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Teaching Leadership to First-Year Students in a Learning Community

Original Publication by Afsaneh Nahavandi, Ph.D.
In Journal of Leadership Education, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp.14-25, Fall 2006

Synopsis by Jessica Briggs, M.S.,, CMC '03

While a wealth of knowledge exists and the material is applicable to first-year students, rarely do younger college students receive education about leadership. Instead, the author points out, this information is commonly saved for junior and senior level students. When it is done, leadership education is often provided with a focus on political leadership or is delegated to service learning and co-curricular activities. While some small liberal arts colleges, such as Claremont McKenna College, offer leadership courses and programs of study, these programs are unique and not widely established among institutions of higher education.

The author argues that the later years of college are too late to begin teaching leadership theory and skills, instead stating that first-year students benefit greatly by having additional time to apply their newly acquired leadership knowledge. First-Year Learning Communities (FLCs) are highlighted as one common way to offer leadership education to younger students. FLCs are unique course pairings that combine two or more subjects using a variety of teaching structures, including co-taught and integrated classes. Often the two courses share common themes, assign similar projects or cooperate in other ways, providing coherence and increased topical integration for the students. This structure, the author states, increases student learning and sense of community for the first-year students overall.

An example of one first-year learning community, leadership paired with a history general education course, is provided and discussed by the author. The learning objectives and outcomes for this FLC are divided into three distinct groups: outcomes for the FLC, outcomes for the leadership course, and outcomes for the integrated history course. This FLC has been taught and tested for two years with substantial success according to the author. She argues that the FLC allowed for a higher degree of concept integration and application than in a traditional stand-alone class.

The main goal of the leadership-history FLC as described is to present leadership in context, a goal which can be accomplished regardless of which combination of classes are used to construct a leadership FLC. In addition to history, many other courses are suggested to create various leadership FLCs such as criminal justice, sociology and English literature. The author also provides possible themes that can be used with each of the nine suggested leadership-based FLCs. A possible theme for a leadership and history FLC, an offered example, is analysis of historical leaders and their effectiveness.

As with other non-traditional teaching styles, the FLC will require alternative preparation and materials by the instructors. For example, faculty must commit time and energy into planning the course together so that the correct level of integration is achieved. Full awareness of the partner's course is necessary to achieve a seamless combination of the two courses. To help, the author lists the materials used for the leadership-history FLC discussed in the article as well as the complete course outline. Not only are topics outlined, but assignments are described to provide a very clear example of how an FLC can be structured and facilitated. Further recommendations are provided to ensure that the full benefit of this unique teaching and learning structure is tapped and utilized by the students, instructors and college or university.