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Running head: TEACHING AND LEARNING PHILOSOPHY 1

Teaching and Learning Philosophy


Blaire C.M. Thompson

As a Student Affairs professional, I place the student at the heart of my pedagogy. This

strategy considers the unique identities of the student as a critical factor in their learning process

and development. Reflection of identities allows me to challenge students to utilize their capital,

an “array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities and contacts” (Yosso, 2005, p. 1) to succeed

academically and holistically. Through training, supervising and advising student leaders out of

the classroom, I integrate concepts of cultural competency, and inclusivity, allowing students to

place each other at the forefront of their education by becoming the ‘teacher.’ Supplemented by

experiential learning tools such as programming, students will build on their personal strengths

to enable them to effectively connect, engage, and explore in their work. Through these

objectives, I have developed three overarching principles that define my practice as an educator.

The Student: A Teacher and Leader

Students must learn to become effective leaders in their professional spaces, requiring

recognition and use of individual leadership styles. I value the approach that places students as

the teacher, because it prepares them for industry and global demands, and conditions the student

to draw upon their navigational capital to solve problems. To illustrate, during weekly staff

meetings I require student leaders to present a topic of interest that incorporates either of the

three tenets of their work - social justice, restorative justice or professional development. One of

my students presented “Responsibility and Time Management as a Student Leader,” and applied

the strategies from his degree program and student teaching practicum. Presentations must also

be supplemented by engagement tools such as a ‘class’ discussion, which encouraged other

students to share various organizational methods used toward their extracurricular activities and
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classes such as scheduling, creating to-do lists, and decluttering emails. Additionally, to build on

the topic of individual strengths to lead, teach and work, during my 1:1 advising session with

each student, we evaluate the practical application of their top five strengths identified by the

Clifton Strengths test. We then assess effective practices in programming or relationship-

building that produce fruitful outcomes in their work such as an engaged, active and respectful

community. This strategy also employs the traditional tenets of teaching that allows the student

to learn through a self-driven method, integrating knowledge from their professions and personal

interests to educate other team members and manage their workspaces.

Inclusion through Community Responsibility

Student affairs work must tutor each student to develop a commitment toward their

community through use of their social capital, which cultivates inclusive behavior in their work.

This process challenges the student to ask, “To which community do I belong, what does my

community need and what is affecting them?” For example, a primary responsibility for the

student leader is to execute programs that foster individual learning and community

development. Pivotal to this requirement is the use of the Residential Curriculum, a departmental

guide that focuses on a learning domain each semester. Under the current domain of community

responsibility and engagement, students will be able to demonstrate the commitment and

capacity to be an engaged and ethical community member. When students propose a program

under learning domains, I advise them to connect and collaborate with campus leaders or

departments to enhance the effectiveness of their program, which will also resonate with

residents’ needs, concerns and identities. Recent program successes have incorporated the

LGBTQ+ office, KSUPD and the Sexual & Relationship Violence Support Services. Integrating

campus community partners within programs has achieved many long-term positive outcomes:
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• Directly connected students with various campus resources to address their concerns

• Increased visibility, advocacy and support for and by students who experience

marginalization, crises, harm or any other issues relating to their experiences and identity

within the community

• Retained a higher number of residents in the community, in comparison to hall occupancy

rates in previous years

• Created a healthy atmosphere of mutual respect between community members, subsequently

reducing reports of student conduct violations

This method recognizes all stakeholders of the institution that can educate and support

students, and it is my responsibility as an educator and professional to facilitate those

connections.

Global Fluency

Lastly, as an Afro-Caribbean professional, I am always cognizant of the positive

engagement between domestic and international students. This value also recognizes the college

environment as a platform for cross-cultural connections, contributing to the development of a

global fluency that all students need.

During student leader training on the use of restorative justice in conflict mediation

between residents, I train students on using their navigational capital to handle conflicts that can

occur between domestic and international roommates. In understanding that developing

intercultural competency is a life-long process, I ask students to consider the term

“acculturation,” lending from Berry’s (2006) definition which explains it as the process of

learning and changing to fit into a new culture, while balancing one’s own through either

integration, assimilation, adaptation or marginalization (as cited in Patton, Renn, Guido &
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Quaye, 2016). By recognizing this process, particularly in freshman residents, student leaders are

ingrained with the knowledge to appropriately respond to intercultural conflict and determine the

best outcome that meets the needs of both students. Moving forward, I require student leaders to

facilitate the development of a Roommate Agreement, a mutually constructed guideline that

reflects each resident’s lifestyle, areas of compromise and interests. This also engages

conversation that allows two individuals with contrasting experiences to know one another

better. Conflict mediation is followed by weekly check-ins to monitor the progress between the

roommates, in which I advise student leaders to provide me with updates. This allows them to

recognize mediation as a process and helps all parties, including my students to feel supported

and heard. As a result, the roommates and the student leader will gain the knowledge, skill and

attitude integral to their intercultural competency development, cross-cultural connections in

their classrooms, and global fluency.

Although my student leaders reflect an array of identities, academic programs, and

interests, my intentional educational approaches in advising, training and supervising are applied

with the hope that they will recognize the “capital” they distinctively possess to navigate their

experiences in and out of the classroom.


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References

Patton, L.D., Renn, K.A., Guido, F.M., & Quaye, S.J. (2016). Student development in college:

Theory, research and practice (3rd ed.) p. 128. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community

cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), pp. 69–91.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006

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