Running head: REFLECTIONS ON FIELD EXPERIENCE

Reflections on Field Experience EDLD 6580

Lisa Newhouse
Western Michigan University

REFLECTIONS ON FIELD EXPERIENCE

Reflections on Field Experience

The philosophical roots of our profession can be traced to John Dewey and his work
which was grounded in pragmatism and emphasized practical application of learning. Dewey
suggested that an emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the
formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process (as cited in Schuh et
al., 2011, p. 85), was necessary for true learning to occur. The field experience that Western
Michigan University (WMU) students in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA)
program participate in typically between the first and second year of the program, provides
students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that have been developed in
coursework and integrate it within a functional area of student affairs. In essence, the field
experience promulgates our philosophical professional roots, and grounds us in our foundational
belief that true learning occurs through a students interaction with the environment.
In this paper I will provide a general description of my field experience and what my role
was in the field. I will then review skills that I developed in previous coursework that I found to
be invaluable in the work that I performed, and how these skills related to the further
advancement of my professional competencies. In addition, I believe it is important to discuss
the professional competencies in relation to challenges that I experienced. Lastly, I will reflect
on how this first-hand experience in the environment assisted me in clarifying my future career
goals and confirmed the basic premise of our philosophical roots that true learning occurs
through interaction with the environment.
Reclaim the W
My field experience involved working with the Center for Academic Success Programs
(CASP) with a pilot program that took place during the fall 2014 term. The program was

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Reclaim the W, and it targeted first time in any college students (FTIACs) at WMU with a
grade point average (GPA) between 1.00 and 1.99 that were dismissed at the end of their second
semester. WMUs academic policy requires that dismissed students not enroll in classes at
WMU for a 15 week period following their dismissal. However, Reclaim the W allowed this
targeted group of FTIAC students to be granted immediate readmission into WMU under
specific conditions that the program believed would promote academic success. The objective of
the program was to demonstrate to students that as an institution WMU was invested in them and
committed to assisting them in reaching their academic goals. Additionally, the program hoped
to impact overall retention, enrollment, and graduation rates of students attending WMU.
My role in Reclaim the W involved working closely with Dr. Randy Ott, director of
CASP, in the development and implementation of an orientation session for Reclaim the W
students in the summer. My participation in this program continued throughout the fall term, and
my role involved program development and facilitation of the academic recovery course that all
the students participated in. In addition, I was a mentor/life coach/advisor to a number of the
students in the program. Going into this experience I knew I would have an opportunity to work
closely with a broad array of students from a variety of backgrounds. I suspected that I would
rely heavily on the knowledge that I had gained from my equity and diversity course, which
provided a rich foundation regarding diverse populations and what they may experience in the
higher education environment. Although this background knowledge was relevant and pertinent,
I was somewhat surprised to realize that I was continually searching out skills and resources that
were related to other courses in my curriculum to a greater extent.

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4
Skills

Student affairs professionals are often on the front lines and in positions where student
contact is high. They are seen by students as coaches, mentors, and advisors and are often
required to offer support and help students with important life decisions on a daily basis
(Reynolds, 2009, p. 13). While this is within the purvey of our profession, it is vital to our
relationship with students that we maintain an awareness regarding our professional boundaries
as well. The knowledge regarding professional boundaries that I obtained from my interventions
class was instrumental in my role with the Reclaim the W students. During my field
experience I found myself revisiting professional boundaries over and over again.
My role in Reclaim the W was to foster a personal connection with the students that
would provide an opportunity for me to support and challenge them academically. During my
initial interactions with the students I became cognizant that many of the students had deeply
rooted difficulties: learning disabilities, finances, familial support systems, depression, anxiety,
and various psychological issues that caused them to experience crisis situations. These issues
continued to arise throughout the term with various students, and required me to not only be able
to identify and implement appropriate crisis management, but to check myself repeatedly to
ensure that I was maintaining my professional boundaries. My interventions course had
provided me with a thorough understanding and appreciation of the scope of my professional
role and the boundaries that I needed to maintain in my interactions with students. Without this
prior knowledge, I believe my desire to help students could have contributed to a blurring of
boundaries that may have been detrimental to the students, as well as myself.
An additional skill that I developed from my interventions class that proved to be
invaluable was the development of active listening and reflection skills. According to the

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Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners (American College Personnel
Association [ACPA] & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators [NASPA],
2010), at a basic level active listening involves establishing interpersonal contact, paraphrasing,
perception checking, summarizing, questioning, encouraging, avoid interrupting, clarifying
(p.6). These are skills that are rarely innate, but rather they are learned through practice and hard
work. From my interventions course I was able to gain a knowledge of these skill that I was then
able to hone with continual practice. Throughout the term, I relied heavily on my listening skills
to in order to facilitate a rapport with the students. Additionally, it was my listening skills that I
depended upon when attempting to identify if a student was in a difficult situation or possibly
having a crisis. It is rare that a student will be forthright and tell you exactly what their problem
may be, rather it requires careful listening of what is and is not being said and following up with
deliberateness. My reliance and successful utilization of these skills during my field experience
has strengthened and I believe has advanced my professional competencies in the area of
advising and helping (ACPA & NASPA, 2010).
Challenges
Since my fieldwork experience was grounded in efforts to increase retention, the initial
steps that I took in preparation for working with the students involved research on factors that
contribute to retention and persistence. In addition, I reviewed the literature regarding
populations of students that were typically at risk for not persisting. The literature consistently
identified students at risk as: ethnic minorities, students from low socioeconomic status, first
generation students, and students with disabilities (Bosco, 2012; OKeeffe, 2013; Schreiner,
Noel, Anderson, & Cantwell, 2011). Reviewing the demographics of the students in Reclaim the
W, it was apparent that the majority of our students did fall into one or more of the at risk

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populations. In regards to factors that contribute towards persistence, an underlying theme that
appeared repeatedly in the literature was the need for faculty and staff to reach out to high risk
students and connect with them to promote a sense of belonging (Bosco, 2012; Drake, 2011;
OKeeffe, 2013; Schreiner, Noel, Anderson, & Cantwell, 2011). Connecting with students not
only demonstrates the institutions commitment to the students, but it contributes to the students
commitment to the institution and subsequently to the likelihood of persistence. Based on the
research and discussions with Dr. Ott, I knew that nurturing relationships with the students and
supporting them academically would be the foundation that my work would rest on, however it
also proved to be the biggest challenge as well.
In the day to day interactions with the students I quickly realized that after being at the
institution for over a year, many of the students had minimal to no idea about the academic
policies, procedural processes, or resources that the university provided. Through exchanges
with them, I discovered that the majority of them did not understand basic procedures and
policies regarding registration, drop/adds, withdrawals, and probation. A significant number of
the students acknowledged that even though they were aware that they were struggling and
failing courses, they did not seek out help from instructors or advisors. A sentiment expressed by
many was that they felt alone and isolated. Based on these factors, my initial interactions with
the students involved educating them on the academic policies and procedures, and connecting
them with resources and appropriate pathways for assistance.
My work as an advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate advising office,
had prepared me and provided me with resources that allowed me to assist the students fairly
easily in educating and connecting them. The challenge was that it also forged a bond with the
students that pushed the boundaries of support and challenge. According to Sanford (1966), the

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amount of challenge a student can tolerate is a function of the amount of support available (as
cited in Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010, p.30). The question I found myself asking
throughout the term was: Can I push them right now or do I support them? The only way I could
answer this question was by going back to my student development theory, in particular I
focused on Chickering and Reissers (1993) theory of development and their proposed seven
vectors of learning. Reviewing the seven vectors provided me with the awareness that I needed
in my work with the students. I found that I was able to gain insight into their stage of
development, which then provided direction for me in regards to concepts of support and
challenge. The field experience challenged my ability to provide appropriate support and
challenge to students that would encourage further growth and development. It required from
me a willingness to go back to the books and coursework and find a way to make it applicable to
my work. From this experience, I am more prepared and confident in the student learning and
development area of my professional competencies (ACPA & NASPA, 2010), and able to utilize
theory to improve my practice as a professional.
My Personal Foundation
My previous course work in the HESA program at WMU had equipped me with
knowledge regarding the functional areas that student affairs professionals could participate in
within institutions. The courses also nurtured the development of skills that are needed in our
interactions with faculty, administrators, co-workers, and students. Furthermore, my courses
have provided an understanding of different types of higher education environments and how
that relates to college culture. From this understanding I have learned a great deal about myself
and what I desire in regards to my work with students. However, it has only been through the
first-hand knowledge that I gained from my graduate assistantship and my field experience, that I

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have gained true clarity in regards to my professional goals. With my field experience I feel as if
another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. Working within a functional area for an
extended period of time has provided me insight into populations I enjoy working with,
environments and functional areas that suit me, and what I desire to achieve in my professional
work. Moreover, the experience illuminated my strengths and weaknesses and heightened my
awareness of the connection between my coursework and our professional competencies (ACPA
& NASPA, 2010), confirming for me that true learning occurs in the environment.

References

REFLECTIONS ON FIELD EXPERIENCE

American College Personnel Association & National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators. (2010). Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners.
Washington, DC: Authors. Retrieved from
http://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Professional_Competencies.pdf
Bosco, M. A. (2012). Improving Retention Rates: One College's Stride toward Improvement.
College and University, 88(1), 2-8.
Chickering, A.W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Drake, J. K. (2011). The role of academic advising in student retention and persistence. About
Campus, 16(3), 8-12.
Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (2010). Student development
in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Publishers.
O'Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: Improving student retention. College Student
Journal, 47(4), 605-613.
Reason, R.D. & Broido, E.M. (2011). Philosophies and Values. In J.H. Schuh, S.R. Jones &
S.R. Harper (Eds.), Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession (5th ed., pp. 8095), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Reynolds, A.L. (2009). Helping college students: Developing essential support skills for student
affairs practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schreiner, L. A., Noel, P., & Cantwell, L. (2011). The impact of faculty and staff on high-risk
college student persistence. Journal of College Student Development, 52(3), 321-338.