Residence life and education, residential curriculum and curricular approaches, student housing, and technology.
The Residential Curriculum Institute outlines 10 "Essential Elements" that make up a curriculum and yet little to no research has been conducted specifically on these Elements. While that is not to say that the Elements are unsupported by research, they borrow from proven concepts and sound principles of instructional design, but there is currently no... Continue Reading →
One of the bedrock concepts of designing residential curricula and learning plans is the ability to write effective learning objectives. Writing effective and measurable learning objectives, however, is often more difficult than it may seem. The deeper one delves into learning theory and curricular design, the more nuanced one realizes these concepts are. One of... Continue Reading →
As a residential education software company working with many different colleges and universities, Roompact designs its software in a way that can accommodate the range of approaches institutions can take to the learning process in the residence halls. One of the most interesting design challenges we have confronted is how to accommodate both residential curriculum models and category-based... Continue Reading →
The Institute on the Curricular Approach (formerly the Residential Curriculum Institute) is a professional development opportunity offered by ACPA-College Student Educators International. The Institute provides an overview and training on how to start and grow a residential curriculum and, since its inception, has drawn thousands of participants from across the United States and around the world. The Institute is the only event of... Continue Reading →
We previously released Series 1 of our Student Affairs Trading Card business cards and it's time for a second series. In honor of Roompact's partnership with the ACPA Institute on the Curricular Approach (formerly RCI), we've designed business cards that pay homage to the original ten essential elements of a residential curriculum. That's right! These... Continue Reading →
Cascading from an educational priority are the broad goals of a curriculum. The goals of a curriculum are the main categories and statements of the educational components of the learning program. A typical residential curriculum includes 3-6 goals which are accompanied by narratives providing further detail. These goals, in turn, guide the development of learning outcomes and... Continue Reading →
One of the first steps in implementing a curricular approach in the residence halls is to articulate an educational priority. Educational priorities are written statements, typically 1-3 sentences, that describe the overall mission or objective of a curriculum. These priorities should be grounded in research and scholarship as well as the institutional context of the... Continue Reading →
Learning does not take place in a vacuum. It takes place in time and space. A well-designed curriculum recognizes that learning is most often a cumulative process. Individuals learn and grow over time. Sometimes they regress and sometimes they make large leaps forward, but the broad arc of learning is progressive over time. To this... Continue Reading →
Student affairs professionals are educators. College student educators. Although we may not always believe we are, or maybe we are not always perceived to be, we are educators. Education and development is at the core of what we do and what we are trained in. To this end, curriculums should be based in the latest... Continue Reading →
The terms “residential curriculum” or “curricular approach” are used to describe an intentional specifically-structured way of promoting learning in college and university student affairs programs. Borrowing from techniques utilized by classroom-based teachers, the curricular approach to student affairs designs a series of successive learning and engagement opportunities for students that are measurable against defined objectives.... Continue Reading →
