Student Affairs: Deep Versus Strategic Learning

I recently read What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain. The book got me thinking about how to facilitate deep learning, as opposed to strategic learning, when working with students within Student Affairs.

Strategic learning, or what Paulo Freire called the banking model of education, basically assumes that teachers tell students something and when students can tell it back, they have learned. In contrast, deep learning assumes that teachers facilitate the process of students putting facts and figures into context – the process of making meaning. Deeper learning aims to ascend students through Bloom’s taxonomy of thought, toward application, analysis, and synthesis.

As Bain asserts, “The most successful teachers expect the highest levels of development from their students. They reject the view of teaching as nothing more than delivering correct answers to students and learning as simply remembering those deliveries. They expect their students to rise above the category of received knowers, something they reflect in the way they teach and assess their students” (45).

In my mind, I see no distinction between the traditional division of student affairs and academic affairs when it comes to teaching. If our primary focus is student learning – in particular the development of knowledge and skills relevant to self, workforce, and civic development – why do we limit this enterprise to only part of the student experience? And so, as a student advisor and coordinator of student development activities, I firmly claim my ground as a teacher, just as a staff member in financial aid or career development or records should.

So, then, I am accepting responsibility for the question: When I look at my own practice with Student Affairs, how often do I focus on delivering the correct answer (so that the student can complete their FAFSA or register for the right course or turn in their transfer application on time)? Probably more than I would like to admit in light of deep versus strategic learning.

Bain then adds, “Rather than just thinking in terms of teaching history, biology, chemistry, or other topics, they [the best teachers] talked about teaching students to understand, apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate evidence and conclusions” (46).

Certainly,  it takes more time and more scaffolding to change from service delivery (of correct answers) to student learning. But, if you step back, does it really? Because how many times will a student return for the correct answer? Alternatively, what is our future interaction with a student if we expend the time and effort to facilitate deep learning?

I will conclude with Bain: “Highly effective teachers design better learning experiences for their students in part because they conceive of teaching as fostering learning. Everything they do stems from their strong concern for and understanding of the development of their students. They follow few traditions blindly and recognize when change in the conventional course is both necessary and possible” (67).  

Bibliography

Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Foundations of Success: Code Shift

Who are you?

You may identify yourself as a parent, a student, a brother, a Muslim, an environmentalist, a teammate, a friend, an American, a gamer, a Latino, a Republican, a nurse, a veteran, and so on. Chances are, you have a number of different identities: some more prominent, some less; some that you were and some that you are and some that you want to be; some that you define for yourself and some that others define for you.

This leads us to the next question. How do you act when you are within a certain role or identity? Do you act the same when you are a parent as when you are a friend? Do you speak the same words when you are talking with your parents as when you are talking with your Army buddies? Do you dress the same when you go to work as when you go out on a date as when you go to church?

In many cases, the answer is probably not. You most likely act, speak, and dress differently when you are being a parent as compared to when you are being a friend. What is expected, or what is considered normal, most likely varies from one role to the next.  In other words, the code that guides how you speak and act and dress shifts when you transition from being a parent to being a friend.

College, just like a synagogue or a work place or a dance club, has its own code. There are certain expectations and beliefs about how you speak and how you act and how you dress, unwritten rules that define what is considered normal - just as you find in the military or in your family or in your neighborhood.

Of course, within any of these culture, you may choose to speak or act or dress differently than what is considered normal. Nevertheless, you need to be aware that many others are perceiving you and judging you based on the unwritten rules. 

Now, when you talk differently as a nurse than as a friend, does that somehow make you less of a friend? No, you are just shifting code. When you act differently at college than you do in your family, are you pretending that you are someone you are not or abandoning your past? No, you are just exercising cultural awareness.

For example, if you follow college code while in your neighborhood, you may be perceived as a square, but if you follow college code while at college, you will be perceived as a responsible student. Alternatively, if you follow street code while in college, you may be perceived as disruptive, but if you follow street code while in your neighborhood, you may be perceived as strong. It all depends on the culture in which you are currently operating.

You do not need to follow college code, but if you do, you will face less judgment and bias and misunderstanding, and - in general - you will have an easier time collaborating, communicating, persuading, and gaining legitimacy with students, faculty, and staff.


 Some major aspects of college code:

- Always be on time and communicate with faculty and staff if you cannot attend. 
- Take initiative and ask for help if you do not understand.
- Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling when communicating with faculty and staff.
- Resolve conflict through discussion and mediation (not argument or aggression). 
- Value diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
- Think critically for yourself  (as opposed to looking for the "right" answer).

Success Stories Don't Come Easy

Trouble keeping food on the table, a family member in jail, no guidance at home about how to register for courses or complete a scholarship application - yet this student made it into college and set her path for success. Such a story amazes me as an advisor, a student overcoming so many obstacles on her way to success. 

In such powerful stories of personal triumph over harrowing circumstances, I hear a common theme: these students define life for themselves as opposed to being defined by the obstacles they face. These students choose how they respond to obstacles instead of letting obstacles determine their response. 

But let's be real: it easy to talk about personal responsibility, but life can be much  more complicated. Sometimes the obstacles are so great that we are knocked down and - as dedicated as we may be - we falter, we lose hope, we want to just give up, we just want to blame someone or something for our situation. 

And let's be honest:  it would be naive to assume that we all start from the same blank slate, and that the singular determinant of success is individual effort and hard work; we do not all have the same boot straps. A simple analysis of history and society makes it abundantly clear that we do not all face the exact same combination of obstacles and opportunities. We are not born in the log cabin that we built. 

And so, I understand when a student responds to an obstacle by blaming, or complaining, or simply giving up. We have all been there, and sometimes it is a realistic response to an extremely challenging situation. 

But I witness a defining characteristic in successful students: when they get knocked down, they dust themselves off, and they get back up. To do that - to get back up - that is a choice the student makes. You can make excuses, and they may certainly be reasonable, but if you stay knocked down, you stay knocked down, no matter who is right and who is wrong. 

This is the essence of accepting personal responsibility. Do you focus on who or what knocked you down, or do you focus on how you can go about dusting yourself off and standing back up? 

It is  empowering to accept personal responsibility for how you respond to obstacles and opportunities.  Success stories don't come easy, and to be honest, they may never come at all. But if you have the courage to always stand back up, no matter how difficult it may be, then you have lived a life to be proud of, a life of success. 

Solve problems. Adapt. Evolve. Change the way you do things. Control your response. Learn from your past. Accept personal responsibility for your actions. And then, succeed!

Vision to Action: Stay Motivated

Whether you are aware of it or not, your thoughts determine your action. In the previous post, I suggested that you become more conscientious of this process by articulating your vision of success, your thoughts on success. If you have not yet read Vision of Success, start there!

Once you have created your vision of success, you are ready to put it into action! The process of goal setting is a good way to create a plan of concrete steps to take toward your vision of success. Review Part I, Part II, and Part III of Goal Setting to create a blueprint of action steps.

Which finally brings us to motivation.You have an idea of where you want to go (vision), and you have a plan for getting there (goals), but how are you going to find the drive to act toward your success? And what fuel will keep you going, through the ups and the downs, until you reach your goals and realize your vision of success? In other words, how will you stay motivated?

To stay motivated, you must see value in what you are doing. That is, does what you are doing right now lead you to where you want to go? Is what you are doing important and relevant in terms of your vision of success?

Also, to stay motivated, you must believe that you can influence the outcomes of your life. Do you see yourself as a strong, hard working person that can take control of your life? Or do you believe that all of your success is do to luck and fate and things that you cannot control?

Strategies for creating motivation:

1. First things first, you must create a vision of success. Consider creating a vision board or write out your vision. Revisit your vision of success often. 

2. Use goals to focus on the immediate action steps that you can take to control your outcomes. This will remind you of your ability to impact what happens in your life.

3. Instead of blaming or complaining, use proactive "I" language to address solutions to the challenges you face. Over time, such a mindset will make you feel powerful and in control.   

4. When times get tough, take a moment to think about the value of what you are doing. How does what you are doing right now lead you to a better place? 

5. Hold yourself accountable to completing your goals. Reward yourself when you reach your short-term goals. Consider setting shared goals with a friend or partner to keep each other going!