EDH 6040, Section 1223 – Theory of College Student Development

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EDH 6040, Section 1223 – Theory of College Student Development
Student Personnel in Higher Education – College of Education
University of Florida
292 Norman Hall – Tuesdays, Periods 7-9, 1:55pm – 4:55pm (really, 2-5pm!)
Fall 2014
FACULTY
Dr. Diane Porter-Roberts
Norman Hall 285
352-273-4309
352-317-4750 (cell)
dianep@coe.ufl.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00am – 12:00noon. Other times by appointment.
Course Description
The purpose of this course is to examine a range of human/student development theories that offer insight into the
processes of student development, growth, learning, and engagement during their postsecondary years. We will focus on
the development of young adults as it relates to postsecondary education institutions’ desired learning outcomes for its
students in general and in student affairs in particular. Students will be introduced to the broad disciplinary fields that
guide student development theory, the primary higher education researchers, the research based on these theories, and
how these theories and research can be used to guide educational policies and practices in colleges and universities. This
course also relies on students to engage in class participation and the co-construction of course knowledge on this broad
and diverse range of topics. Regardless of the student’s prior disciplinary background, this course exposes students to a
rich and diverse knowledge base focused on helping students to become aware of their professional identity while
engaging with undergraduates.
Intended Course Outcomes
1. Understand the history and nature of theory as it relates to college student development.
2. Critically examine the strengths and limitations of various theories of college student development.
3. Express a deeper level of self-awareness as it relates to your own holistic development.
4. Articulate how personal developmental perspectives influence your work with college students.
5. Apply student development theory to educational policy and most importantly, practice in higher education – aka
THEORY TO PRACTICE or T2P! Course Requirements
Required Readings:
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student development in college: Theory,
research, and practice (2nd). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: Author.
Other materials as assigned/provided in class.
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You, the Theorist (by You, the Author) – Due September 2
Before you do anything else for this class, WRITE THIS PAPER! No internet, no Google, no Bing, no text books, no
library…just you, your thoughts, and your experience!
While you may not think of yourself as a theorist, if you’ve ever made an assumption about something, taken a guess,
hypothesized, or thought, “I bet that’s why that happened!”…then you’re a theorist! As a person who’s been through the
undergraduate college experience, as well as someone who is clearly interested in working with college students, I suspect
that you have developed (or at least speculated about) some "informal theories" of your own regarding the ways in which
individuals develop in college, the issues they face, and areas in which they need to change in order to become more fully
functioning. Being aware of the informal theories you use to understand people and how they learn is important as you
begin to examine formal theories of student development and learning. Such awareness will enable you to determine areas
of agreement and disagreement you may have with the formal theories. In addition, being aware of your own
developmental process can assist you in being more sensitive to the developmental concerns of the students with whom
you work. This paper will serve as an autobiography, of sorts, from which you will work throughout this semester.
Several assignments will stem from this paper.
So, think about your own development up to this point in your life and any variables that may have influenced you.
However you choose to define development is up to you. In your paper, discuss any areas of your
life/experience/education that you deem relevant. Identify any areas in which you feel you have made good progress, any
areas where you feel your development has been a bit slower, and any factors that have either contributed to or hindered
your development.
Also spend a little bit of your paper discussing your learning style – how you approach learning, how you learn best,
methods that don’t particularly work well for you, etc. Things to be covered could include individual learning, group
work, reading, writing, listening, doing, locations, settings, and the like.
This paper is should be LONG ENOUGH for you to cover your own informal theories, and will be evaluated on the basis
of thoughtful consideration of the assignment, thoroughness, grammar, flow….just your overall level of writing. It is due
on September 3 at the beginning of class.
Reflective journals (50 points)
Self-reflection helps promote understanding and development of concepts and simply learning about yourself.
Throughout this course, you will be asked to reflect on the course concepts, student development theories, your own
development, and your professional practice. At 5 different points in time, you will be asked to reflect on the interrelated
class sessions, how you understand the material, and the guiding questions. Each of your 5 journal paper will be a
maximum of 2 pages. While these reflections might be informal in tone, they are an important part of the course and they
support the learning in this course.
In order to facilitate the reflective journal process, I will provide thought-provoking questions to structure your reflection.
Use these questions to guide your thought process. However, your reflections should address the issues that you find most
pertinent, rather than strictly adhering to a question or set of questions. Reflecting on your own experiences and thoughts
is inherently a personal process. Please be as honest as you are comfortable and demonstrate critical thinking abilities in
your writing. You may use first person and the style is informal; however, please still pay attention to basic grammar and
composition skills. Your papers will be evaluated on how well you address the topic, your level of critical thinking, and
how well you follow the basic guidelines for the paper. These reflections will all stem initially from the first paper you
submitted in this course, realizing that your thoughts may evolve throughout the semester as well.
PLEASE NOTE: While confidentiality is assured, on very rare occasions, you may feel uncomfortable sharing your
writings with me. If such a situation arises, please complete journal paper and simple indicate on the title page that you
do not want me to read the paper. You will receive credit for the completed assignment, but I will NOT read the reflection
paper assignment.
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You, the Teacher (100 points)
Remember this? Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involvement me, I’ll understand. (Chinese proverb)
It is important that you understand the concepts from class readings, so here’s your chance to engage your colleagues in
an active dialogue about theory…and more importantly – theory to practice! In groups of 2-3 (to be determined in class),
you will be asked to select a class session in which you will lead a 40 minute discussion focusing on some aspect of the
theory/reading assigned for that day. It is your choice on what to discuss and how to present the information. Please keep
the actual review of the reading to a minimum (no more than 5 min.) but prepare a slide, poster, or handout for the class
with major points from the reading that you wish to share and discuss more in-depth. The discussion you lead should
encourage active dialogue among cohort members. For example, you might develop questions that encourage the group to
think critically about what they have read or you might design a group activity having the class use the information in
some aspect of student affairs practice. You know how much we like to discuss THEORY TO PRACTICE, right?! Please
provide a brief outline of the focus of your discussion to Dr. Porter-Roberts at least one class session before you
will lead the discussion.
Final exam (100 points) – Due December 9
An integral part of the learning process for this course is to assess how well you understand and apply the course lectures,
materials, and discussions. A final take-home exam will cover the course lectures, course readings, classroom activities,
and your personal experiences. The final exam will cover the entire semester. The spirit of this exercise is less about
regurgitating simple facts about the theories, but rather your ability to synthesize the course materials, demonstrate
your critical thinking skills through effective writing, and the application of theory to practice.
Attendance & Participation (65 pts)
Since this class meets only once per week, attendance is vital to being an engaged participant in class topics and
discussion. The purposefulness with which you approach your learning experience in the class will correlate with your
learning outcomes. Your participation/contributions are essential for your learning and the learning of your classmates.
You will receive 5 points for every class in which you are fully present and engaged in the material. If you are absent, for
any reason, you will lose 5 points for that day. This allows you to miss once because of sickness or emergency without
irreparably damaging your grade; however, your absence will be noted. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent
or late for class, please contact the instructor via e-mail or text message prior to that class. Knowing that sometimes it may
be difficult to contact the instructor prior to class depending on the situation, please do so as soon as possible. In addition
to attendance, students are expected to arrive on time and be prepared for class to begin promptly at the assigned time.
Mature and respectful behavior is expected from all members of our class in all interactions with instructors, guest
presenters, and other students. Side conversations, sleeping, and reading other course material (or the Alligator, e-mail,
etc.) are not appropriate and may negatively impact the attendance/participation grade for that day. Please turn off or
silence all cell phones or any other electronic device and put them away prior to the start of class. The use of laptops and
“i-” devices will be monitored and if they become a distraction, students may be asked to put them away.
Grading
Graded Item
Points Per Item
You, the Theorist Paper
Reflective Journals
You, the Teacher
Final Exam
Class Participation
100 points
50 points
100 points
100 points
65 points
TOTAL
415 points
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
385-415 points
373-384 points
361-372 points
344-360 points
332-343 points
319-331 points
302-318 points
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Course Expectations
Reading Assignments
Please complete reading assignments designated in the syllabus or otherwise assigned by the instructor prior to the class
meeting. Your responsibility to your classmates and guest presenters is to be prepared to engage in large and small-group
discussions. Taking notes and/or highlighting text while reading will assist you in contributing to class discussions and
writing assignments.
Written Assignments
All written assignments should be professionally presented with well-organized ideas and materials (and proper grammar
and spelling!). All written assignments must be typed (double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1-inch margins). Any necessary
citations should be in APA format. Please include a cover page with the following information: name, e-mail address, date
and title (no running heads! And yes, I know that’s APA style, but I’m most picky about CITATIONS!). Complete
sentences that make sense are also a bonus when I read graduate level papersJ! Please PROOFREAD your work. Late
written work will lose points (minimum of 2 points per day.)
Academic Honor Code and Academic Honesty
University of Florida Student Honor Code
Preamble: In adopting this Honor Code, the students of the University of Florida recognize that academic honesty and
integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students who enroll at the University commit to holding
themselves and their peers to the high standard of honor required by the Honor Code. Any individual who becomes aware
of a violation of the Honor Code is bound by honor to take corrective action. Student and faculty support are crucial to the
success of the Honor Code. The quality of a University of Florida education is dependent upon the community acceptance
and enforcement of the Honor Code
The Honor Code: We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to
the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or
implied:
"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."
An academic honesty offense is defined as the act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains
academic advantage. As a University of Florida student, one is expected to neither commit nor assist another in
committing an academic honesty violation. Additionally, it is the student's duty to report observed academic honesty
violations. Violations of the Honor Code and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Specifically, instructors will
rigorously pursue incidents of plagiarism of any type or incidents of referring to any unauthorized material for any class
requirement. Before submitting any work for this class, please read the policies about academic honesty at
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/ and ask the instructors to clarify any expectations you
do not understand.
It is also expected that all papers submitted for this class be original work for the fall 2014 semester. No papers should
be “recycled” from a previous course or other writing assignment without prior permission from the instructor.
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Gatorlink E-mail
Students are required to have and use their GatorLink account for all UF related e-mail functions. Official university
communications are sent to students at this email address. You are responsible for staying informed and current with all
correspondence sent over the listserv.
ADA Statement
The University of Florida provides high-quality services to students with disabilities, and we encourage you to take
advantage of them. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should 1) Register with and provide
documentation to the Disability Resource Center (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc) in the basement of Reid Residence Hall
(392-8565), and 2) Bring a letter to the instructor from the DRC indicating that you need academic accommodations.
Please do this as soon as possible, preferably within the first week of class.
Instructor Evaluation Information
Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10 criteria. These
evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three
weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open. Summary results of these
assessments are available to students at https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results/.