Kaity Werner
Aspiring Student Affairs Professional
Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
Upon reflection of my personal competency development, I believe I have developed a basic level of competence in three of the ten competency areas. These areas are (a) Assessment, Evaluation, and Research, (b) History, Philosophy, and Values, and (c) Student Learning and Development. For each of these competencies, I have cited a description of two experiences that demonstrate an acceptable level of performance.
Acceptable
Firstly, I have demonstrated acceptable competence in this area through completion of the Statistics in Education (EDFI 6410) and Research in Education (EDFI 6420) courses at BGSU. In Statistics in Education, I developed an understanding of statistical concepts regarding educational research. I also developed the ability to use descriptive statistics to describe data, to apply hypothesis testing to practical problems in higher education, and to interpret statistical results. In Research in Education, I developed the ability to understand and design a variety of research evaluations, both quantitatively and qualitatively. I now have the ability to develop effective surveys, gather data and information, and write research reports in an scholarly manner.
Secondly, I have demonstrated acceptable competence in my current assessment practicum for the Arts Village living-learning community at BGSU. For this practicum, I am designing and implementing a comprehensive survey to be administered to Arts Village students, alumni, and faculty to determine their satisfaction with and perception of the community and its impact on their experience at BGSU. Once the survey is completed and administered, I will analyze the data and qualitative responses, and formulate a summary of recommendations and results for the Director of the Arts Village, Gordon Ricketts. A tangible artifact documenting my acceptable development of this survey is a copy of the completed survey, which I will add to my portfolio upon completion of the project in May. In addition to the survey, I conducted three focus groups as a means to collect additional qualitative information for this assessment practicum, which demonstrates additional ability to conduct assessments and use various research methods to collect data for an assessment.
Please use the following 3 buttons to retrieve PDFs of documents from my Arts Village assessment practicum.
One experience that captures my acceptable development in this competency is completion of the Foundations and Functions of College Student Personnel (CSP 6010) course at BGSU. In this course I developed an acceptable understanding of the history, philosophy, and values of the profession through interactive class discussions and examination of readings depicting historical contexts of higher education. I completed two papers exploring controversial issues in student affairs, interviewed a faculty member to gain insight on the relationship between faculty and academic affairs from a faculty perspective, and completed a site team visit to Lorain County Community College (LCCC) to learn about a different institutional type. Additionally, I examined various functional areas in student affairs by reviewing the CAS Standards and created an informational handout for my 'Functional 15' project regarding the orientation and first-year programs functional area. All of these class-related experiences increased my understanding of the history of the profession, where I fit into the profession, and how I can contribute to the future.
The first experience that demonstrates my acceptable performance in this competence area is completion of the Theory and Assessment of Student Development (CSP 6020) course at BGSU. Through this course I developed a foundational understanding of theories and models that describe student development in various areas: overall identity; dimensions of identity such as race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation; meaning-making; transition; spirituality and faith; cognitive types and styles, etc. Through the course discussions, readings, and assignments, I developed the ability to apply theory to practice in my internship. I interviewed a first-year student throughout the semester to learn about her transitional and identity development experience in her first semester of college and I also completed a 'voice project', through which I took on the voice of a non-traditional age, parenting student to learn about this experience. Both of these projects helped me understand how the theories I learned in class can be applied to the students I interact with and how my work in residence life can impact various students with differing identities and 'voices'.
Secondly, I developed this competency through my participation on the resident advisor (RA) training action team within my department. This academic year I have participated on this action team to develop the spring 2013 training and the fall 2013 training. My voice on the action team represents that of a second-year graduate student who had already experienced training at BGSU and could use that history to inform changes and recommendations put forth. For the spring 2013 training, I advised that we include training sessions for RA's regarding critical thinking and development of cognitive skills because I identified this as an area of developmental weakness for many RA's. Another graduate student, Lexy Taylor, and I conducted a presentation during spring training that we called “How to Channel Your Inner MacGyver”, which was focused on development of critical, creative, and synthetic thinking skills when facing ambiguous situations.
Furthermore, I realized that my specific RA staff was struggling during the fall 2012 semester to understand and have patience for residents who they viewed as being immature, disrespectful, and confrontational. The RA's felt a disconnect between themselves and their residents, which may be attributed to the reality that our resident population is predominantly first-year college students who may be going through tough transitions and various levels of identity development. Therefore, I decided to conduct an in-hall training for my RA staff during the spring 2013 training to help them understand experiences that may be relevant for their residents and possibly explanatory of some of the disconnect the RA's felt existed. I created handouts on Chickering and Reisser’s seven vectors and Schlossberg’s transition theory for the RA's to keep for reference, and I also presented information on these two theories to my RA's. The purpose of the presentation was to help the RA's understand a developmental perspective regarding their residents' potential struggles transitioning to BGSU and development within identity vectors. The RA's responded very positively to my presentation on theory and many informed me afterward that they appreciated learning about the developmental perspective as it may apply to their residents. Subsequently, I have now advocated on my action team that RA's should learn some student development through as part of their training. There will now be one class session during the 8-week RA class during spring 2013 that will discuss theory, and we are looking to include theory in the fall 2013 RA training as well. My action team is currently outlining the fall 2013 training schedule, so I will be working to determine the best time and method to integrate student development theory into the RA training schedule.
History, Philosophy, and Values
Student Learning and Development
Secondly, I have become an active participant in professional associations that support the philosophy, values, and continued learning of student affairs professionals. I have attended two national conferences and one regional, function-specific conference. First I attended the Association of College Personnel Administrators (ACPA) national conference in fall 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. While at ACPA, I attended a wide variety of sessions to increased my professional development and knowledge base and I participated in networking events and opportunities to learn how graduate students can be active in ACPA. Next I attended the Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers (GLACUHO) regional conference in fall 2012, which was in Columbus, Ohio. While at GLACUHO, I had a greater opportunity to network with professionals within my geographic region and functional area, and I developed more understanding of the philosophy and values that should and do guide residence life professionals.
I most recently attended the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) conference in spring 2013 in Orlando, Florida. Prior to the start of the NASPA conference, I also participated in The Placement Exchange (TPE). While at NASPA and TPE, I learned about my own values in regard to the job search process and how my values are congruent (and potentially incongruent) with those of the profession and my desired functional area of residence life. I attended a breadth of professional development sessions at NASPA and also participated in many of the university socials and the knowledge community fair. These experience. Attendance at these conferences has helped me to network with other professionals in the field and to develop a greater understanding of the student affairs profession. I now have an increased knowledge of the values, philosophy, and trends that guide our profession, and I have learned the importance of participating in professional development opportunities throughout my career and networking nationally and regionally. I have also realized the on-going nature of history and my potential role in shaping it through my development and involvement in the profession and associations.
Lastly, I demonstrated competence of the history, philosophy, and guiding values of higher education through the completion of my Implementation Plan (I-Plan) for the CSP 6040 Outcomes in Higher Education Course. The institution I designed for my I-Plan incorporated my perception of the value and importance of higher education, as well as the intended outcomes I would like to see students achieve through their collegiate experience. To view my I-Plan, please click to button to the right.
