Mission Statement
The Empowering Learners Partnership (ELP) Program seeks to foster empowering relationships that cultivate and celebrate the knowledge, talents, skills, and passions of Bryn Mawr College staff and students.
Goals
The goals of the ELP Program are:
- To bring together BMC staff and students in reciprocal partnerships through which each individual has the opportunity to teach and learn.
- To build community and create inclusive opportunities to learn that connect all members of the Bryn Mawr College campus community to the educational mission of the College.
A Brief Introduction to the Program
Designed by Alice Lesnick of the Education Program, Amanda Root, McBride Scholar, and other members of the education course, "Empowering Learners," ELP fosters cross-contextual communication and structures for life-long learning by partnering differently positioned individuals within the campus--students and staff--in reciprocal teaching and learning relationships. ELP is premised on the belief that all participants bring knowledge to the College and benefit from opportunities to share and augment their knowledge and educational experiences. The ELP program nurtures relationships that cultivate the talents, skills, and passions of staff and students (and, it is hoped, eventually faculty) through reciprocal teaching and learning, concerning topics of their choosing. During the last six weeks of the spring semester, the ELP program developed from an idea into a full-fledged pilot effort, with three reciprocal partnerships (between Bryn Mawr students and staff members in the Housekeeping and Dining Services Departments). The learning partnerships were focused on the following topics: research skills/Greek cuisine; crafts/computer literacy; and woodcarving and self-defense/computer basics and literacy development. The partners as well as program leaders are documenting their work and preparing to share it in various College contexts. Alice Lesnick will continue to build and expand this program as faculty coordinator. In the spirit of parnership that informs the program, Alice will lead the ELP in concert with a student coordinator. This semester's student coordinator is Amanda Root.