Stephanie Heffner's CSSA Portfolio

In my Capstone Project course for the Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching we are tasked with creating a Teaching Portfolio. One of the readings we engaged with early in the term was ‘Valuing and Evaluating Teaching in Academic Hiring: A Multidisciplinary, Cross-Institutional Study’ by Deborah Meizlish, Matthew Kaplan. This 2008 study looked at the importance of teaching in disciplines, institutional types and levels of education. It also addressed what search committees like to see in terms of proof of teaching abilities. What I took away from this article was that the humanities typically rank teaching of higher importance than other fields when it comes to new faculty. Research is a higher priority for most fields when it comes to faculty. Search Committees often do not explicitly ask for a teaching portfolio but can expect it to be included in materials even without asking.  I appreciated this reading because it shows me the kind of search process that Academic Affairs members go through. It also allows me to see how differing institutional types might label research of higher importance than teaching capability. Questions I have remaining are if the same research was done today what kind of improvements or trends would we anticipate seeing? Due to funding cuts, would research be an even higher priority, or due to student activism and demands would we see teaching importance on the rise?

I have watched this TED talk two times now in both terms I took yoga. It was around the benefits of self compassion and vulnerability instead of self esteem. I greatly enjoy this TED talk because it reinforces that to be resilient we cannot be numb, we must feel all of the good and all of the bad that the world has to offer. It is through this we become better empathizers and more in-tune with our own needs. 

The University Exploratory Studies Program has built a syllabus for first year advising to help encourage a consistent first year advising experience for all new Oregon State Beavers. This syllabus has students focusing on managing and learning online tools the first term, the second term had us outline the BACCORE requirements and encourage students to explore within those requirements or electives. The third term was to ask about out of class opportunities or research that has gotten the student connected to our community beyond coursework.

In Leadership Conversations ( LEAD 443 ) we were tasked with doing an assignment that identified what sort of difficult conversation ‘animal’ we acted like. There were multiple descriptors for animals as well as an invitation to create our own animals. The worksheet I was provided detailed the Chameleon as such: “changes colors and sides in a conversation very quickly.  They seem to agree with you one minute and the next seem to challenge you. They frequently say “oh, that’s nice but….., or I totally agree, but….” and insert something that is in direct contrast to what you attempted to say.” I think I am a Chameleon as I often want people to feel appreciated for being heard but then I always have a follow up comment or a contrarian remark. Knowing what ‘animal’ we are allows us to avoid falling into patterns during meetings that might not be productive or beneficial.  

As I shared in one of my journals for this class, I have pretty low standards for achievement. I simply want a home, a lifestyle that is moderately free from financial worry, and a child. I would love to learn how to garden in my spare time and eventually publish some works of poetry but all of those are ‘side achievements’. Soon I am going to be celebrating a period of achievement in finishing Graduate School and finding the entry job of my dreams. 

This blog serves as a companion to my narrative and artifacts. It will be updated and more relevant than the main reflection encapsulated in my writen work. Try searching tags to bring up topics. (first term, teaching, technology, etc.)

As I continue to work on my capstone portfolio project for the Graduate Certificate in College and University Teaching, I will update this blog with more artifacts of creation. As it stands I have developed a rough philosophy draft below:  My philosophy of behavior and teaching has evolved through my one classroom experience and the multitudes of ways I’ve seen student develop learning even outside of the classroom. Through my experiences with students in and out of the classroom in the college setting I have develop these guiding principles for my work. Promoting     trustworthy and helpful relationships between students and faculty Encouraging     self reflection to create value action alignment in learners Establishing     an accessible and approachable persona to facilitate student interaction     and communication. To make these principles happen I use my knowledge of learning theory, student development, and various instructor practices. Learning theory: Keller’s motivation model frames much of the work I do with students. To create a better more engaging learning experience, you must get buy in from the students. Especially when many traditionally aged first time college learners are not always sure that college is the right step for them, but rather the assumed next step. By framing my content in a way that directly links the material to their goals and self, I can facilitate true engagement and discussion where a student is welcomed to question the material and how it applies to their own life. Student development: By studying Student development I have come to recognize that cognitive, psycho-social, and self progress in different stages and rates for every learner. In order to create content in my classes that is sensitive to the differing needs of my learners I often have them do activities such as ‘pair-share’ as well as making multiple disclaimers about the nature of my course being subjective and only useful if applied to one’s own self exploration and values. Self-authorship is the process in which an individual disengages from what is expected of them and creates decisions and identity based on their own desires and determinations. I believe one of the key things I can do in my courses to encourage them to move along this spectrum is to validate the student as a ‘knower’ as some students might be early on in Perry’s Cognitive stages I have to encourage the students with guidance, and attempt to be as accessible and helpful as possible so they do not feel I am abandoning them or not giving clear direction on how to achieve success in the course. Instructor Practices: An important consideration to create the correct environment in the classroom is being aware of how I show up in the space. I manage my authority by often times creating an air of small talk and openness where I will ask my students how their day is going and be honest about my mindset as well. I take pride in the quick delivery and thoroughness of my feedback and attempt to create more buy-in in the relationship our class has with one another. I always make sure to thank students for contributions as well as being careful not to reprimand a ‘wrong’ or ‘exclusive answer’ by acknowledging their comments and offering an additional perspective to the one that they offered. In order to encourage accessibility and relationship building I make multiple announcements every course about my policy allowing students to make up work if only they communicate in some fashion why they are not going to turn it in on time.  Following these principles has allowed me to create space that feels safe, fun, and relevant for student learners. By considering their experience as a holistic person I am able to engage with students on a level that encourages relationship building and communication. Because of these considerations mentioned above, I have had multiple student reviews stating that my desire and attempt to create student success is clear and marked. I will continue to develop new ways to support students in and out of the classroom as they learn and develop throughout their experience in higher education.  

From term to term, the curriculum would alter as Dr. Leach was very open to suggestions of her recitation instructors and was always experimenting with getting students more engaged.  An example of this was going from a paper based class to online discussion board posts as the main written work in the course. This signified a shift in the course from being about the quality of the essay to the true level of engagement you’re willing to put forth with your classmates.  It was in this course that I discovered I love grading. I love building specific relationships with students over a longer period of time. I liked knowing I could learn more about these humans without feeling rushed in a 30 minute appointment. There was a level of connection and applicability to the content that was easy to relay, and personalize as we moved through the term. I know because of my involvement with Dr. Leach and ALS 114 that I would relish the opportunity to do more professional work with this topic and structure again.  One area I think I have room to grow is the actual construction from the ground up of a course. I was facilitating the structure that Dr. Leach put together. As a first year, I was grateful for this outline because I felt as if i was in over my head, but at this point, I am confident I could use the topics covered as inspiration, and (with proper citation of course) use some of the activities Dr. Leach has shown me while innovating new assignments and coursework into a syllabus. 

Conference Programmer was a software system that I was learning on the fly to reserve spaces and dates for incoming conferences over the summer. Working on creating visual aids that could be disseminated to others in the University about what was booked during what dates, was a challenge and used my creative capabilities. I also had a partner who was helping me as we went into summer. Trina Horsey became a great friend and amazing co-worker. I have learned through multiple projects beyond this internship that partnerships are where I thrive best. The spring internship turned into a summer paid full time position. Having access to a brand new functional area, the student staff that works in housing, and the dining and billing processes intertwined all taught me a crash course in the culture of housing and summer conferences. This gave me a new look on the Programs and Functions course from first term. I could see by comparison what events and topics impacted the functional area of housing. Things that I never would’ve considered impacting higher education in my advising or conduct role could have a dramatic shift on Housing. One of such topics was FLSA legislation changing the staffing structure of their organization. I truly enjoyed my time with Western Oregon University as they instilled in me a true belief that if you are supported by colleagues you can be thrown into a whirlwind and come out the other end intact and more confident in your job responsibilities.

This position helped me learn how to stay on schedule, be kind, thorough, and follow-up appropriately with students. Staying humble and admitting you need to ask for more information from others before giving advice is one of the key skills I’ll take with me into my professional career. 

During my two years in Student Conduct and Community Standards I learned how to navigate the conduct management system, Advocate. It was determined that due to a variety of reasons, Student Conduct was going to start using a new software system, Maxient. This transition was really the highlight of my winter term in my second year. The transition of all open cases into a new software was a daunting task. Maxient hosted a training for all people who would use the system in January. The actual transition of things into the new software did not happen until Spring Break. This was a large gap between training and then actually getting to work in the new system. Luckily, another Oregon State University employee hosted a ‘work party/training’ in housing that allowed all of the hearing officers to be in one room for a few hours being walked through how to input a case, make a decision, send letters, and close a case. There have been lots of hiccups in the learning curve. Our Conduct Whiz, Karen Sloan, has helped troubleshoot and tweak the system as we ask questions about functions. Maxient hasn’t quite made our lives easier as far as technology goes. I believe that this time next year, however, everyone will love the system and find it to be extremely helpful for filling report data about how many students we serve, the length of the process, and the prevalent type of charges. If i were implementing technology change in a future role, I am not sure how I would do it better than the current transition. I think maintaining a good attitude, digging in, being okay with making mistakes, and supporting those people who are being inundated with questions and requests is crucial.

When I was waiting on my acceptance letter I decided to go ahead and enroll in Course Design with Dr. Devon Quick. This experience was a great entry into the program even it was a course taken out of order. Being able to restructure and analyze the ALS 114 course I had just taught and was continuing to teach gave me great moments of meta-cognition and allowed me to have a template of a syllabus going forward.  What I enjoyed most about this program was the way it put me in classrooms with future academic affairs professionals. Hearing the side of Higher Education that is outside of the student affairs bubble re-framed my perspectives on what college is for, how students are interacting with the institution, and most notably, how much I assume everyone knows when they work in college that they do not know. I had spent so much time around professionals who spoke about student development and holistic wellness and engagement and sense of belonging, that it was fascinating to see faculty members processing this at their own speed in their own contexts.  Throughout my time at Oregon State, I think the Graduate Teaching Certificate has been valuable for how it has humanized and given me time around future Academic Affairs Faculty and Professionals. I learned about teaching yet, but I almost feel as if the biggest takeaway for me is the perspectives and earnestness in my fellow GCCUT classmates. Because of my experience in this program I am going to make a concerted effort to make sure I always break out of my Student Affairs bubble more often. The passion of our teachers and faculty is great and reframing my work through their eyes allows me to create a mores sustainable and effective relationship with functional areas outside my own. 

Technology has been a part of my life since childhood. Seeing its uses in Higher Education has been an interesting facet of learning to adapt to new systems. My internship experience at Western Oregon University had me learn a whole new housing software system from scratch. This was an interesting shift as I was learning a new functional area and a new technology at the same time as being at a brand new institution. Beyond this experience, I have facilitated the transition from Advocate Student Conduct management system to Maxient Student Conduct Management system. This transition has made me relearn how to enter cases, find students, and troubleshoot problems with they arise. Technology in the classroom when presenting curriculum has taught me how to roll with the punches when things don’t work correctly. When using a text survey for a presentation in Research and Assessment I acknowledged that while it was fun to experiment with technology in these enviornments, it is not something that comes naturally or feels ‘easy’ for all teachers all the time.  I would love to learn more about building websites and creating graphics as I continue forward in my career. Technology is not going anywhere and often times it is one of the best ways to increase engagement, accessibility, and relevance to our students. I am open to learning virtually any new software at this point because I have developed the skills of conquering foreign systems with little to no help and all things have turned out okay. Confidence is key, but so is patience when learning how to integrate and utilize technology

My main experience with this area of CSSA Values is in the Research and Assessment course which had us learn how to create comprehensive accurate questions. By learning the difference between qualitative and quantitative study I can better digest the results of higher education research. Understanding that results of a research inquiry might not be comprehensive based on sample size, question wording, and other factors allows me to take a critical lens to those ‘findings’ that might otherwise be taken as new facts that apply to all scenarios. In the future, I hope to be a part of more assessment projects simply because I know they are important as we move into a time where all programming and education is fighting for funding amid budget crises. Defending the purpose of your program often means doing well crafted research and interpreting the data received into a high impact and digestible narrative. 

During my two years in the CSSA program I have grown much when it comes to being able to communicate and advocate social justice, diversity, inclusion and true equity encouraging policies. In my assistantship I have had experience communicating policy and process with students who are international, come from a different culture, speak english as a second language or any combination of the above. As a professional, I now see the importance of making policy language accessible and clear for all levels of language learners. I will carry this forward with me into all roles where I am creating student manuals, instructions, or website content. Additionally, my meetings with students have often revealed a pattern of potential bias or inequity where the policies meant to ensure quality of behavior and intellect over punish those who are from a particular non majority background. I would be sensitive to doing assessment on processes in my future workplace to heal any gaps that might be creating inequities or unfairly targeting one population over another. Beyond this experience, I have had the opportunity to grow closer with students in my cohort and in my classes who identify as multiple aspects that are different than my own. By listening to their experiences, and being lucky enough to have friends who call me out on my practices when they are not diligent, I have developed a reaction to content that attempts to be inclusivity and equity first. 

Student Conduct & Community Standards showed me how to operationalize intervention, care, and educational moments in tough or less than ideal moments. When dealing with students in our office, there are often very large feelings and issues at play. Whether it is anxiety, anger, sadness, or shame the emotional and philosophical development of our students is on display in the student conduct process. Because of the variety of situations and student personalities, I was more successful in some respects than others Because of Student Conduct,  I know that I am confident and cool in the face of contradiction and disclosure of life crises. I am able to communicate my reasoning for decision-making in a way that is understood, if not agreed with. Student Conduct demonstrates care when a student is not at their best, even outside of class. I found that this resonated with my growing belief that holistically, students are humans and humans make mistakes.  Working with Community Conduct in my second year has been a wonderful experience as well. Corvallis is highly impacted by the behavior of students in their community. Our school is a unique entity that works closely with local law enforcement to address concerning behaviors. I am excited about what a new conduct code might mean for the ways our conversations with students will create educational value and responsibility for one’s own actions.  Student Conduct & Community Standards was exactly the experience I’d hope it would be. It helped me grow, it stretched me in new ways, I met wonderful people, and I gained further understanding of another area of Higher Education that I had never had previous contact with. My respect for Student Conduct officers is through the roof. it is an emotionally taxing job with little to no appreciation from students. As someone who likes being the ‘nice one’ it was interesting to take on the role in the room that would typically have you labeled as an adversary. Breaking down those assumptions and building a conversation around concern, success, and paths to accomplish that success all in an hour meeting is a skill that I could not have learned anywhere else.  

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development stick with me as a close and intertwined with Perry’s stages of cognitive development. When I talk to students in the future I will be focusing on how they are making decisions and less about the decisions they make, if their decisions are founded on authority and punishment or a sense of selflessness and giving, or beyond those two things to balance a commitment to self and a commitment to others.  Check out this link to get an overview of Kohlberg’s thoughts and the stages of moral development.  http://www.cs.umb.edu/~hdeblois/285L/Kohlberg'sMoralStages.htm