Conceptual Foundations of College Student Development

In Fall 2023 & Spring 2024, I had the opportunity to join with my mentor, Dr. Jodi Linley, and another grad student, Katie Buell, in co-teaching two sections of EPLS6332/6334 Theoretical Foundations of College Student Development Theory. Although attended by several doctoral students, the courses were primarily designed by Dr. Linley to introduce new student affairs professionals & Master's students to the foundational theories and concepts that underly student affairs practice and get them to engage in the work of connecting theory to their own practice. The three of us directly collaborated in the teaching of the course and the facilitation of various activities: reflection journals, group facilitation projects, & program analysis papers. Below are examples of activities and lesson plans I directly co-facilitated. 

Course Purpose:  

The primary mission of student affairs work is to facilitate and support student learning along a host of dimensions – cognitive, moral, intrapersonal, interpersonal, etc. This course – and the subsequent spring course, EPLS:6334, aims to provide graduate students with a primer to these dimensions of college student learning by exploring conceptual and theoretical perspectives on college student development. In this course, we will examine the major conceptual, theoretical, and empirical issues pertaining to college student learning and development, and explore contextual factors that contribute to, delay, or deter students' growth and development.

An important subtext of this course includes the following questions: How should college students – and the educators who work with them in and out of the classroom – approach their learning? How should they be changing as a result of their collegiate experiences? How do student affairs educators facilitate and/or inhibit that change?