Residence life and education, residential curriculum and curricular approaches, student housing, and technology.
ACPA's Institute on the Curricular Approach (formerly the Residential Curriculum Institute) is the source for learning about applying curricular structures to your work. As a former and current Institute faculty member myself, and working for a company that is the official software sponsor, I strongly believe in the mission of the Institute and the effectiveness... Continue Reading →
Transitioning to a residential curriculum is as much about educational plan development as it is about organizational change. The reason for this is that curricular approaches are often paradigmatic change--change predicated on an entirely new set of premises. In other words, rather than just rearranging the furniture in the room, you're changing the entire room... Continue Reading →
At the most recent Convention of ACPA - College Student Educators International, I had the opportunity to present a PechaKucha-style presentation on residential curriculum and curricular approaches to student affairs work. In this video I discuss why we need a curricular approach, how the movement started, what curricular approaches entail, and how we can move... Continue Reading →
Goals and narratives are perhaps the least appreciated, understood, and often confused components of a residential curriculum. In reviewing the cascade of learning objectives in a curriculum, one starts with an educational priority. An educational priority is a broad summary statement of what students will learn as a result of their participation in the curriculum.... Continue Reading →
Roompact "Perspective" posts are opportunities for individual staff members to work out ideas and provide their individual thoughts and opinions on a given topic. Our vantage point at Roompact gives us unique insights into the industry. Given the large number of schools we work with and interact with, we're often able to begin to see... Continue Reading →
Given that the curricular approach is relatively new in student affairs circles, there is a need for tools and resources that can help campuses and departments assess the effectiveness of their efforts. I, along with Ryan Lloyd, recently had the pleasure of presenting on two such resources at the 2018 International Convention of NASPA -... Continue Reading →
In developing a residential curriculum, one of the first tasks a residence life department undertakes is the establishment of an educational priority. An educational priority is summative statement of what students will learn by their participation in a curriculum. An educational priority is broad, informed by research and theory, and contextualized to an individual campus and student population.... Continue Reading →
Roompact "Perspective" posts are opportunities for individual staff members to work out ideas and provide their individual thoughts and opinions on a given topic. There are a number of practices in residential life and education that have become commonplace, but that don't always advance our roles as educators and student affairs professionals. Over my many years... Continue Reading →
Assessment and accountability are important features of modern student affairs work. We have always known our work was important, but we are being asked to show how what we do impacts our students in tangible ways. The topic of assessment can make people nervous. What if the programs and services we offer aren’t as effective... Continue Reading →
Roompact is proud to sponsor of ACPA's Residential Curriculum Institute. Offered annually to educators and professionals in residence life and education, the Institute is a three day series of sequential workshops and sessions that teach participants how to implement a curricular approach to education in the residence halls. As provider of software that enables colleges and universities... Continue Reading →
Roompact is proud to sponsor of ACPA's Residential Curriculum Institute. Offered annually to educators and professionals in residence life and education, the Institute is a three day series of sequential workshops and sessions that teach participants how to implement a curricular approach to education in the residence halls. As provider of software that enables colleges and universities... Continue Reading →
Roompact is proud to sponsor of ACPA's Residential Curriculum Institute. Offered annually to educators and professionals in residence life and education, the Institute is a three day series of sequential workshops and sessions that teach participants how to implement a curricular approach to education in the residence halls. As provider of software that enables colleges and universities... Continue Reading →
Rubrics are tools that are used by educators to help evaluate the learning and performance of students. They are written documents, often presented in a chart format, that help define progress and achievement levels towards various goals and performance indicators. When developing learning goals and their constituent outcomes in a residential curriculum, rubrics can help. Rubrics ensure that... Continue Reading →
Like every endeavor, understanding and implementing a curricular approach to residential life and student affairs is a journey. That journey, like most learning, is often a messy process. Although there is an Institute, a number of resources that can help guide you, and trainers and consultants that can help, connecting with peers and sharing challenges... Continue Reading →
In my 5 years of working with residential curriculum, there have been many successes and many failures. This is perfectly natural when developing a residential curriculum—you continuously review your strategies each year and adapt and refine your work over time. However, year after year, it seemed that buy-in was something that consistently came up as... Continue Reading →
One of the primary roles of residence life professionals is to advance student learning. But given the myriad of hats and tasks that housing and residence life professionals take on, it can sometimes become lost in the mix. It requires professionals to remain vigilant. When developing educational plans, writing position descriptions, and training staff, these processes should be constantly... Continue Reading →
When thinking about my own experience in developing a residential curriculum, I’m reminded of a wordsmithing session I had with some colleagues. We were attempting to set some broad learning goals for our curriculum and we wanted to ensure that our language encouraged critical reflection but also allowed for a diversity of viewpoints. It took... Continue Reading →
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 →
