The Theory and Assessment of College Student Development course was the beginning of my understanding of student development theory and how I could apply it to my work as a practitioner. There are two course projects that taught me how different identities shape and influence student development during college years (ACPA & NASPA, 2010). My Voice Project allowed me to choose one identity and delve deeply into the challenges, triumphs, and growth a person of that identity may experience in college. As my voice, I chose a person who identifies as transgender, and I learned how to apply student development theory to my work with those students in the future. The Formal Theory Paper prompted me to interview one first-year student throughout the semester, and choose three theories to apply to her experience so far in college. I specifically looked at Chickering and Reisser’s Seven Vectors, Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning, and Baxter Magolda’s Theory of Self-Authorship and explained how each contributes to our knowledge of student development and informs our practice as professionals (ACPA & NASPA, 2010).
In addition to learning about student learning and development through in class experiences, I also had opportunities to apply this knowledge in areas of my work. In Spring 2014 I co-facilitated the Leaders in Residence course through the Office of Residence Life. This course was designed to help students hone their leadership abilities, and educate them on Kouzes and Posner’s Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. Each week I met with my co-facilitator and designed the lesson plan for the two hour class meeting. In designing the lesson plan, we had to ensure we were being congruent with the course learning outcomes and syllabi, while also utilizing our knowledge of student development theory (ACPA & NASPA, 2010). Many of the students in class were first-year students, and I had many conversations with them outside of class about how they were adjusting to college. Throughout these conversations I was able to incorporate what I had learned about different student development theories and cater my advice to the student based on where they were within their own development (ACPA & NASPA, 2010).