1 Program Model vs. Curriculum Model A Tale of Two ApproachesLindsey K. Fields, M.S., M.Ed., LPC Assistant Director for Residence Life University of North Texas Katie Kolkmeier, M.Ed. Director of Programming House of Shine

2 University of North TexasJust under 38,000 14 Residence Halls Approximately 6,300 residents living on-campus 180 Resident Life Advisor Student Staff Resident Assistant Housing Ambassadors Facilities Assistants 24 Hall Director Staff Hall Director, Assistant Hall Director, Graduate Assistant 75th largest public research university in the United States Doubled the number of Residence Halls since 2000 25th largest on-campus residence hall population of a public university in the U.S.

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4 Elements of a Programming ModelHall Director approves program, RA advertises, residents show up, program was completed Categories to fulfill Specific number to be completed Budget allotted to an RA Reported in numbers Requires resident participation Reported in numbers How many of what type of program was completed this semester? How many students attended this program? National Residence Hall Honorary Program Of The Month Programs have VALUE within Residence Life Resident Assistant thinks of program idea, and submits it to Hall Director

5 Programming Model History at UNTWellness Wheel Category changes Requirements on RA staff Planned vs. spontaneous Active vs. passive programming Bulletin boards

6 Programming History at YOUR InstitutionIf you have experienced a programming model change: What brought about change at your institution? What was the change that was implemented?

7 Programming Model Praises & CritiquesRA flexibility to program to their own interests and community interests Programming can be an anxiety provoking experience for RA staff RAs can fulfill category requirements and feel like they’re doing their job RAs are not educational experts Engages students in a group setting Not all students want to engage in a group Easy to report, consider complete, and assess Difficult to see true community developing and evolving over time Praises – RA flexibility to program to their own interests and community interests Example: How many sex/relationship programs happened last month? RAs can feel like they’re completing category requirements and “doing their job” Issue – but at whose understanding of complete? And at what standard? RAs can engage students in a group but what if no one shows up? Easy to report count number of programs in categories count number of students who attended (is attendance = engagement?) Critiques Programming can be anxiety proviking for RA staff but it can also be incredibly engaging for some RAs are not educational experts but they do have a wonderful pulse on what’s going on within their community Not all students want to engage in a group but some only will and don’t necessarily want to connect with the RA Difficult to see true community developing and evolving over time spring time programming attendance slump or the same group of students solidly attending programs

8 Elements of a Curriculum ModelDirectly Connects to the Institutional Mission Learning Goals and Outcomes Developed and Based in a Defined Educational Priority Basis in Developmental Theory and Research Educational Strategies are Developed to Advance Learning Outcomes Educational Strategies Go Beyond Programmed Events Student Staff Are Utilized in Roles Appropriate To Their Skill Development Learning is Scaffolded and Sequenced To Follow Time-Based Development Key Stakeholders are Identified and Involved Peer-Review is Accomplished Through an Intentional Process Assessment Occurs at All Levels: From Educational Priority to Learning Goals and Outcomes

9 Residential Transition CurriculumFirst 6 weeks of the Long Semester Each week there were topics, suggested transition issues students may encounter Required RAs to submit a RTC reflection on their views of how the community was developing Does transition to college stop after the first 6-8 weeks?

10 Curriculum Model Praises & CritiquesTied to the University, Division, and Department mission Difficult to assess the RA job-related tasks, or difficult to measure outcomes Based in Student Development Theory Time-limited Learning Outcomes are identified & go beyond programmatic events Uniform curriculum may not allow for specialization for unique campus populations Created and guided by educational experts in Residence Life staff and other campus collaborators RAs implementing the curriculum are going through the college experience themselves More comprehensive than programming model approach May not account for a programming approach within the halls

11 THE BIG SHIFT Residence Life often uses these two approaches simultaneously The benefits of each model was not enhanced The challenges of each model was compounded Role of RLAC (Residence Life Advisory Council) Started with a conversation

12 Serendipitous OpportunityIntroducing BASIC 2.0 University of North Texas became a pilot campus for the new version of previous community development guide, ACUHO-I BASIC Training provided to professional staff from authors Claudia Beeney and Katie Kolkmeier

13 Fall 2016 BASIC 2.0 Job ExpectationsResident Assistant Professional Staff Weekly tasks of knowing names, stacking conversations, mapping assets, making matches, tapping assets, filling gaps Challenge Cards Weekly Reports Portfolio Weekly tasks of knowing names, stacking conversations, mapping assets, making matches, tapping assets, filling gaps Challenge Cards Weekly Reports Portfolio

14 Why BASIC 2.0 as opposed to a Programming Model approach?* RA Development * Individual conversations * Connections driving community building * RA Heavy Programming Requirement * Group approach to knowing residents * Program structure driving community development

15 KNOWING NAMES Knowing Names Simply the act of memorizing each student’s name and then utilizing it to make them feel welcome in the community What does this look like in your community? Hearing staff call residents by their names in daily conversation around the building Introducing residents to each other by name How will others notice you doing well in your job on this? Others will notice that you know your residents by name Your honest Self-Report on bi-weekly BASIC report submission *note – using names is just as important as knowing names STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

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17 Stacking ConversationsKNOWING NAMES Stacking Conversations Remember information learned about residents through methods such as personal observation, insights provided by other community members, individual interactions, or information provided through social media. Every piece of information gathered can be used in the future to build community. What could this look like in your community? In conversation with residents, ask about something you chatted about the past time, or something you recently learned or observed about them STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

18 KNOWING NAMES Mapping Assets & Discovering Desired Experiences & Accomplishments (DEAs) Process of identifying each resident’s talents, hobbies, and strengths. DEAs involve identifying things that residents would like to do, try, change, or experience. What could this look like for you? You will want to find a way to take note of residents talents, hobbies, and strengths STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

19 Identifying & Making MatchesKNOWING NAMES Identifying & Making Matches Art of noting where assets from one community member can be used to fill the DEAs (Desired Experiences & Accomplishments) of another community member. Followed up by a commitment to facilitate a connection between two or more people around a topic of mutual interest. What does this look like in your community? Facilitate a connection between two or more people! *note – use your notes from Mapping Assets and DEA’s to help you keep up with talents, strengths, and interests and what matches you’ve made STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

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21 KNOWING NAMES Tapping Assets What you do when you engage the assets of one individual to help fill the needs of another resident on the floor. Action oriented! Will most often result in either a task being completed or a meeting, gathering, or program occurring between two or more residents. What could this look like in your community? Have any programs or meetings occurred on campus where you have connected residents within your community to specifically Tap Assets? Have you followed up with a match you made to see if the two or group of residents have met up to talk about the thing that interests them? Or share the strength that one has that others need? STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

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23 KNOWING NAMES Filling Gaps What you do when responding to students’ DEAs, but cannot do it using the talents and assets of those residents who are living on your floor. Requires you to seek outside resources on campus or in the surrounding community. What could this look like in your community? A program you put on! A program already occurring in your building, in another residence hall, or elsewhere on campus, that you take a resident or group of residents to STACKING CONVERSATIONS MAPPING ASSETS & DEA’S IDENTIFYING & MAKING MATCHES TAPPING ASSETS FILLING GAPS

24 New Semester, New Faces Some residents decide not to return for the spring semester Residents can easily feel like outsiders if you are not intentional about welcoming them into your community Ask new residents about their academic goals and fill them in on any floor rituals that surfaced during the fall semester

25 Challenge Cards You will be pulling a Challenge Card during staff meetings Each card teaches a principle that is integral to your development as a leader. Challenge requires you to apply the leadership concept to your life and community. What should YOU be doing with this Challenge Card? Ask your HD team about the principle’s application to the real world, Think critically about the challenge posed, Begin to brainstorming ideas for application of the leadership principle to your RA position. Save an “artifact” – something that reminds you of this Challenge that you are completing

26 VISION Oprah Winfrey is one of the most successful women in television today. She is a talk show host, actor, producer, and media mogul. Coming from a low-income family in Mississippi, Winfrey had a vision for herself that included being successful. For 25 years, she hosted “The Oprah Winfrey Show” – one of the most-watched daytime talk shows in history. Now, in her 60s, Oprah is still reaching to achieve goals and dreams. She has never lost sight of where she came from and still each day challenges herself with new projects to help her fulfill the vision she has for herself.

27 CHALLENGE What vision do you have for yourself following your undergraduate experience? Your challenge this week is to: create a vision board you can place somewhere in your room that reminds you of the dreams you are chasing. Starting with a blank piece of paper, cut and affix images from magazines, newspapers, catalogs, or photographs that portray goals you want to accomplish in your lifetime.

28 TRANSFERABILITY TO WORKPLACEWhether leading a small team of employees, a movement with hundreds of thousands of followers, a floor of residents, or just yourself in your own life, the ability to hold a visit and compelling vision for what you are trying to achieve is important. Sharing that vision is how people know they are on the same page and moving in the right direction. LEARNING OBJECTIVE To better understand the value of casting visions that are vivid by using pictures, magazine images, and words.

29 Brand YOU Portfolio How does this all tie together? You will be saving “artifacts” to create your own Portfolio! You get to select a format for your portfolio that is reflective of your unique talents and gifts Consider - what format can be best shared with an employer in the future? Consider - Which format will you have the most fun looking back at ten or twenty years from now? Consider - Select something you can sustain for the entire academic year (or semester) It is likely that you will be asked to share publically your chosen approach or a piece of your portfolio with your HD team or your peers

30 Begin with the END in MindBring closure to your communities, you must plan ahead Good leaders don’t fizzle out; they finish strong with a well-thought out, well-planned idea of how to honor the people with whom they’ve just spent a full academic year!

31 Assessment of ProgressWeekly to bi-weekly reports “likeability” of Challenge Cards End of Semester focus groups Resident Assistant Staff Hall Director Staff Video conference with other piloting campuses to share feedback and hear common challenges and successes

32 What WE LOVE about this approachThis model makes sense, easy to understand Driven by leadership from top down Model can be used throughout an academic year and allows for new residents to easily fit in to the community as it evolves

33 Moving Forward - RecommendationsAsk yourself, why does my department use __ model? What will your residents GAIN from the model you are implementing? (Learning Objective) How are you measuring learning? Ask yourself, why does my department use __ model? If your answer begins with “because our staff…” your focus may be in the wrong place What will your residents GAIN from the model you are implementing? (Learning Objective) FTIC students living on campus will learn ___. How are you measuring learning? ___ % of FTIC Residents living on campus will learn ___ as measured by ___.

34 Moving Forward - RecommendationsHow does the professional staff influence the community development? Does your model allow for an evolving community year-round? Does your model allow for new learning opportunities from year-to-year?

35 Program Model vs. Curriculum Model What questions do you have?Lindsey K. Fields, M.S., M.Ed., LPC Assistant Director for Residence Life University of North Texas Katie Kolkmeier, M.Ed. Director of Programming House of Shine