The Student Learning & Development area of the NASPA/ACPA Core Competencies includes having a strong foundation in student development theory, and then demonstrated practice of utilizing theory in practice. The items listed below show how I gained knowledge around student development theory, and then shows ways that I have utilized this basis of knowledge in my everyday work as a student affairs professional.
Assistantship: Developing Common Learning Outcomes for Programs
In the second year of my assistantship, my position took on a new program when some organizational structure of our department shifted. This experience offered an opportunity to re-think some of our previous programs by aligning the learning outcomes of the Community Ambassador Program and the Community Outreach program. Having the experience of re-imagining the learning outcomes of the Community Ambassadors and the Community Outreach was very rewarding, because it allowed the community engagement team to rethink each program’s unique purpose and discover where certain learning outcomes overlapped. We decided that both programs desire to develop students in their leadership, and so the Community Outreach students were invited to attend the Community Ambassador trainings for the first time. I enjoyed being a valid voice at the table in making decisions and it taught me a lot about the leadership of my office and how I respect their processes of making decisions regarding student learning. Please see the photo below that shows one of these student leadership trainings, where we discussed their role as a liaison between the university and the community. Although the learning outcomes of the program may continue to change in the years to come, I feel like I helped make an impact on the learning outcomes for the immediate future.
Community Ambassadors and Community Outreach Facilitators come together to discuss their leadership in the community, which is an outcome that we hope students grow in during their time in both programs.
Course: EDH 5045, Student Development Theories
In the EDH 5045 class on Student Development Theories, I learned the foundations of what Student Development Theory is, as well as many of the theories that guide our work in this field. It was very informative to learn about different student development theories in interactive ways, and begin to apply the theories to my individual work in the field of community engagement. I think that understanding theory is what makes a professional knowledgeable and a wise advisor. In this course, I was tasked with writing a paper reflecting on my experiences in college and which theories I think best fit my experiences. It was informative to think back on my own experiences and think of catalyzing moments that helped me to be supported and challenged. Please see the paper below as evidence of my growth through this course. In this course, I also presented with a group of my peers on gender identity theory, where I learned more about the socialization of masculine and feminine traits. It was interesting to reflect on this theory, relate it to a popular culture experience, and think about how it applies to my current work. Please also see the presentation attached below as more evidence of this competency area.
Morgan Matchett – Personal Development Paper
Media Presentation – Gender Identity – Downey, Matchett, Oswalt, Shepard
Internship: Developing Learning Outcomes for CARE SSS-STEM
At my spring 2016 internship with the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE), I worked with a new grant-funded program called Student Support Services (SSS)-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Since the program was new, I had the opportunity to develop the STEM Leadership Council, which was a way for students in the program to engage in the programming process and self-advocate for their needs. Through developing the Leadership Council, I developed position descriptions and learning outcomes for students participating in the program. It was interesting to practice what I had learned in my student development theory class and my outcomes course to a real-life situation with the new SSS-STEM program. I think that utilizing learning outcomes in planning programs are important because they set up a way to measure student success along that outcome. Please see the attached application for the STEM Leadership Council that I developed. The design of the positions for the council aligns with the intended outcomes of the program, particularly in leadership components of working individually and in groups to meet a community (specifically SSS-STEM community) needs.
STEM Leadership Council Application
Course: EDH 5630, Capstone in Higher Education
Part of the Capstone course’s core missions is to educate the class on how to navigate the job process in student affairs. One of these preparation pieces involves creating and presenting a job talk, since that is something required of university job search processes. For this assignment, I presented a job talk that I was using for a university for which I was interviewing, where the prompt focused on how to create meaningful service programs. Since my functional area focus is community engagement, this job talk presentation allowed me to dive into the notion of student learning around the topic of community engagement and which outcomes students typically receive through doing service to the community. I think that the job talk below evidences my learning in this competency area, specifically by showcasing my knowledge of my specific functional area and how I try to create intentional programming for students through community work. I also mention in the presentation some theories that I utilize in this work, including Knefelkamp’s Practice-to-Theory-to-Practice model, which talks about applying theory to one’s work through active practice. I will definitely continue to utilize student development theory for community engagement in the future, so I appreciated the opportunity to highlight what I already know in this area.
Future Goals
- Continue to practice creating, implementing, and measuring student learning outcomes
- Develop learning outcomes for community engagement work for both students and community partners
MORGAN MATCHETT 