The Sophia Project: Behind the Scenes of College

TSP Student Mentors: (left to right) Natalie Anderson, Catrina Whitton, Lauren Williams, Taylor Chase, Katherine Valek.

For detailed information on the conception, design, and implementation of The Sophia Project download the project report below. 

The Sophia Project, lovingly referred to as TSP was a project I started at Eastern Michigan University. The core inspiration of the program was to design a learning experience that would empower students, regardless of their background or intended major to succeed in college. We strongly believed philosophical skills were vital to this endeavor.

Our goal is to empower students to embrace their passion and potential on a deeper level by exciting curiosity, encouraging exposure to new ideas, and sparking engagement in a contemporary world. 

There is a significant amount of scholarly work on almost every aspect of teaching and learning at the university level. However, this information is hardly ever shared with the students themselves. Though they are expected to be adults, the higher education system is fairly paternalistic towards students. They are often herded through processes and systems they don't understand, because it is believed to be too complex or that the students would not actually choose, if given the opportunity, what would be best for them. While this is a fear many share, my work with students has proven it to be unfounded. When students are educated about the collegiate system, liberal education, best practices, and the way learning works, they are capable of not only choosing difficult but more rewarding paths, they are also better prepared to engage those paths.

TSP was designed to share some of this information with students and help them reflect on how the university as a system, their identity as a learner, and their goals all fit together. The project used a tiered mentorship system, instead of a traditional student-teacher model, and covered a number of topics including: dreaming, curiosity, metacognition and more.