Proficient Competency – Student Learning and Development
CSP 6020: Theory and Assessment of College Student Development
One of my first courses discussed student development and learning through theories and models created for student affairs professionals. The course taught me about human development theories and how students learn, develop, and grow throughout college. In addition to learning about various student development theories, I reflected on my own developmental journey in the Personal Theory Paper (ACPA & NASPA, 2010). I was able to identify how I grew through my undergraduate tenure and how my student involvement and coursework contributed to my development. Using my knowledge of Cross and Fhagen-Smith’s Model of Black Identity Development (Evans, Foreny, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010), I was able to identify how I developed my African American identity prior to attending Bowling Green State University. Additionally, I now can “utilize theory-to-practice models to inform individual… practice” (ACPA & NASPA, 2010, p. 26). I achieved this outcome by completing the Formal Theory Paper, which required me learn about a student’s life experience, identify theories that could assist the student in their development, and utilize the identified theories to inform suggested actions or activities to encourage growth.
Leaders in Residence Program
During the spring 2014 semester, I co-facilitated a seven-week long residential leadership program that was grounded in Kouzes and Posner’s (2014) The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader. Our group consisted of four to six first-year students who wanted to begin their student leadership journeys. My facilitator and I worked weekly to “construct effective lesson plans” based on the pre-developed learning outcomes (ACPA & NASPA, 2010, p. 26). Each week we taught students about one of the five practices through dialogue, technology, and activities. Our goal for utilizing different mediums to teach the practices was to encourage continual learning and growth. This style of teaching helped me “identify and take advantage of opportunities for curriculum and program development and construct, where appropriate, in order to encourage continual learning and developmental growth” (ACPA & NASPA, 2010, p. 26).
