I'm excited to release the new fourth edition of my eBook on residential curriculum and curricular approaches, sponsored by Roompact. The content is expanded from the third edition and now includes more visuals and worksheets. It is also now designed in an 8.5 x 11 format. This should make it easier to print, if you... Continue Reading →
Once you have decided on your educational priority, learning goals, narratives, and learning outcomes, and developed rubrics, it is time to begin putting these educational objectives into action through strategies. Strategies are the vehicles for educational delivery. They can include activities such as programs and events, newsletters, and guided community or individual conversations. Facilitation guides... Continue Reading →
Given that the curricular approach is relatively new in student affairs circles, there is a need for tools and resources that can help campuses and departments assess the effectiveness of their efforts. I, along with Ryan Lloyd, recently had the pleasure of presenting on two such resources at the 2018 International Convention of NASPA -... Continue Reading →
Before embarking on a curricular approach, it is important to conduct an audit, or archeological dig, to surface important characteristics and concepts that should be present and accounted for in your curriculum. As Siri Espy states, “Much like an archeological dig, your mission is to start with a set of bones and construct a skin... Continue Reading →
In developing a residential curriculum, one of the first tasks a residence life department undertakes is the establishment of an educational priority. An educational priority is summative statement of what students will learn by their participation in a curriculum. An educational priority is broad, informed by research and theory, and contextualized to an individual campus and student population.... Continue Reading →
There are a number of practices in residential life and education that have become commonplace, but that don't always advance our roles as educators and student affairs professionals. Over my many years in residence life, I've seen the following four ideas surface again and again. They are concepts that seem to be ingrained in our collective... Continue Reading →
When evaluating programs and other educational interventions with students, it is important to make a distinction between two concepts: feedback and assessment. Although the types of questions you may ask in each of these categories may differ, the overall goal is how to design and execute effective experiences for students that are engaging and achieve educational... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
Intentional Conversations are one-on-one meetings between student staff and their residents guided by a suggested set of questions and prompts that are developmentally appropriate and situated within the context of a resident’s experience. This post is one of a mutli-part series examining and providing suggestions for residence life and education departments that utilize Intentional Conversations... Continue Reading →
One of the primary roles of residence life professionals is to advance student learning. But given the myriad of hats and tasks that housing and residence life professionals take on, it can sometimes become lost in the mix. It requires professionals to remain vigilant. When developing educational plans, writing position descriptions, and training staff, these processes should be constantly... Continue Reading →
The ultimate mission of student affairs work is to advance student learning. Although this occurs across campus, the professionals that work in residence life are uniquely situated in this process given the relatively high level of contact they have with students. Unlike most faculty members, however, the educational environment created by student affairs and residence life educators... Continue Reading →
An important concept in developing intentional learning experiences for students is the idea of the "cascade." Much like the successive steps of a waterfall, as water flows from one plateau to another, learning goals and outcomes in a residential curriculum should flow from more general statements of educational priority down to more specific and measurable... Continue Reading →
The Residential Curriculum Institute outlines 10 "Essential Elements" that make up a curriculum and yet little to no research has been conducted specifically on these Elements. While that is not to say that the Elements are unsupported by research, they borrow from proven concepts and sound principles of instructional design, but there is currently no body of... Continue Reading →
Student affairs practitioners, and particularly those in residence life, often have a problem with overworking. It's not hard to understand why. Many of us enter this field because we were superstar over-involved undergraduate student leaders. We are also a profession of "helpers." We do this work "for the students" and that sometimes means that we have to... Continue Reading →
We've all heard it before: Residents won't attend a program, particularly an educational program, unless there is food. While I'm not naive to the fact that food is a great draw, I do believe that we rely on food too much and that it often gets in the way of educating residents. Don't get me wrong. I love... Continue Reading →
The Residential Curriculum Institute defines a curriculum as having 10 "Essential Elements." These are the features and principles that a residence life department's educational program should adhere to if it is to be considered a "true" residential curriculum. In 2013, while in my PhD program, I conducted some research on schools implementing this curricular approach. I wanted to find out... Continue Reading →
One of the first steps in implementing a curricular approach in the residence halls is to articulate an educational priority. Educational priorities are written statements, typically 1-3 sentences, that describe the overall mission or objective of a curriculum. These priorities should be grounded in research and scholarship as well as the institutional context of the... Continue Reading →
Integrating digital and social media tools into RA training programs can be an exciting and innovative way to hold your RAs' attention. Below are some useful sites, apps, and services that you can use and some examples of how to use them. Have other ideas? Poll Everywhere http://www.polleverywhere.com Poll Everywhere allows you to set up online polls... Continue Reading →
I was able to get a “sneak peek” at Hulu’s new original series “Resident Advisors” before it came out. (Check out Klout which gives you freebies and perks according to your level of influence on social media.) After watching the first episode, here are my initial thoughts:
- It’s not that funny. I struggled to make it past 10 minutes of the first episode.
- It really has nothing to do with being a RA and it doesn’t care (not that I think it should). Residence life is merely the setting. This could be any aspect of college life in the overdone “college movie” genre… swap greek life for residence life… an off campus apartment for a residence hall room… have it take place during spring break… etc.
- There *may be the opportunity for some video clips to use in RA training, although the parody is so over the top, it may be minimal.
- This series isn’t likely to last past the first season.
In my opinion, that pretty much sums up everything you need to know.I also wanted to share this blog post from the always-thoughtful and thought provoking Amma Marfo. Here’s her take:
“Our lives could be a TV show.”
IMAGE CREDIT: Doug Hyun
I can’t tell you how often I hear that remark from people at the office- and have heard it, regardless of where I’ve worked. Those pleas get answered in the most seemingly random of ways; It would appear that enough current and former RAs have verbalized this need that we received Resident Advisors, which premiered on Hulu this past Thursday.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am still warming to the humor. I’m working hard to give it a chance because, as is often the case, I am a fan of several of the people involved. And additionally, as someone who did have several ridiculous situations happen to her as an RA, its always nice to see how our lives get dramatized. But even as I continue to adjust to how the story is being told, I’ve…
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It's time to move beyond the clichés and towards student learning centered work in our residence halls. The residential curriculum model offers promise for conceptualizing some of our tired old practices. It's time for a curricular reboot!
I have the pleasure of heading to Canada today to present twice at the OACUHO Residence Life Conference at the University of Guelph. Growing up in Rochester, NY, going to Canada feels a little bit like coming home. The first session I'll be doing this weekend is to the RAs and student leader's in attendance... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
I had the immense privilege of being one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 ACPA Residential Curriculum Institute talking about how residence life professionals (and actually, any student affairs professional) can integrate social media into their student learning efforts. I wanted to provide a sample of the slide deck I used as well as some... Continue Reading →
When transitioning your residence life program to a residential curriculum model, it becomes increasingly important that you hire professional staff with the requisite skills and competencies to enact the curriculum. Although these skills are desirable in any residence life professional, they take on added importance in a residential curriculum. Some of the competencies required of staff... Continue Reading →
I'm excited to share that I will be one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 ACPA Residential Curriculum Institute alongside Karen Inkleas (of leaving learning program research fame) and Patty Perrillo (ACPA Past President). As one of the premier and most popular Institutes ACPA offers, the Residential Curriculum Institute (RCI) provides participants a step-by-step process... 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 →
In my original post (included at the end) I included a challenge to residence life pros and resident assistants to tweet me their own emoji. Here's what they sent: Submitted by @KMcCarthy8185: Submitted by @dougtate: Submitted by @Jen_Cox: I made this one:Submitted by @TorryBruce: Submitted by @icehockeystick: Submitted by @awall13: Submitted by @cm_ferrari3: Submitted by @TorryBruce: Submitted by @ValerieHeruska: BUY this as... Continue Reading →
“Door decs” with your name on it… Crafting in the lobby… An icebreaker where you rhyme your name with a vegetable… free pizza... all cliché ways a college Resident Assistant (RA) goes about building and maintaining community. Of course, the RA position is far more complex than the stereotype that often gets portrayed, or the hokey... Continue Reading →
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