Activities:
· Reviewed
the syllabus and assignments for the career planning course
· Had
a check in meeting with Cassandra to review my remaining work and set future
meeting times
· Worked
on updates for the career center major list for the website
Reflections
on Practice:
1. Since training has started for Housing and
Residence Life, my practicum has slowed down quite a bit. I have been doing
most of my work for Cassandra online outside of working hours. In between these
hours and an average of twelve hours a day of work I have also been completing
work for group counseling class, mentoring an incoming residence director on
the ins and outs of the position, and overseeing the department wide meals
throughout training. If this has taught me anything about student affairs it is
that I am the only person who can and will ever be responsible for my personal
wellbeing. Chapter six of the textbook talks about finding a mentor who is able
to guide you in your career (Amey, Bagunu & Hazley, 2009). As I am writing
this blog post and recognizing the burnout that I am feeling I know that I need
to take action to address this issue. Anytime that I have sought a mentor in
the past I have looked for someone who is able to enhance my ability in a
certain focus area such as diversity or research. It hasn’t occurred to me before
this moment that I could seek a mentor who is able to help me understand how to
successfully find the “work life balance” that student affairs professionals
strive for. This is my next professional goal for myself. I know that if I do
not achieve this goal or at least start working toward it soon I am going to
end up leaving the profession.
2. The
second lesson that I took away from practicum this week was focused more on the
background of teaching a course. As a result of my practicum experience,
Cassandra is allowing me to teach a first year seminar course in the fall. I
spent a lot of time over the past couple of weeks reviewing the syllabus for
this course and trying to understand how Cassandra developed the schedule and
activities. I sometimes feel that I may be interested in the faculty track of
student affairs. Reviewing the creation of the syllabus and the coursework has
allowed me some insight into what a future in education could look like for
which I am greatly appreciated.
Reflections
on Theory:
The theory that stands out to me as I review my
practicum work from the past two weeks is Schlossberg’s Transition Theory. It will
be critical for me to keep this transition in mind as I teach the course in the
fall. For me, it has always been easy to relate Schlossberg’s theory to first
year students and the thoughts that I have about teaching this course are no
exception to that. Thinking ahead, I can easily see how each of the four S’s of
Schlosberg’s theory may apply to my students (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton
& Renn, 2010). In regards to the first S, situation, I may have non-traditional
students (Evans et al., 2010). In a case such as this, the student’s transition
to college would be considered “off-time” (Evans et al., 2010) and could
therefore impact their class interactions as well as their coursework. Another one
of the S’s that stands out to me is support (Evans et al., 2010). It will be
important for me to remember that I can and likely should be one of these
sources of support for my students. One part of this aspect which will be
difficult for me is providing honest feedback (Evans et al., 2010). I struggle
with talking to people about their mistakes. I hope that teaching this course
will allow me to confront this concern while still keeping a balance of affirmation.
Amey, M. J., Bagunu, G. & Hazley, M. (2009). Making
professional connections. In M. J. Amey & L. M. Reesor (Eds.), Beginning Your Journey (3rd
ed.) (17-23). Washington, DC: National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators.
Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton,
L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student development in college: Theory, research,
and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteit's great that you have the opportunity to teach in the fall! I think that'll give you some new responsibilities as a SA professional, but it'll also give you a different perspective of how you can "groom" students into adults. In the teacher role, I think you'll have a different sense of authority too because you have the autonomy to instruct the way you want (or I think you would) and how your teaching style is advocating for student success.
Some things that I would like for you to think about are:
1. Ways your teaching can be a relief from your traditional SA obligations
2. How you will potentially serve as mentor for your students similar to the way you mentioned having a mentor as a new professional
3. Will your burnout affect your teaching styles in the fall.
Jasmine
Hey Amanda!
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed hearing about your practicum experience and reading your blog posts. It seems like you've had some great opportunities through your practicum. I chose to reply to your post because I actually relate with you about the mentoring aspect of practicum. I have found a mentor in my site supervisor, and it seems like you have found a mentor, as well. My questions are:
1) How do you hope to continue this mentoring relationship throughout your second year in the graduate program?
2) How do you believe you will be able to use Schlossberg's Transition Theory throughout your career as a student affairs professional?
Enjoyed reading your post!
Jessi