5 Signs Your Residential Curriculum is Actually a Programming Model with Learning Outcomes

Curricular approaches are more than just writing and defining learning priorities, goals, outcomes. In many ways, implementing a curricular approach is as much about organizational change as it is about defining a structure. This is one of the reasons why Kerr, Tweedy, Edwards, and Kimmel (2017) call it a “paradigm shift.” The word “paradigm” is most famously associated with Thomas Kuhn. In a book Kuhn wrote entitled, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn describes shifts in thinking that are so fundamental in nature, that they represent completely revised ways of thinking resting on… Read More
Why the Frequency of Residence Hall Programs Matter More Than the Overall Number

Many traditional programs models within residence life are designed such that staff members must complete x number of events or programs a semester. Relying on an overall number of programs, however, ignores an important variable in the educational equation: frequency. Rather than focus on the total number of programs to be completed, it is perhaps even more important to ensure that programs are evenly spaced throughout the year and occur at the appropriate times.
Presenting at SUNY Geneseo today… An RA Intervention…

I have the immense pleasure to be presenting at my alma mater today, the State University of New York College at Geneseo. They asked me to do a presentation to their Resident Assistants that’s spin on my blog post “RAs Are Not Educational Experts.” Geneseo’s residence life program utilizes a model similar to that of a residential curriculum. In this presentation (excerpt below) I try to break RAs of that nasty habit of “programming.” Now I’m off to get some Mia’s pizza…