College...where it all goes down

So what is student development theory and why are we studying it in our leadership theory class?  Interesting question...I'll take a stab at it on this blog.

First off, student development theory fascinates me.  Not so much the intricacies and proper names we associate with the different theories and stages, but more the general idea of a young adult figuring out themselves and their world.  I have spent much time reflecting on my own journey through college, so needless to say I consider this a very worthwhile topic.

My gut instinct when considering why we are studying student development theory is that the college years form the basis for future leadership styles.  It is uncommon for any one's leadership to be examined closely in high school, though I am not sure about why.  Regardless, the opportunities and experiences in college serve as great test runs of leadership.  The stakes are generally not high, but the situations are as close to "real-world" as possible.  Students, whether they know it or not, affect their leadership foundations by how they react to these situations.

Relating student development to facilitation, I see a direct connection between the experience of facilitation in the Skilled Facilitator approach and Vector 2 of Chickering's Psychosocial Theory of Student Development.  Both deal largely with keeping emotions in check and always being conscious of how emotions affect actions.  To be an effective facilitator, one must not get caught up in the emotions of the group or oneself, and must be able to maintain composure throughout...basically, "the show must go on" approach.  This ability is outlined by Chickering as being completed in the first two years of college, which could be some of the reason why we only accept second-year students.  Hmm...just some thinking out loud going on here.

I also drew some strong connections between the Building a Shared Vision article and Mattering vs. Marginality bit in student development theory that was briefly touched on.  In the Shared Vision article, a strong emphasis was places on generating buy-in through a sharing of personal visions.  While this is not necessarily what happens when a student develops a support team of friends, faculty, and advisors, I think a somewhat similar process occurs.  When a student has a vision and shares it with people who are invested in him or her, it makes that vision much more attainable.  I hate to compare a student with an organization, but some of the same steps are involved.  One concrete example...in the "Why do visions die?" section of the Building a Shared Vision article, one reason was that organizations get caught up in the day-to-day hustle and bustle and lose sight of what they are really shooting for.  The same certainly holds true for college students.  In this day of the hyper-involved student, long-term goals can easily get lost when one has 50 emails to respond to, ten meetings, and three papers every week.

No need to end on a negative note, though.  One piece of advice that all or most of the readings touched on was the idea of reflecting on experiences and asking: "what happened, how did that make me feel, and what can I learn from that experience?"  I read a book last summer titled How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  It is one of if not the most popular self-help book of the last century, and contains plenty of valuable insights.  One example in that book is a man who, after dinner every Saturday, would keep to himself for a few hours and reflect on all of his interactions of the past week.  He would recall what he did or said in situations that went well and make note, and also recall those that did not go so well and try to figure out what he could do to improve.  Personal reflection is a great tool, it just requires some time and focus to be used effectively.

To those of you who read this: I challenge you to take 15 minutes at the end of each day and reflect on your interactions and decisions.  They say hindsight is 20/20, so why not look back with a clear lens to learn from previous experiences and facilitate your growth.