Educational Initiatives

Educational Initiatives Not another term for “PROGRAM” Office of Residential Life Fordham University Lincoln Center Presenters: Jenifer Campbell, Director of Residential Life Vickki Massy, Assistant Director of Residential Life

Definition of Educational Initiative (EI) planned opportunities, experiences, events, activities, discussions, or passive materials which begin, continue, or promote learning that is consistent with the CORE values of a Department. Core values: form departmental foundation and are consistent with institutional mission

What’s the Purpose? All levels of staff have responsibility for assisting in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational initiatives. Educational initiatives have several purposes: • Provide a chance for residents to learn more about one another and become connected to the floor, building, larger community, or institution. • Relay important informational items to students. • Provide developmental opportunities for students. • Provide a context for students to connect course related content.

Passive vs. Active Educational Initiatives Passive -refers to an initiative that allows the student to receive the knowledge or gain awareness on his/her own time - often take the shape of bulletin boards, informative flyers, newsletters, or table tents - ideal for conveying awareness to students, preparing the community for an upcoming event or introducing a controversial topic Active - refers to a program or initiative that involves students interacting at a certain time and location, usually with a facilitator, to engage in an opportunity for learning, growth, and/or development - used to reference more traditional programs in the residence halls (i.e. ice cream socials and movie nights) - allow for peer-to-peer interaction and learning, group dialogue, skill development, and experiential learning

Using Core Student Learning Values at a Jesuit Institution Men and Women For and With Others Make healthy relationship choices Gain in the ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships Identify and clarify personal values and beliefs Discover and clarify their personal values and beliefs Recognize that each person has the ability and responsibility to define personal values and beliefs Support other students in making decisions which are consistent with their values and beliefs

Men and Women For and With Others(continued) Learn to act in congruence with their values and beliefs Increase awareness of how individual decisions and actions directly reflect personal values and character Reflect on the consequences of their actions Understand how culture and background relate to value and beliefs Understand that individual values and beliefs come from one’s culture, background, and experiences

Men and Women For and With Others(continued) Learn to respectfully discuss and resolve differences with others Gain skills in articulating their beliefs and resolving differences with others Increase their ability to respectfully engage in dialogue with others who hold different values and beliefs Learn skills for community living Gain an increasing awareness of their role and responsibility as a citizen in a community Learn how to balance personal values, beliefs and needs in relation to others in the community Develop Leadership skills Gain in one’s knowledge and awareness of leadership skills Explore their ability to lead others

Using Core Student Learning Values at a Jesuit Institution Integrated Learning Learn and utilize effective study and learning strategies Identify the conditions that best support their ability to study and learn Develop and practice successful skills and strategies for learning and academic success Know and use campus resources for academic assistance Gain awareness of the campus resources available to assist in improving their learning skills

Integrated Learning (continued) Connect in-and-out class learning View “learning” as something that can happen both inside and outside the classroom Take advantage of the unique and rich learning opportunities that the campus community provides Collaborate with others to increase learning Increase their ability to collaborate with others to promote their own (and others) learning Gain skills in analyzing situations from diverse perspectives Explore and define academic major and career choice & understand and successfully utilize personal learning style Identify and understand their individual learning style and how to use that style to maximize their learning

Using Core Student Learning Values at a Jesuit Institution Multicultural Intelligence Identify their unique culture and background Understand that everyone has a unique history, background and culture, which influences who they are Recognize and appreciate the unique culture and background of others Recognize and value individual differences in a community Gain awareness of stereotypes and prejudice

Multicultural Intelligence (continued) Recognize how power and privilege are determined by social and political systems Act respectfully towards others Recognize and address prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination Broaden the diversity of their social group

Using Core Student Learning Values at a Jesuit Institution Personal Well-Being Make healthy lifestyles choices Know and utilize campus health and safety resources Learn about and utilize campus/community resources that promote and assist with health and safety Recognize and manage stress Develop positive methods for dealing with stress

Personal Well-Being (continued) Make healthy choices about food and exercise Make informed choices about alcohol or drug use Learn and utilize practices to insure personal safety Deal effectively with peer pressure

Achieving Outcomes Through Educational Initiatives - Student learning in outcome area is a significant aspect of the student staff responsibility • Want students to become more aware, gain knowledge, and develop skills while living in the residence hall - Encouraged to be intentional in efforts and to think about working with outcomes as a journey

Achieving Outcomes Through Educational Initiatives

Assessing Student Needs involves identifying what students want or need to learn or a particular problem or issue on the floor. For example, after conducting Resident Interviews, you may learn that several students were involved in Community Service activities before college.

Identify Outcomes involves revisiting the list of CORE outcomes and selecting 1-2 from each CORE as focus areas. For example, you may determine after Resident Interviews that many of your first year students are concerned about only having 1 or 2 tests per semester.

Sample of a Resident Interview Student Learning Map- RA/FM Staff Name ______________________ Floor______________________ Date______________________ Floor Demographics: Provide estimated numbers for the following: • Freshmen ___________Sophomores___________ Juniors___________ Seniors ___________ • Law 1,2,3,LLM___________ Transfer Students___________ From where?______________________________ • Academic Majors represented Major • Other (graduate, special program, etc.) • Which programs represented? ______________________________ • Men __________Women___________ Trans-gendered ___________ International___________ • Which countries are represented? ______________________________ • Identified disabilities ___________ • Which disabilities are known?______________________________ • Caucasian __________ Black/African American__________ Asian American/ Pacific Islander__________ • Hispanic/Latino/Chicano American __________ American Indian/Alaskan Native__________ • Asian American/Pacific Islander__________ Unknown racial identity__________ Identifying as bi-racial__________ • How did students identify themselves? ______________________________ • Identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual__________ How did students identify themselves?______________________________ Resident Interview Summaries: Based on your floor demographics, how would you describe your student population? Based on room environment expectations, how would you describe your student population? Based on living on the floor (Community Development), how would you describe your student population? Based onIntegrated Learning, how would you describe your student population? Based on Multicultural Intelligence, how would you describe your student population? Based on Women and Men for and with Others, how would you describe your student population? Based on Personal Well-Being, how would you describe your student population? Additional Notes:

Develop and Implement The choice of an active or passive initiative will likely involve consideration of several questions. These may include: 1. What do I want students to learn? 2. What resources do I have available? 3. How much exposure do students have to this topic? 4. What are the current climate considerations?

Assessing Student Learning Assessment of the activity should occur immediately after the initiative and is accomplished through observation or feedback i.e. EI Evaluation

Educational Initiative Evaluation Educational Initiative (EI) Title: EI Team Members (List all members): Roles: Leader Petty Cash Location Publicity/Ads EI Date: Actual Attendance EI Time EI Location EI Type (check all that apply) Passive Active ILC Community Builder Wellness Bulletin Board Other, please explain Target Audience/Actual Audience

Educational Initiative Evaluation (continued) Value/Target Outcome(s) Addressed: Men and Women for and with OthersIntegrated Learning Make healthy relationship choices Learn/utilize effective study and learning strategies Identify and clarify personal values/beliefs Know/use campus resources for academic assistance Learn skills for community living Connect in and out-of class learning Develop leadership skills Collaborate with others to increase learning Multicultural IntelligencePersonal Well-Being Identify their unique culture and background Make healthy lifestyle choices Recognize/value individual difference in a community Recognize and manage stress Gain awareness of stereotypes and prejudices Make healthy choices and food/exercise Recognize how power/privilege are determined by Make informed choices about alcohol/drug use social and political systems Deal effectively with peer pressure

Educational Initiative Evaluation (continued) Final EI Agenda Final Itemized and Totaled Projected EI Budget: What was successful about this EI? What was not successful about this EI? Team Leader’s Assessment of Team Performance/Accountability

Questions and Final Thoughts Jenifer Campbell ajecampbell@fordham.edu 212-636-7100 Vickki Massy vmassy@fordham.edu 212-636-7100

Educational Initiatives