Theory & Practice

Brooke completed this course in Summer I 2015 and earned an A for her final grade.

Course Outcomes

Utilizing theory and counseling knowledge to assess the development of my students in order to create lessons that will relate to their needs.

Demonstrate an understanding of:

• How differences of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and religious belief can influence development during the college years.

Demonstrate the ability to:

• Articulate theories and models that describe the development of college students and the conditions and practices that facilitate holistic development.
• Generate ways in which various learning theories and models can inform training and teaching practice.
• Articulate one's own developmental journey and identification of one's own informal theories of student development and learning (also called theories in use) and how they can be informed by formal theories to enhance work with students.
• Assess the teaching, learning, and training as well as the incorporation of results into practice.

Demonstrate identification of:

• Theory types (e.g. learning, psychosocial and identity development, cognitive-structural, typological, and environmental).
• The limitations in applying existing theories and models to varying student demographic groups.
• Learning outcomes for both daily practice as well as teaching and training activities.

Assignments

Student Interview & Theory Analysis

Purpose: Develop an understanding of the application of theory to one student's experience and development.

Guidelines: Interview a student and analysis their experience using student development theories.

Self-Reflection Paper

Purpose: Reflection of the person the student was on their first day of college and identify the development throughout the experience in order to determine the student's informal theory.

Guidelines: Answer the following questions: "What was your experience like? How did you change (i.e., maturity, belief system, how you make meaning, etc.), and why do you think you changed?" In addition, write a letter of advice on how to achieve success to your 18-year old self.