the University must help students cultivate both with care and intention.聽
Another of GSS鈥檚 initiatives to foster a more cohesive graduate community is the passport program, which enables students to track their participation and progress. 鈥淭hey give you a passport book,鈥� Sprinkle says, 鈥渁lmost like a journal. Each event has an accompanying sticker and a related question for reflection.鈥� As a result, the passport serves as both an incentive and record, a reminder of progress made so far and a jumping-off point for future possibilities.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this expectation that grad students need less support than undergrads,鈥� says Alford. 鈥淏ut at the end of the day, we鈥檙e still navigating something new鈥攚e don鈥檛 figure it out automatically just because we鈥檙e older. We still need support, understanding, patience, and guidance.鈥�
There is a dual recognition at the heart of the Lynch School鈥檚 approach: graduate students must have agency over their education and holistic development, and the University must help students cultivate both with care and intention. Strengthening the institutional culture of formative education is directly outlined in 涩里番下载鈥檚 strategic plan (Ever to Excel), which makes explicit the responsibility to provide every student with an experience that is both meaningful and success-oriented.
Formative education in the greater academic context
For formative education to emerge organically through classroom learning, it would take a lot of luck: the right advisors, the right community, and the right opportunities. 鈥淟eaving it up to chance might mean an opportunity missed, a question not asked,鈥� says Viveiros. 鈥淚t might mean that the school is not maximizing the true impact of what a scholar can do, the difference they can make.鈥澛�
The values that formative education instills鈥攃ompassion, self-knowledge, citizenship, community engagement, and the pursuit of joy鈥攔equire careful tending, especially given the pressure students feel to prepare for their professional lives.
Viveiros has high hopes for the future of these values within the Lynch School and beyond. 鈥淭his is a process we鈥檙e sharing with our colleagues across 涩里番下载, and with primary and secondary schools and other non-profits throughout the Boston area,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to iterate based on what we hear and learn from students.鈥澛�
Protecting and uplifting the human element in higher education can have a powerful ripple effect, bringing the habit of care and self-reflection to communities far beyond the scope of a single university. 鈥淎n institution cannot do everything,鈥� says Sprinkle. 鈥淏ut even just a presence is powerful. It makes a difference when leaders keep telling students over the course of many months, 鈥榃e鈥檙e there for you.鈥欌��
鈥淚t makes a difference when leaders keep telling students over the course of many months, 鈥榃e鈥檙e there for you.鈥欌�澛�
鈥擲arah Sprinkle, M.A. 鈥�25 (Higher Education)