icd project

Running head: VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT 1

Vocation & Discernment

Crystal Norwood

Loyola University Chicago

VOCATION AND DISCERNMENT 2

We intend on designing a seminar that encourages students to reflect upon and

explore their core values and passions in order to inform their future vocational pursuits.

It is our hope that this seminar will provide students with the space and tools to reflect

upon their “why,” to explore who they are at their core, and to reveal what brings them

the most joy as it relates to their future life and career goals. Additionally, we hope that

in the years following this workshop, participants will continue to be guided by their

values and passions and will be inclined to constantly reflect on their “why.”

Leah Rational for ICD project

Students are often pressured to decide what they want to do with “the rest of their

lives” beginning at a very early age. Such conversations are often focused on selecting

the “right” major or choosing a career path without giving students the opportunity to

reflect on their passions and values. As a Graduate Assistant in an academic advising

office, I find that the conversations I have with students regarding their future goal plans

are often straightforward. Students don’t necessarily want to engage in conversations

regarding their passions and values as they relate to their future plans, perhaps because

they have not been challenged and encouraged enough to do so. Students often mention

that they intend to go to medical school, graduate school, or become a lawyer and want to

know the best way to get to those end goals rather than focusing on revealing their niche

then working on discovering a path that supports it. In addition to having one-on-one

conversations with students, I think it would also be extremely beneficial for students to

be given the tools and space to do some personal reflection and exploration which is what

we hope to provide through this seminar.


Crystal’s Rationale for ICD project

In reflecting on my own journey and experience I have been really fortunate that I

was told to follow my dreams and passions. Along the way I have encountered

individuals who invested in my passion to help people. Unfortunately everyone’s

journey is not that way. So in reflecting I believe in the power of allowing students to

follow their calling. I think as administrators, family members and faculty we crush

students dreams in steering them on a path. Last semester I took a spirituality class and it

focused on passion and calling. Through that experience it has been powerful and has

charged me to share this with everyone. I believe that everyone should have the

opportunity to encounter a course like the one I did. The thing that I fall back on is the

question, if you could do anything that you knew you couldn’t fail what it be? And what

wakes you up in the morning? These two questions get to the core of this potential

seminar.

Potential Clients

We came up with several potential clients we felt we could share our ICD project

including academic advising, career development, conduct, and leadership offices. We

felt it would be helpful to share this project with academic advising offices as partners in

collaboration. As alluded to earlier, academic advisors often have critical conversations

with students regarding future planning. In collaborating with advisors, they can become

the facilitators of such discussions in and outside of the seminar. This seminar topic

aligns well with the “Loyola Experience” which was created to provide students with an

outline of key experiences and milestones to work towards during their time at Loyola.

In year two, for instance, the “Loyola Experience” encourages students to explore and


define personal values and strive to understand how they relate to personal, academic and

professional goals while in the goals outlined for year three, students are encouraged to

find their calling and to lead with these values.

We also identified the Career Development Office as a client to share our ICD

project with as they would be an important partner in supporting students’ vocational

goal. The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution is another potential client

we identified because of their dedication to providing a safe environment for students by

promoting responsible decision making and a focus on self-awareness. The opportunity

in partnership will allow conduct officers the ability to sanction students based on their

passions. Relationships between people and communities would be strengthening and

this partnership would allow students the opportunity to embrace the choices and

decisions they make while also opening up dialogue. The Student Leadership

Development is an office where staff believes everyone has the potential to engage in the

leadership process. This partnership would potentially go beyond the leadership scope

but more the understanding of values based and teaching individuals that they each have

unique talents and gifts that they can pursue.

Project details

The ICD project we would like to create is a seminar experience. This experience

would go for a 4 week period. We are hoping that each session would aim to be about 4

hours with content and reflection. Each weekly meeting would be developmental

focusing intentionally on personal development and discernment. The project audience

we were aiming to gear this seminar to are juniors and seniors specifically students in the

College of Arts and Sciences. Our hope is to also expand and incorporate students


outside these frameworks. We believe this experience would be beneficial to any and

every one. This seminar would be in partnership with faculty, community members and

campus partners. Their role will mainly be assisting in presenting and panel. We

understand that our campus partners have a lot to offer so really being intentional about

who comes and presents will allow us to meet our learning outcomes.

Learning Goals

Foundational Knowledge

A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will

understand discernment as a life-long process.

Students will remember that there is a universal human hunger for connectedness,

purpose, and meaning.

Students will identify basic distinctions among faith, vocation and discernment.

Students will understand the big questions and the reason for asking and delving

deep into them.

Application Goals


use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear their

own and others’ diverse narratives.

Students will imagine themselves as a whole person committed to their own and

others holistic development.

Students will use faith development theories and vocational discernment tools to

make sense of their own vocational story.

Integration Goals

A year (or more) after this course/workshop/program is over, we want and hope

that students will connect Fowler’s faith development theory and vocational

discernment to their own life and work.

Students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into everyday

practice.

Human Dimensions Goals


come to see themselves in any career that authentically combines soul with role.


Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is,

and the gifts and values that accompany it.

Students will interact sensitively, compassionately, and confidentially with

participants in the seminar by listening with love and care.

Students will become a person who can live free, undivided and whole.

Caring Goals

A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be

ready to engage with others holistically and authentically.

Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to one’s

development and exploration.

Students will be genuinely interested in other participants’ stories because these

stories shaped and will continue to shape their lives.

Students will be excited to connect their own values with the potentially rich

contributions they can make to society.

"Learning-How-to-Learn" Goals


able to identify important resources for their own continued learning.

Students will be able to construct knowledge about what vocation discernment

means to be their whole self.

Students will live their lives in ways that promote ongoing learning and

development.

Assessment Methods

This ICD project is a seminar that encourages students to reflect upon and explore

their core values and passions in order to inform their future vocational pursuits. It is our

hope that this seminar will provide students with the space and tools to reflect upon their

“why,” to explore who they are at their core, and to reveal what brings them the most joy

as it relates to their future life and career goals. Additionally, we hope that in the years

following this workshop, participants will continue to be guided by their values and

passions and will be inclined to constantly reflect on their “why.”

Assessment Activity #1: Eulogy

Eulogy Writing Assignment:


How do you want to be remembered?

First of all, you’re all going to live long lives full of happiness and success. With that said,

it is always an interesting thought to reflect on how you might be remembered once that

moment in time does come that you are no longer “with us.”

Your writing assignment will be a eulogy about YOU written by YOU. Basically a

eulogy is a speech given by a close friend or family member at a funeral that honors the

life of the individual who died.

You can approach this assignment from two perspectives:

1. You can write your eulogy with the focus of it being the life you’ve lived up to

this moment in time (16 years old-20 years old). What have you done? How will

you be remembered?

2.

2. You can write your eulogy with the focus of it being the nice long life that you plan on

living. You can write from any hypothetical situation. Maybe you lived to be 90. What

did you do in your 90 years that have positively affected those around you? This scenario

can include a little more fiction, but it should still be realistic and reflective of how you

actually would like to be remembered.

Your eulogy should be at least two pages typed/double spaced and written in the third

person (also identify who is delivering your eulogy). You will be assessed on your ideas

and your conventions. Be creative and try to think realistically. What do you want your

legacy to be? What do you want to be remembered as?

Refer to this source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/are-you-living-

your-eulogy-or-your-resume_b_3936937.html

Learning Outcomes Met

Application Goals

● Use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear your

own and other diverse narratives

● Use faith development theories and vocational discernment tools to make sense of

your own vocational story

Integration

● Students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into everyday

practice

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/are-you-living-your-eulogy-or-your-resume_b_3936937.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/are-you-living-your-eulogy-or-your-resume_b_3936937.html


Human Dimension

● Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is,

and the gifts and values that accompany it

● Students will become a person who can live free, undivided and whole

Caring Goals

● A year (or more) after this seminar is over, we want and hope that students will be

ready to engage with others holistically and authentically

● Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to one’s


Learning How to Learn

● Students will be able to construct knowledge about what vocational discernment

means to be their whole self.

Assessment Activity 2: Life Map

In constructing your life map, we ask you to reflect upon your past, present and future

self, thinking about the events, places, people, values, and environments that have shaped

who you were, are and who you are going to be. Using the supplies of a large piece of

paper and markers, we ask that you map out your journey through life.

In an effort to support and encourage all participants to reflect deeply and share openly,

we will model our own life maps and share with the group before asking participants to

get started. We acknowledge the vulnerability that such an activity may require so we

would like to remind everyone that this is a safe space.

Learning Outcomes Met

Application Goals


use storytelling and reflective dialogue to explore, make sense of, and hear their

own and others’ diverse narratives.

Human Dimensions Goals

Students will become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is,

and the gifts and values that accompany it.

Students will interact sensitively, compassionately, and confidentially with

participants in the seminar by listening with love and care.

Caring Goals



ready to engage with others holistically and authentically.

Students will value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to one’s


Students will be genuinely interested in other participants’ stories because these

stories shaped and will continue to shape their lives.

Teaching and Learning Activities

Teaching/Learning Activity #1

Watching Dr. Brene Brown’s TedTalk on Vulnerability:

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability

Engaging in Reflective Dialogue with Self and then with Others

Dr. Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate

College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage,

worthiness, and shame. We believe that sharing her TedTalk on “Vulnerability” will

provide participants of this seminar with a vehicle to discuss vulnerability, courage and

other things that can enrich dialogues in and outside of the classroom and can also inform

their search for meaning and vocational discernment. We would like to share this 20

minute clip with participants and then provide them with 10 minutes to journal about

their reactions to the video or to simply sit in silence, reflecting. We will then split

participants into small groups of 3-5 to provide participants with an opportunity to

engage in reflective dialogue with others. After participants have had at least 20 minutes

to do this, we would have everyone come back for a large discussion, hoping that some of

the following powerful concepts and messages were discussed while also listening for

how participants made meaning from the video, their own self reflection and their small

group dialogue. We could guide the large group discussion by considering some of the

concepts Dr. Brown emphasizes such as connection, shame, worthiness, whole-hearted

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability


living, compassion, and vulnerability and also dissecting some of her main messages,

including: People who have a sense of worthiness have a strong sense of love and

belonging and believe that they are worthy of love and belong; Whole hearted individuals

live from a deep sense of Worthiness: demonstrating courage to be imperfect and telling

the story of who they are with their whole heart, Compassion: understanding that we

must be kind to ourselves first in order to authentically practice compassion with others,

Connection: is a result of authenticity and we must let go of who we think we should be

to embrace who we are, and Vulnerability: that what makes you vulnerable makes you

beautiful; vulnerability is the core of shame, fear and struggle for worthiness, also the

birth place of joy creativity, belonging, and love; Let ourselves be deeply seen, love with

our whole hearts even if there is no guarantee, practice gratitude and joy, and believe that

we are enough.

Below are some of the learning outcomes we feel can be achieved through this

learning activity. We feel that this activity provides participants with an opportunity to

reflect upon their own experiences and definitions of vulnerability, connection,

compassion, belonging, etc as we feel such reflection is vital to finding purpose and is

also at the core of vocational discernment. In recognizing the value of vulnerability, we

hope that participants can connect with one another as well as connect with important

people in their lives, begin to reflect upon what it means to be one’s whole self as it

relates to one’s own personal development as well as developing as a professional. We

believe that the fruitfulness of discussions will be the strongest indicator as to whether or

not these goals have been achieved.


Students will remember that there is a universal human hunger for connectedness,

purpose and meaning.

Students will imagine themselves as a whole person committed to their own and

others holistic development.

Students will interact sensitively, compassionately and confidently with other

participants in the seminar by listening with love and care

Students will be ready to engaged with others holistically and authentically.

Students will be able to construct knowledge about what it means to be their

whole self.

Teaching/Learning Activity #2

Prep work required for this activity and for the seminar as a whole would be the read

Kevin Carroll’s “Rules of the Red Rubber Ball.”

http://www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com/books/

Reflective Dialogue with Self: Provide Participants with the Opportunity/Space to reflect

upon the following questions: If you could do anything and knew you couldn’t fail, what

would it be? What wakes you up in the morning?

Author, speaker, and agent for social change Kevin Carroll shares with his readers

in “Rules of the Red Rubber Ball” how to achieve human potential through discovering

one’s passion and embracing creativity. Find you own ‘rubber ball’ as Kevin coins it, is

striving to find your heart’s content, which will lead to prosperity, peace and happiness.

We would like participants to read this book in order to prepare to reflect upon the big

questions we pose in this workshop. As we have previously discussed, the above two

questions get to the core of this potential seminar. Providing students with the intentional

opportunity and space to reflect upon these questions is important in achieving the goals

of this seminar. At this time, we propose providing students with an hour during the

http://www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com/books/


seminar where they can go to whatever space (be it staying in the room we are hosting

the seminar in, going on a walk, a coffee shop, etc) to reflect upon these questions. We

feel it is important that students have adequate time to reflect upon these big thoughts

wherever they feel most comfortable being able to do so. This would be an appropriate

activity to do towards the end of the seminar in order to ensure that participants have

previously been provided enough space and time to feel comfortable doing such

reflection.

We feel the below learning outcomes would be achieved through this exercise.

Because these questions are at the core of our seminar and are at the core of vocational

discernment and meaning making, all of the learning goals could be applied to this

activity; however, we felt the following most directly relate. This reflection opportunity

provides participants with the opportunity to reflect on their values system, do some

discernment, think about how their passions can connect to their future careers, and

understand the value of self-reflection. In order to provide authentic opportunities for

self-reflection, it would be difficult to assess whether or not these learning goals are

achieved through this activity since this is a personal reflection activity. We can invite

students, upon their return, to share with another participant what their experiences were

like as well as what they were able to reflect upon for 5 minutes each. We can also invite

people to share their experiences to the entire group, should they feel willing and brave

enough to do so.

A year (or more) after this course/workshop/program is over, we want and hope

that students will integrate their values system and discernment efforts into

everyday practice.



come to see themselves in any career that authentically combines soul with role.


become aware of their own vocational story, what their calling is, and the gifts

and values that accompany it.


value critical thinking and self-reflection as vital to one’s development and

exploration.


ready to actively self-reflect upon their values, their “why,” and their passion

areas.

Integration of Design

ICD Integration Worksheet

Learning Goals for

Course

Ways of Assessing This

Kind of Learning

Actual Teaching-Learning

Activities

Helpful Resources

Where do you want to go?

Ideally what do you want

students to learn?

How will you know if

students get where you

want them to go? How

will you know if they are

achieving the goals you’ve

set?

How are you going to get students there? What teaching and learning activities will help them best meet your learning goals?

Who and what can help?

Primary Learning Goals:

Foundational

Knowledge.

1. Students will be

able to understand

discernment as a

tool to make an

appropriate

decision about

+Reflection Papers

+Life Map

+Daily Reflection

Questions

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Buddy

+ Recommended

Readings

+Alternative Break

Immersions

+Service Opportunities


career choice and

will understand that

discernment is a

life-long process.

2. Students will

remember that

there is a universal

human hunger for

connectedness,

purpose, and

meaning.

3. Students will

understand the big

questions and the

reason for asking

and delving deep

into them.

+One Minute Paper

+Reflection Paper

+Life Map

+One Minute Paper

+Life Map

+Daily Reflection

Questions

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Ted Talk- Brene Brown

+ Letter to future Self

+Story Corp Interview

+Courageous

Conversations

+Fowler Theory of Faith

Development

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Spiritual Buddy

+Red Rubber Ball Activity

+Recommended

Readings

+Service Opportunities

+Alternative Break

Immersions

+Affirmations

+Center Partners

+Retreats

+Campus Ministry


Application Goals.

4. Students will use

storytelling and

reflective dialogue

to explore, make

sense of, and hear

their own and

others’ diverse

narratives.

5. Students will

imagine themselves

as a whole person

committed to their

own and others

holistic

development.

6. Students will use

faith development

theories and

vocational

discernment tools

to make sense of

+Reflection Paper

+ Life Map

+ Eulogy

+Reflection Papers

+Life Map

+This I believe Essay

+Reflection Papers

+Eulogy

+Life Map

+Story Corp Interviews

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Biddy

+Courageous

Conversations

+Ted Talk

+Spiritual BVuddy

+Courageous

Conversations

+Red Rubber Ball

+Spiritual Buddy

+Panel of Campus

Partners or outside

participants

+ Family, Friends and

Classmates

+Wellness Center

Mindfulness Groups

+Student Leadership &

SDMA at the workshop

+Wellness Center

Mindfulness Groups

+Recommended

Readings


their own

vocational story

reflecting on their

why, their values,

and their passion

areas.


Integration.

7. Students will

connect with what

they are learning

about Fowler’s

faith development

theory and

vocational

discernment to their

own life and work

in the future.

8. Students will

integrate their

values system and

discernment efforts

into everyday

practice.

9. Students will

connect together

meaningful ideas

and practices.

+One Minute Paper

+Reflection Paper

+Life Map

+One Minute Paper

+Reflection Paper

+Eulogy

+Daily Reflection

Questions

+Reflection Paper

+Life Map

+Eulogy

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Courageous

Conversations

+Red Rubber Ball

+Spiritual Buddy

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Courageous

Conversations

+Academic Affairs

+Career Development

+Leadership

Development

+Fowlers Faith

Development Theory

Readings

+Panel of Professionals

+Loyola Student/Alumni

+Recommended

Readings

+Recommended

Readings

+Family, Friends, and

classmates

Secondary Learning

Goal: Human

Dimensions.

10. Students will come

to see themselves

in any career that

authentically

combines soul with

role.

11. Students will

become aware of

+One Minute Paper

+Letter to Self

+Storycorp Interview

+Daily Reflection

Questions

+One Minute Paper

+Life Map

+Letter to Self

+Daily Reflection

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Buddy


+Spiritual Buddy

+Courageous

Conversations

+www.futureme.org

+Campus Partners

+Wellness Center

Mindfulness Groups

+www.futureme.org

+Retreats

+Alternative Break

Immersions


their own

vocational story,

what their calling

is, and the gifts and

values that

accompany it.

12. Students will

interact sensitively,

compassionately,

and confidentially

with participants in

the seminar by

listening with love

and care.

Questions

+Life Map

+Letter to Self

+Daily Reflection

Questions


+Red Rubber Ball

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Buddy


+Family and Friends

+Retreats

+Affirmations

Secondary Learning

Goal: Caring Goals

13. Students will be

ready to engage

with others

holistically and

authentically.

14. Students will value

critical thinking

and self-reflection

as vital to one’s

development and

exploration.


genuinely

interested in other

participants’ stories

because these

stories shaped and

will continue to

shape their lives.


excited to connect

their own values

with the potentially

+One Minute Paper

+Letter to Self


+One Minute Paper

+Life Map

+Letter to Self

+Daily Reflection

Questions

+Life Map

+Letter to Self


+Reflection

+Letter to Future Self

+Life Map

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Buddy

+Red Rubber Ball

+Ted Talk

+Spiritual Buddy

+Courageous

Conversations

+ Spiritual Buddy

+Courageous

Conversations

+Ted Talk

+Red Rubber Ball

+Ted Talk

+Courageous

Conversations

+Spiritual Buddy

+www.futureme.org

+Campus Partners

+Wellness Center

Mindfulness Groups

+Affirmations

+www.futureme.org

+Retreats

+Alternative Break

Immersions


+Family and Friends

+Retreats

+Family, friends, and

classmates

+www.futureme.org

+Mentor

+Academic Advisor

+Career Development

Center

+Service opportunities


rich contributions

they can make to

society.

and Service/Faith

Student Organizations

Secondary Learning

Goal:

Learning how to Learn:


able to identify

important resources

for their own

continued learning.


able to construct

knowledge about

what means to be

their whole self.

19. Students will live

their lives in ways

that promote

ongoing learning

and development.

+Life Map

+Eulogy

+Reflection

+One Minute Paper

+Life Map


+Reflection Paper


+Loyola Student

Experience

+Spiritual Buddy

+Ted Talk

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Loyola Student

Experience

+Spiritual Buddy

+Red Rubber Ball

+Courageous

Conversations

+Study Abroad

opportunities

+Student Leadership

Workshops

+Fellow Participants

+Mentors

+Family and Friends

+Recommended

Readings

+Outside Resources (as

identified by student)


+Panel

participants/Seminar

facilitators

+Mentors

+Academic Advisor


References

Astin, A.W., Astin, H.S., & J.A. Lindholm. (2011). Cultivating the spirit: How college can

enhace students’ inner lives. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

B Brown. (2012, March). Listening to shame. Retrieved from

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame

Baxter Magolda, M. (2008). Three elements of self-authorship. Journal of College Student

Development, 49, 269-284.

Brown, Brene. (2010). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be

and embrace who you are. Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden.

Coelho, P. (2006). The alchemist. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers.

D’Arcy, P. (2011). Red fire: A quest for awakening. Inner Ocean/Innisfree Press.

Fowler, J.W. (2001). Faith development theory and the postmodern challenges. The International

Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 11(3), 159-172.

Fowlers, J.W. (2004). Faith development at 30: Naming the challenges of faith in a new

millennium. Religious Education, 99(4), 405-421.

G D Menton. (2013, May 13) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHPNMIK-fY

Love, P. (2002). Comparing spiritual development and cognitive development. Journal of

College Student Development, 43(3), 357-373.

Miller, D. (2009). A million miles in a thousand years. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Incorporated.

Nash, R.J. (2001). Religious pluralism in the academy. New York: Peter Lang

Schweitzer (Eds.), Developing a public faith: New directions in practical theology (pp.

15-42). St. Louis, MO : Chalic Press.

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHHPNMIK-fY


Smith, C. (2009). Souls in transition: The religious and spiritual lives of emerging adults.

Oxford: Oxford University Press

icd project

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