I am immensely grateful to be hosted by the staff and students in residence life at the University of Dayton today. I will be giving two talks: one to the professional staff that outlines some of my research as well as tips for engaging students online, and a second one to the student staff members... Continue Reading →
I came across these compelling images the other day and they immediately struck a chord with me. Thai photographer Chompoo Baritone posted them to his Facebook page. They demonstrate how Instagram photos often portray a selective view of reality--often a "perfected image" of life. In my research, I have found that one of the effects of... Continue Reading →
Although not the specific focus of my research, it nevertheless occurred to me that some of the behaviors I noticed students exhibiting in my research followed well known and well established developmental patterns. As a thought experiment, I tried to map some of these behaviors to the classic developmental theories of Marcia Baxter Magolda and... Continue Reading →
On his way to class, Greg accomplishes many things. Buried in his smartphone, he dodges fellow students, almost trips up a set of stairs, and ducks a low tree lying tree branch (remember that next time). During his ten minute walk, Greg is listening to a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson discussing how contemporary schools... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of speaking to the New Student Orientation Leaders at Keene State College in New Hampshire. They were amazing, as orientation leaders always are, and made me feel welcome. (Even singing me a special birthday song!) In preparing to talk to these student leaders, I reflected on my own... Continue Reading →
Starting PhD work isn't something to be taken lightly. First, there are the logistics: Is it the right time in your career to start a PhD? Do you have the time and money to dedicate to it? What program do you chose? For what purpose? Are you seeking an executive-type program or a research-focused program?... Continue Reading →
I created this presentation back in 2008(?) for RA Training to help my RAs understand how the educational purpose of residence halls has evolved over time and where, as student staff, they fit into that history. I recently came back across it and thought I'd put it up on the web as a video for others... Continue Reading →
Tweet http://youtu.be/fBLuzUk5NII (One of my colleagues and friends, Paul Eaton, wrote a great blog post about Bronfenbrenner's applicability to online/social media spaces. I also wanted to have a go at the topic, so I purposely didn't re-read his post until after publishing this one... and there's agreement... but with a twist... read on...) Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory of... Continue Reading →
One of the most popular readings I assign in my spring semester Higher Education practicum courses is from The Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenge of Life in Your Twenties. Although the cultural references within are somewhat dated, the concepts still resonate with their audience just as strongly. It seems to uniquely capture some of the... Continue Reading →
I teach three spring semester Advanced Practicum courses to students in Boston College and Merrimack College's Higher Education Masters programs. One of the readings I like to assign for the first class is a selection from Robbin and Wilner's Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties. Although the work has a few... Continue Reading →
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