Running head: AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

Areas for Improvement Learning Outcome Narrative

Jeffrey Eng

SDA Portfolio 2017

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Learning Narrative Outcome: Areas for Improvement

Integrative Theme: Developing Professional Identity

Sub-area: Public Speaking (LO 8, 10; Artifact C3)

Public speaking has always been a concern of mine and I have been able to make many

strides to improve throughout my professional experience. One of the ways that I have tried to

conquer this fear and improve my public speaking skills was volunteering to present to College

Access Now students on academic planning. Before the workshop I created learning outcomes

and created a Prezi. The presentation focused on SMART goals, specifically on what academic

and career goals students had for college. I modified some of the materials I used when working

with students on academic probation.

For communicating effectively in speech and in writing (LO 8) I used a Prezi and

handouts to try to engage students. One of my concerns was having a presentation that was

boring and not engaging so intentionally providing opportunities for individual and group work

went into the design of the workshop. Another way was using visuals and a more interactive

presentation platform like Prezi versus a traditional PowerPoint. When students presented on

their academic SMART goals I was able to authentically engage with students by being both

humorous and critical when students gave simplistic answers on how they would achieve their

goals. An area for development to be a more effective communicator would be modifying my

presentation and materials to provide more concrete examples of what academic goals they

should be thinking about. Artifact C3: Best Presentation during a group presentation in SDAD

5400: Student Development Theory, Research and Practice was an example of one of many

presentations that I have given throughout the SDA program that have helped me develop

presentation skills.
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This experience presenting for College Access Now students highlighted my professional

identity (LO 10) as someone who is student-centered, values relationships, and authentic. I was

student-centered when I tried to help certain students that I noticed was not doing the assignment

I gave them to make SMART goals and trying to understand their lack of motivation to do the

work. Through this, I also demonstrated someone who values forming connections with students.

Development in this area would be continuing to develop my skills to better form relationships

with students.

Sub-area: Leadership (LO 1, 3; Artifact A, D)

Understanding the foundations and emerging nature of the student affairs profession and

higher education (LO 1) was a learning outcome that say little development on when I first

started the program. Everything that I learned from my pervious employment doing graduate

admissions work for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences was learned the hard way on

the job. It was not until SDAD 5300: Foundations of Student Affairs that I got formal education

on the basics of higher education and the student affairs profession. One way that I have come to

apply this foundational understanding during the program was as a supervisor to mentors in

Albers New Student Mentor (NSM) program. Another way was learning how to best build

community among first-year students in Albers through various programming, and advocating

for curricular and co-curricular engagement. Along the way we faced challenges on how to keep

engagement up as participation for programming dropped quarter by quarter. One way to develop

in LO 1 would be to stay current with student and student issues especially with the emerging

nature of the field of student affairs.

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My Artifact D: Letter of promise from one of my mentors that use to work in he ALANA

Student Center or multicultural center at the University of Vermont can attest the significant

growth that I have had as a leader from my first-year at UVM to where I am now in the SDA

program. Artifact A: Resume Development lists the various professional experiences that I have

had relevant to the field of student affairs and ways that I have demonstrated leadership in those

roles.

Exhibiting professional integrity and ethical leadership in professional practice (LO 3)

was also an area that I have demonstrated growth and development in this area. Before the

program I have had experience dealing with situations that were morally questionable as a

coordinator for graduate admissions but lacked the knowledge and support system to properly

address these issues in my work. During my graduate assistantship a situation arose when

working with one specific NSM wanted to create a blog that was critical of Albers especially as

it pertains to how social justice is taught in the curriculum. I had to balance maintaining my

relationships with both the student and another professional. My personal and professional

opinion mostly aligned with the students in terms of valuing social justice and wanting to

promote student engagement in this area. However, another part of my professional identity saw

his drafts that he had made for the blog as inappropriate and had the potential to shine a negative

light on Albers. Instead of dismissing his idea, I encouraged him to utilize other forums such as

the school newspaper or his own personal blog to express his values and opinions on social

justice in a business context. This demonstrates my professional integrity and how to balance my

personal moral values as a social justice advocate, and as a professional who also holds

responsibility as an agent of the University. Development in this area would be to continually

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reach out to other professionals like I did in the example above when faced with scenarios that

may challenge my moral and ethical decision-making skills.

Sub-area: Legal Policy and Governance (LO 9; Artifact C2)

Understanding issues surrounding law, policy, finance and governance (LO 9) has been

an area for growth for me as my knowledge and understanding has expanded throughout the

program. Like I had mentioned previously, when I first started working in higher education doing

graduate admissions work, I did not have formalized training or education in areas of how

institutions of higher education was governed, and how policy and law were established. As an

academic advisor in Albers, I have been able to apply law and policy on what to do with students

in crisis and Title IX issues in the creation of a formalized reporting protocol for advisors and

NSMs. This demonstrates growth in not only understanding the basics of how other mandatory

reporters at the University handle these situations and how to adapt and apply them to Albers.

SDAD 5760: Leadership and Governance also provided me a solid foundation on the structure,

organization, and politics that exist within higher education systems which help frame my

understanding of LO 9. Development in this area would be to continue to stay current on changes

to federal law that might impact institutions of higher education and what policy, finance, and

governance looks like at any given institution that I work in for the future.

Artifact C2: Best Written Paper in Jesuit Context and Commitment has helped in my

understanding of what systems and resources exist for Veteran and DREAMER students at the

community college level in Washington state. Things like Veteran Resource Centers, Post-9/11

GI Bill, DACA, and WAFSA are a few examples of what laws and resources exist for these
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populations. With this foundational understanding, we can better analyze how community

colleges in Washington state are or are not best serving these at-risk populations.