The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 93

Current Practices in Resident Assistant Training

to another with little effort or forethought.
Prudent RA educators will carefully consider
many unique and important factors that influence the design of their campus training programs. Such "situational factors" (Fink, 2003,
pp. 76-77) include the depth and breadth of
human and financial resources; campus
culture and campus climate issues; the demographics, learning styles, and previous knowledge of RAs; the experience and expertise of
those leading educational sessions; and practical issues such as the availability of suitable
training venues and access to affordable and
reliable technology. RA educators should also
consider their department philosophy for the

Another challenge for RA
educators is to use student
development theory to frame
RA training experiences
in a more intentional and
measurable manner.

RA position. For instance, does the HRL leadership expect RAs to fulfill their duties in a
convergent manner in which there is only one
correct response? Or does the department leadership give RAs the latitude to creatively solve
problems, develop community, and provide
customer service in a divergent manner? As
Fink (2013) suggests,

a thorough, in-depth analysis here positions
one to see important needs and contextual
factors and will often suggest answers to the
design questions that need to be considered
next-important learning goals, meaningful
forms of feedback and assessment, and
appropriate teaching and learning activities.
(p. 82)
Another challenge for RA educators is to
use student development theory to frame RA
training experiences in a more intentional and
measurable manner. Although the number of
student development theories has increased
in the past 15 years, the use of these theories
in RA training programs has not kept pace.
Future research on the use of student development theory in RA training programs may
provide guidance to RA educators on how to
effectively incorporate this as part of RAs' educational experience.
Although most RA educators possessed a
master's degree, only a third completed undergraduate or graduate coursework in curriculum development; of those, 41.9% did so as
undergraduates (Koch, 2012). Without formal
training in curriculum design, RA educators,
like new faculty, may rely on their previous experiences with RA training to guide their planning and implementation. For example, Fink
(2003) noted that his research, confirmed by
others (Boice, 1992), "indicates that most new
college teachers begin their teaching careers
by following the lead of teachers they had
as students. They emulate the teachers they
admired and do the opposite of teachers they
disliked" (pp. 193-194). As described earlier,
lecture and discussion were the most frequently used teaching methods in pre-service training, in-service training, and academic courses.

V O L U M E 4 2 , NO. 3 * 2 0 1 6

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3