Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 46
N
obody can totally predict the future, as is proven time
and time again by casino profits, election outcomes,
and movie plot twists. However, imagine how valuable
such an ability would be for a campus housing
department. What questions would a prospective
student want answered on the housing website? What
complaints may a new construction site generate? How
will students behave in the new study lounge? If one
could simply peer into a crystal ball and see the answers
to these questions, preparation would certainly be much
easier.
While perhaps not as reliable as a crystal
ball, utilizing mental models can help predict
how future scenarios are likely to play out. A
mental model is a representation of something
real or hypothetical, like an architect's
model of a building. It is a set of thoughts
and assumptions about how something
works. In many cases, these are high-level
conceptualizations that are not consciously
discussed or thought about, but they greatly
influence expectations, decision making, and
interpretation of outcomes.
The mental model approach is often
associated with the role of a user-experience
designer. When creating a new online software
system, the designer may ask questions like
"What mental model do people have when
they come to this page? Are they thinking
it is like Facebook and they are sharing
information? Or are they thinking Amazon
and wanting to take action like making a
purchase?" By considering the user's mental
46
TALKING STICK
model, one can begin to anticipate what they
expect to see, how they expect the system to
work, and what they will do.
Mental models impact what people pay
attention to, what they expect to happen, and
how they go about solving a problem, yet
because they are often implicit it is easy to
overlook how they affect the decision-making
and planning process. They may be discarded
as simply a gut instinct, or it may be that a
single, specific interest, which was otherwise
an outlier in the overall body of evidence,
could be given too much weight.
Housing and residence life professionals
have many mental models that guide and
influence their work. Being aware of those that
come into play in thinking about students as
well as housing and residence life work allows
professionals to provide the proper context and
analyze the implications of the mental model
in much the same way that they would analyze
survey results or focus group feedback.
Talking Stick - July/August 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2016
Talking Stick - July/August 2016
Contents
Vision
Just In
Calendar
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Special Focus
Regroup
ACUHO-I Awards
Thinking Ahead
Working Overtime
Conversations
First Takes
Around Student Affairs
New Members
Snapshot
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Intro
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - BB1
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - BB2
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Talking Stick - July/August 2016
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Cover2
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 1
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 2
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Contents
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 4
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 5
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 6
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 7
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Vision
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 9
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Just In
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 11
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 12
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 12a
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 12b
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 13
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 14
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 15
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 16
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 17
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Calendar
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 19
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 21
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Transitions
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 23
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Res Life
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 25
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 26
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 27
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Special Focus
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 29
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 30
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 31
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Regroup
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 33
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 34
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - ACUHO-I Awards
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 36
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 37
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 38
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 39
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 40
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 41
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 42
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 43
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Thinking Ahead
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 45
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 46
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 47
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 48
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 49
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 50
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 51
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Working Overtime
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 53
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 54
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 55
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 56
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 57
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 58
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 59
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Conversations
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 61
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 62
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 63
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - First Takes
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Around Student Affairs
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - 66
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - New Members
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Cover3
Talking Stick - July/August 2016 - Cover4
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