Running head: AREAS FOR GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

Areas for Growth Learning Outcome Narrative

Alysia Sin
Seattle University

AREAS FOR GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

Learning Outcome Narrative Areas of Growth LO 1, 7, 8, 9; Artifacts A, C1, C2, C3, E

Introduction
An overarching theme that describes my areas of improvement would be learning holistic
skills aside from working directly with students. Before coming into the program, my experience
and knowledge has been directly working with students including advising and teaching.
Because of the SDA program, I now have grown in scholarship, research and assessment, and
legal and governance concepts to inform my practice. This is important to me because these are
not skills that I utilize when interacting with students on a daily basis but are crucial in working
for them and achieving my personal and professional goals.
Expanding Scholarship (LO 1, 8; Artifacts C1, C2, C3)
Before the SDA program, I had no academic knowledge about student affairs. Integrating
scholarship from student development courses throughout the College of Education has been
vital to my growth in LO #1: Understanding the foundation and emerging nature of the
Student Affairs profession and higher education. Key dimensions of LO #1 are:
understand the history of student affairs, implement theory to practice and be current on research
and issues, and commitment to lifelong learning.
During the program, SDAD 5300 Foundations of the Student Affairs Profession was
fundamental in my understanding of the history and progression to student affairs as it is today.
SDAD 5400 Student Development, Theory, and Practice gave me knowledge of student
development theories and how implementation of theory to practice is crucial for context and
best practices. I am committed to seeking out events, research, and articles to continue learning
in order to combine theory and research with implementation to be the most effective

AREAS FOR GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

practitioner. Being exposed to many new resources such as The Chronicle of Higher Education
and The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education will keep me well informed.
Key dimensions in LO #8 are: writing concisely, powerfully, and critically, actively
seeking feedback, and being authentic and confident. Even though I would say that I had strong
writing skills throughout my undergraduate career, I feel that I have grown a lot in this area.
Within my first two quarters in the program, I was exposed to eloquent texts and research and
was challenged to share my opinions and experiences in writing, especially in SDAD 5300
Foundations of the Student Affairs Profession, EDUC 5150 Multicultural Perspectives, and
SDAD 5400 Student Development Theory, Research, and Practice. As evidenced in Artifact C1,
I can analyze and synthesize student development theories and reflect on their importance to
different areas of student affairs work. C1 also demonstrates my skills in writing concisely and
compellingly. In regard to communicating effectively in speech, I have recently experienced
valuable growth in this area, as I did two presentations for SDAD 5640-5660 Internship in
Student Development. Presenting has always been a challenge for me and I really appreciated the
opportunity to reflect on ways to improve in between the two presentations.
Research and Assessment Skills (LO 7; Artifacts C2, C3, A)
My awareness of the importance of consulting and conducting research and assessment
are crucial to my holistic skillset and connects to LO #7: Utilizing assessment, evaluation,
technology, and research to improve practice. Key dimensions in LO #7 are: conducting
research and assessment, incorporating results to inform practice, and utilizing technology to my
advantage. Before entering the program, I had no experience with conducting research and basic
knowledge about similar concepts of research. Because of EDUC 5000 Intro to Educational
Research, I have foundational knowledge for reading research results and how I would go about

AREAS FOR GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE

conducting my own research. Artifacts C2 and C3 both show my interest in incorporating

research on marginalized populations into my work, specifically Southeast Asian, first
generation, and low-income students. Strengthening my development as a researcher will help
me have more context and improve my practice. I also understand the importance of assessment
and technology in our field and have had a great amount of exposure to that in my assistantship
and internship. Now my resume (Artifact A) includes much more diverse experiences including
data, assessment, and technology. I have seen strong ways of how technology can make the
office more efficient including data tracking and student meetings.
Legal and Governance Concepts (LO 9; Artifact E)
Being exposed to legal and governance concepts as a professional has been eye opening
to me. Key dimensions in LO #9 are: foundational understanding of governance and finance,
becoming more knowledgeable about state and federal policies that affect students, and
supporting students and their understanding of policies and resources. SDAD 5760 Leadership
and Governance, SDAD 5850 Higher Education Finance, and SDAD 5800 Higher Education
Law were valuable to my understanding of these issues from a professional standpoint. I am so
much more aware of all of the different logistical pieces vital to higher education regarding
funding, student and staff rights, and crises. Artifact E highlights my growth and the plans that I
have to seek develop in this area as I plan on pursuing high-level positions in the future.
Conclusion
Developing holistic skills is always going to a priority of mine in striving to serve
students the best I can. Now I understand more clearly how student affairs professionals juggle
many different responsibilities and I will develop in this area with time and further engagement.

AREAS FOR GROWTH LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE