“Developing” Conversations Joan V. Miller M.Ed. Candidate Capstone Presentation Pennsylvania State University

My Educational Journey Influence of Learning Outcome: Student Development and Outcomes Conversations Discussion/Questions

My Role in K-12 Education K-12 Educator from 1978 – 2011 Special Education Teacher Regular Education Inclusion Specialist Instructional Support Facilitator Graduate Work in Educational Administration and Supervision

Professional Competencies Planning Organization Program Implementation Management Assessment Leadership Teamwork Supervision Facilitation Communication Empathy Ethics Discuss change within the field – Addicted to change as it typically has an outcome of growth/development – move to State College allowed for exploration beyond K-12

Year of Exploration Counseling Student Affairs CN ED 404: Group Processes CN ED 500: Counseling and Development CN ED 501: Counseling Theory and Methods CN ED 505: Career Counseling CN ED 530: Family Counseling Counseling CSA 501: Introduction to Student Affairs CSA 503: Student Development Theory CSA 597B: Social Justice Student Affairs Drawn to Student Affairs – found the notion of working with young adults building their identities and adjusting to the transition to a new environment very appealing. It was the perfect extension of My prior work albeit with a more mature population. Student affairs spoke my language with its mission of educating the whole individual through a keen understanding, respect, and development of individual differences. Wanted to focus my learning on student development and outcomes.

Student Development With a long career in education I was not a stranger to student development – it is a cornerstone of working with students regardless of age. But nonetheless there was an entirely new body of student development theory to learn and apply.

Learning Outcome: Student Development and Outcomes Understanding of: psychosocial, cognitive, college impact, and learning theories selected counseling theories and practices the characteristics of effective educational interventions Ability to apply theory to develop effective educational programs Ability to apply theory to practice in both specialized and generalist areas

Conversations Myself Peers, Instructors Colleagues Students While much of my introduction to theory and the content development came through text reading, greater understanding and development came through the processing and application of theory which occurred in conversations.

Conversations with Myself

Self-authorship Conversations with myself through development of reflective practices Processing experiences New identity both personally and professionally Social Justice awareness/ally Scholar-practitioner Developed through reflection which I see as conversations with myself – evaluated new experiences in classes and through work experience. Learned to view experiences from multiple perspectives and to examine how they not only affect myself, but my relationships with others. My learning in this program was truly transformative. Over time the experiences and reflections resulted in a shift in identity where I recognized that knowledge was not merely imparted, but socially constructed and influenced by context.

My Professional Philosophy I have had opportunities to work with students from an array of racial and ethnic groups, with varying degrees of cultural capital and abilities. I am committed to helping a diverse body of students become responsible people who can, when provided with information, make decisions about when and how they will challenge themselves in growth-enhancing ways.

Promoting Self-authorship in Students “I really enjoyed talking to the students and getting a different perspective of their journey at Penn State. It definitely made me respect international students much more because of all the difficulties they face being so far away from home in a brand new environment. I thought this Open House was both beneficial for the Leadership Council and the International Students and I think it is something that should be continued!” (DUS Leadership Council Student, November 2012) Understanding what influenced my own development as a student, namely refection and conversation, has helped me in my work facilitating student development. Encourage students to reflect, have conversations with themselves and share their perspectives with others.

Conversations with Peers, Faculty, and Colleagues

Psychosocial and Intersecting Identities Conversations with peers Social Justice Ethnography/Lived experiences Transformative “My classes were comprised of a tapestry woven with varying threads of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. I had never been with so many people different from myself. I knew that I had a lot to learn and change emerged on my horizon.” October, 2009 Through structured opportunities in class and also informal discussions with peers I discovered the influence of intersecting identity development. Individuals lived experiences deepened my understanding of the many different identity development theories. I recognize that students can have multiple identities that emerge during college some more salient that others. Influences practice by consideration of the non-academic factors that contribute to student learning and performance: how students identify influence feelings of safety and inclusion, can affect resiliency and self-efficacy, students from lower SES backgrounds may lack cultural capital, have financial aid issues etc. Every student has their own story they bring that influences the choices they will make.

Theory Promoting Effective Practice Conversations with faculty and colleagues Course work Experiences Professional Shared Reading, Collaborative Advising Teams, Committee Work Becoming a Scholar-Practitioner FTCAP Internship – intern meetings/shared readings and internship project Various course assignments that involved delving into literature and creating interventions Shared readings in DUS, examination of literature for class, projects and assignments led to interest in applying theory to develop effective practices. Similar to my job as an instructional support facilitator – using in-depth study from varying disciplines and perspectives to develop effective plans. One detailed example – Campus Environments – Group project – in depth audit of campus space – led to automatic audit of DUS student waiting area.

Environments Speak: What is Yours Saying? Environmental Theory CSA 506: Campus Environments Environments Speak: What is Yours Saying? (Strange & Banning, 2001)

Participant Involvement Keeping in mind the mission of DUS being educative and exploratory students from the DUS Leadership Council provided input into to align the student waiting area with the mission. DUS Leadership Council Members

Advising Prep Card One outcome that improved the educational aspect of the area – input garnered also from advisers.

Cultural Changes Incorporation of Explore – Experience – Decide brand. Welcome sign to help students feel this is their space. Use of diverse signage to help varying groups feel included.

Photo Gallery of our Community Building a sense of community and showcasing opportunities such as Leadership Council. Thinking of adding photo of our UPUA rep.

Conversations with Colleagues NACADA Region 2 Conference Annapolis, Maryland March 2012 ACPA National Conference Las Vegas, Nevada March, 2013

Transition theory Independent study, Fall 2012 Academically at-risk students Mentoring Intervention – “Guided Action Plan” (Schlossberg, 1984) Came to see importance of this theory during student interview assignment for the student development course. Became crystal clear that how student navigated the transition to college and then again to UP ultimately influence her persistence.

Conversations with Students

Professional Experiences Academic Adviser Graduate Assistant First-Year Testing, Consulting, and Advising Program Intern Office of Student Conduct Intern Academic Mentor to Student Athletes Teaching Assistant for HI ED 556: Students and Clientele

Framing Conversations Intentionality and ethics Lived experiences/salient identities Authenticity, empathy, and helping skills Reflection to inform critical decision-making skills and self-authorship

Challenge and support students’ thinking through provocative questions For clarification Probe assumptions Probe for reasons and evidence in decision making Probe viewpoints and perspectives Promote growth and development

Domandate? Grazie !