ON DEMAND: Leading for Change: A Customizable Writing Experience

Abstract

"Leading for Changes" addresses any faculty or staff member who will use writing and visual presentation skills to empower students to identify social or professional issues that are important to them, learn more about those issues, then focus on practical ways to affect change. “Leading for Change” provides assignments, skill builders, readings and short videos to effect change on a significant social or professional issue important to each student. One Composition Program assignment + 1 research project + 1 visual presentation + 2 support activities = five customizable components that can be adapted to fit multiple disciplines and variable time constraints. The five major components are (1) analyzing personal traits, values and ethics, (2) conducting investigative research on stakeholder groups that students can join upon graduating from George Mason (3) applying for employment or acceptance by a selected group, (4) combining models of professional and leadership skills to function effectively in that context and (5) visually presenting the selected leadership model(s) that will most effectively advocate for social or professional change from within. The presenter provides multiple suggestions for combining and recombining the components, teaching materials as above and coordination of the modules to Mason Impact, Mason Core, and the proposed ARIE course for Fall 2021, Foundations for Building a Just Society.