"At the Most Important Crossroads in our Life there are No Signs"

 From the 3/5/2021 newsletter

Perspective/Opinion

"At the Most Important Crossroads in our Life there are No Signs"

 

by Linda Menck, MA

 

Linda Menck, a faculty member in the Kern Institute’s KINETIC3 program, talks about how she employed the entrepreneurial mindset to recast a communications course at Marquette from a tired offering to a creativity powerhouse…

 

After seventeen years of teaching at Marquette University I found myself at the crossroads. My teaching career felt like the plot of the film Groundhog Day. 

 

As a professional faculty member in the Diederich College of Communication, I was assigned to teach the same classes every semester. It was like eating the same breakfast cereal every morning. While students in my classrooms changed, course content remained the same. 

A course I regularly taught was Introduction to Visual Communication (COMM 2100). This was a required course for all majors in the College of Communication but was demoted to an elective after a college core curriculum review. 

I remember thinking this course was destined to die, and the cause of death would be low enrollment. Students with majors in engineering, the sciences, and business administration had no desire or need to learn theories of visual communication or memorize dates and definitions of major art movements. 

This became a personal and professional prefect storm that ultimately motivated me to disrupt and transform my teaching. Consistent with my character, I didn’t ask for permission, but I knew it was time to redesign COMM 2100, and the redesign would need to be of epic proportion. At the foundation of the redesign would be personal passions, what I knew best, and essential skills research indicated our students needed to practice and become capable of applying.

I gathered my markers and faced the whiteboard to mind map my new course. “Mind mapping” is a visualization method I use and teach to promote and practice divergent and disruptive thinking. The central topic of my mind map was COMM 2100 REDESIGN and the initial major branches or connections were creativity, communication, and innovation. 

From the initial branches, twigs began to grow fast and furious. They included entrepreneurial mindset, defining and exploring creativity, building creative confidence, methods for creative problem solving, human-centered design research methods, inclusive and design thinking, disruptive innovation, and the power of storytelling and visualization to present innovative ideas and solutions. 

There were other crucial components to ensure the course would work. It had to be hands-on and grounded in active learning. This meant identifying an environment designed to untether learners from desks. The course needed to be experiential and focused on challenges in our community and the world. Finally, the content had to be collaborative in nature and applicable to students from diverse majors with a variety of skillsets. While planning it became evident this was a red-hot challenge with a whole mess of opportunity. Flying under the administrative radar screen, I created  content, rewrote the course description, objectives, and learning outcomes, and then settled on a new name for the course. Finally, it was time for the reveal. In the Fall of 2014 my new Creativity, Communication, and Innovation course was ready to be put to the ultimate test and judged by the harshest critics, our students. This was my field of dreams. I built it, but would they come? 

Course registration for the semester began and I waited and watched. The result was shock and awe. Within the first two days of registration both sections of the course filled to capacity.

The course continues to thrive and grow. Over time, it has evolved into a course that fulfills a requirement in our University’s new core of common studies, continues to push students out of their comfort zones, and builds their creative confidence. 

When I arrived at the crossroads, I chose to take the transformative route but I never traveled alone. My journey took me across campus to the Opus College of Engineering and the Kern Engineering Entrepreneurial Network (KEEN). I was welcomed, supported, and taught how to integrate entrepreneurial minded learning into my courses with a framework grounded in curiosity, connections, and creating value. 

Continuing on the road led me to MCW and the KINECTIC3 Teaching Academy. You, too, welcomed me. Collaborating with members of the KINETIC3 Advisory Committee to design and teach bootcamp workshops is an exciting new challenge. Your ongoing support transforms me with character, caring, and competence and keeps me from returning to the crossroads. 

The title of this piece is from a quote attributed to Ernest Hemingway. 

Linda E. Menck, MA, is a Professional in Residence in Strategic Communication in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. She is a member of the KINETIC3 faculty.