The Institutional Learning Goals of the IIRP Graduate School articulate the learning opportunities for each student in this institution. These goals reflect the mission of the IIRP and are rooted in the restorative nature of the Institute’s focus. Specific outcomes are tied to each goal in order to support further learning for students, faculty, and administration. These goals and outcomes are broadly defined to apply across the curriculum and to adapt learning in varied contexts. They include goals and outcomes that reflect the unique nature of restorative practices and attract students who value community and want to create a more restorative world by building relationships and community through leadership that empowers others. The learning goals represent core skills and knowledge all students will attain at the IIRP.
Critical Thinking: Members of the IIRP learning community will analyze, synthesize, and interpret texts, experiences, feedback, and other information.
Critical thinking skills are evidenced by the student’s ability to:
- Demonstrate quantitative and qualitative literacy
- Analyze and interpret texts, experiences, and feedback through critical reflective processes
- Gather evidence and analyze it to take a philosophical position, make a judgment, or solve theoretical or practical problems
- Participate in group settings, such as professional learning groups or circles, in order to gain understanding of content, gain feedback, form collaborative relationships, and translate learning into multiple contexts
Communication Skills: Members of the IIRP learning community will write and speak well in different contexts.
Communication skills are demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Utilize the writing process to deepen learning and convey meaning to others
- Write effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences
- Deliver effective oral presentations
- Experience learning through speaking, listening, writing, role-plays, self-reflection, and providing both critical and supportive feedback to fellow students
Self-Directed Learning: Members of the IIRP learning community will take initiative and responsibility and assess their own learning activities.
Self-directed learning is demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Take initiative in identifying areas of needed growth
- Work independently as needed to complete assignments
- Effectively manage coursework to completion
- Contribute to the restorative practices knowledge base through the ability to seek, share, and implement restorative processes
Ethical Awareness: Members of the IIRP learning community will identify and analyze ethical issues associated with restorative practices.
Ethical awareness is demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Articulate the meaning of the IIRP’s mission
- Work cooperatively and responsibly within a group
- Demonstrate an understanding of ethical issues in research
Information Literacy: Ability to locate, analyze, and use information appropriately.
Information literacy components are built into all IIRP courses, and competency is demonstrated by each student’s successful completion of assignments for each course. Information literacy is demonstrated by the student’s ability to:
- Identify the type of source needed to fill the information need
- Use the resource effectively by constructing successful search strategies to locate required information
- Analyze search results to determine their suitability for the assignment
- Understand the definition of plagiarism, attribution of ownership of works and ideas, and the importance of proper citation format