Student Development Theory
Why would we learn about student development theory in an Intro to Leadership theory class? After digesting your readings for this week, tell me what you think. How does student development theory connect to leadership and facilitation? What's the point? Do me a favor and cite specific ideas, concepts, etc. from the readings that stood out to you or that you still have questions about (At least three, please.)
It is crucial to learn about student development theory because we are students. Everything that we read about applies 100% to the experiences that we are living on a day-to-day basis.
Chickering's Psychosocial Theory of Student Development
I felt that I experienced Vectors 3 and 4 of Chickering's Psychosocial Theory of Student Development when I studied abroad this summer. Once I had seperated myself from my normal friends and my normal life, I was finally given the opportunity to understand what it was that I like. Studying abroad gave me the chance to venture out on my own, make plans, direct others, understant my strengths and weaknesses, and so much more. College gives us the opportunities to LIVE OUR LIVES. Nothing bothers me more than watching my friends go through college and learn nothing about themselves. I have friends from Cincinnati that go to class everyday and workout; they live with high school friends, go home every couple of weekends and have never even been out of the state. They KNOW with 100% certainty that they will go back to Cincinnati when they graduate and probably live there the rest of their lives. I just want to grab them and shake them! College isn't a time for knowing anything. Nothing is guaranteed. Everything that I previously knew was taught to me by my parents, but how do I know it is true? The only way to trully know who we are is to experience diverse people and diverse environments so that we can go back to what we "know" and evaluate its true nature.
The reason I mention all this is because I am a student leader. I refuse to watch students let their college experiences pass them by. It's the reason I joined SLA and the reason I am taking this class. We want to get out in front of the student body and not just tell them how to take advantage of their time in college, but to show them. College is a time for improving your skillset; whether that be soft or hard skills. We at SLA are so confident in our skillset that we step in front of other student leaders and show them how it's done. It is crucial that we understand how they will react to our leadership and therefore we must know multiple theories on student development theory. My two favorite parts of Chickering's Theory are Vector 7 and his notes on size of institution. I thought it was very interesting that he noted that the last stage of a student's development was integrity. I have morals and values and what I consider to cross those lines. But I do feel that those are constantly changing. Students that "know" exactly what is important to them based on what their parents have taught them may struggle in these situations. Without having experiences to draw on, it makes it difficult for them to relate with other people's situations. And secondly, Ohio State's greatest scapegoat is it's size. However I have always considered that it's greatest strength. I meet new people every single day but also see those closest to me as well. "As redundancy increases development decreases" could not put it any better. We have the rest of our lives to have day-to-day, month-to-month routines; college is the time to constantly be mixing it up and Ohio State offers you a new way to mix it up every single day.
Leadership Identity Development Model
I thought it was very interesting that at both trasition stages, the student was brought through to the next stage by some sort of recognition via elders that they admire. I find this very applicable to our SLA application process as we are almost always brought on by someone who is already affiliated with SLA. Also, we are all student leaders in other organizations and therefore can learn a lot from one another; hense the cohort. It is within SLA that we begin to regonize what our personal leadership style is. I trully feel that every member of SLA is going through stage four during our years in cohort. For this reason, it is key to only bring in students that have actualized the other three stages; which makes our application process incredibly important.My last point from this article comes from the need for mentors and advisors. Relating back to how important your elders are to your development, the article mentions these mentors as "threshold people." It's important to have someone that understands what you're going through. The need to bounce ideas and comprehend the vast experiences that one goes through in college becomes very evident the longer they continue on their journey.
Nick
I have decided to add a thought-provoking quote at the end of my posts from now on.
If everyone carried around an imaginary bucket with their feelings and experiences in it, have you helped fill anyone's bucket today?
Hey, Nick!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post, and I really appreciated how much it had to do with mentorship. I think that is a huge part of developing in college and it definitely ties in with both of these main concepts as we need these mentors to be on our campuses to help us grow into independent and creative leaders.
Also, I loved the quote at the bottom. I try to fill buckets every day, haha. (BUT REALLY). And to fill your bucket, I will let you know that you are a great leader and are doing a great job being extremely thoughtful about your leadership in this blog!
Anooj
Crowley!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting that when you went abroad, you got the chance to experience vectors 3 and 4. I know your time there was amazing! When you left for the trip, did you feel like you were at vector 2?
It sounds like your friends, who also make me want to shake them, are using the size of our institution as a cop out, like you mentioned. It's so easy to say, "I go to Ohio State, it's huge. And I don't need to do anything else." But that's doing nothing. Embracing the diverse culture that drew me to this school to begin with, is something that isn't magically going to appear again in life. These four years of college are "the golden years." No reason to settle for bronze.
Ash
Nicholas,
ReplyDeleteI love how reflective this is. You really expanded on the "cool cap" attitude you used to have and how you have grown out of that. But most importantly, you've identified the error in that limited lens of life and have proactively chosen to give yourself a different experience. That's internal leadership right there.
I also took a personal appeal to the idea that as college students, we don't "know." This is all too true and I think that people who "have it figured out" are only blocking themselves off from new, exciting, or even scary opportunities.
VDBL,
-Tim