The ultimate mission of student affairs work is to advance student learning. Although this occurs across campus, the professionals that work in residence life are uniquely situated in this process given the relatively high level of contact they have with students. Unlike most faculty members, however, the educational environment created by student affairs and residence life educators... Continue Reading →
ResLife Myth #1: Food is Necessary for Program Attendance
Roompact "Perspective" posts are opportunities for individual staff members to work out ideas and provide their individual thoughts and opinions on a given topic. Opinion pieces reflect the views of the individual authors and are presented to prompt discussion in our community. They do not necessarily represent those of Roompact. We've all heard it before: Residents... Continue Reading →
Residential Curriculum Element #4: Educational Strategies are Developed to Advance Learning Outcomes
A well known approach to education in the residence halls is the programming model. Typically, a programming model will involve a menu of different categories that structure and guide programmatic efforts. These categories may be based on a wellness wheel, or they may include broader categories such as "social," "multicultural," or "educational" programming. To fulfill a programming model's requirements, a student staff member... Continue Reading →
What is a Residential Curriculum? Curricular Approach? Residential Learning Model?
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 →