Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 25

The RA Sequencing Model (RASM). . . .
presents stages of transformational
learning for RAs as a sequence that
is essentially cumulative, one step
building upon another.
Source: Rich Whitney, Sherry Early, and Travis Whistler, "Create a Better Flow Through Sequencing Resident
Assistant Training," The Journal of College and University Student Housing, Vol. 43, No. 1 (2016), p. 40.

otherwise known as alignment, which
refers to the expert's perspective on the
importance of particular topics and the
time devoted to each one. Examining
how your current system sequences
the themes can help you address learning outcomes at three different levels:
the session, the thematic category, and
the overall training program. In our
research, we did breakdowns recounting training activities to the minute
(i.e., our unit of analysis). However,
the process involves much more than
just counting minutes. It involves taking the time to examine your training
program in order to understand the
delivery mode, order of delivery, and
weight of importance in terms of the
overall training for each RA. Most important, it reminds us that each aspect
of the RA's job is interconnected to the
whole synergistically.
The interconnectedness of the training sequence allows RAs to build upon
their skills one at a time in a developmental progression. "Sequencing is an
important part of the training experience," says Joshua Maxwell, assistant
director of residence life at Bowling
Green State University in Ohio. "Knowing that RAs often require training on
sensitive topics that can be detail-heavy
or trigger staff members, it is important
that sessions be sequenced in a manner
that allows staff to come up for air." Just

like a ropes course, the learner has to
be comfortable with the low elements
and the feel of their learning group
and must have a sense of personal and
physical safety before they can move on
to the high wire or the zip line.
Maintaining the flavor of the
individual campus programming
model and training style is important
in reinforcing the institutional and
departmental voice and mission. On
some levels, normalizing RA training could create consistency from one
campus to another, but most of us who
have worked in practitioner roles know
this is not really how things are done
in student affairs. Those who have had
an opportunity to work on multiple
campuses know that there are differences in campus cultures, institutional
missions, and values. Shalik WilkinsTate, residence life coordinator at
Louisiana State University in Baton
Rouge, emphasizes the important connection between RA training and the
departmental and institutional mission. "If we do a better job of bringing
everything we do back to our purpose,
RAs will do a better job of caring and
providing for their residents." Creating
a one-size-fits-all RA training model
is not the way to approach these vital
programs on our campuses, nor does
it capture the true nuance of the individual institution. We must be inten-

Ongoing
Proprietary/Miscellaneous
Synthesis
Crisis intervention
Peer Support
Community Development/
Programming
Skills

identity

tional about maintaining our student
affairs ethos, our attention to learning,
and our ability to keep the student
(both residents and RAs) at the center
of our work. Respect for the autonomy
of individual campus programs to
train RAs adds to our national voice as
an industry and to the mission of our
association. This does not mean, however, that we should confine ourselves
to the boundaries of our own campus;
it's important to bring in events and
conversations from the world outside,
such as #BlackLivesMatter, transgender advocacy, and Get Out the Vote.
RA training should intersect with
developmental learning; staff need to
gain new knowledge in a way that is
tailored to them and their individual
experience. In his book Experiential
Learning: Experience as a Source of
Learning and Development, David Kolb
describes how the learner moves
through the experiential learning
process along a continuum from
concrete to abstract and from thinking
to doing, a process of learning through
the context of previous experiences
and knowledge. The learner moves
from a concrete experience, reflects
on it, learns from it, and then tests
it, which results in a new experience.
Residence life leaders support using this kind of learning style during
RA training. "From my perspective,

July + august 2017

25



Talking Stick - July/August 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2017

Talking Stick - July/August 2017
Contents
Vision
Just In
Calendar
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Facilities
Regroup
Oh $#%!!
Community for All
Conversations
First Takes
Around Student Affairs
New Members
Snapshot
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Intro
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - BB1
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - BB2
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Talking Stick - July/August 2017
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Cover2
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 1
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 2
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Contents
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 4
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 5
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 6
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 7
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Vision
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 9
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Just In
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 11
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 12
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 13
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 14
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 15
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 16
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 17
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Calendar
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 19
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 21
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Transitions
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 23
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Res Life
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 25
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 26
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 27
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Facilities
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 29
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 30
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 31
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Regroup
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 33
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 34
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 35
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 36
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 37
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 38
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 39
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 40
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 41
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 42
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 43
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 44
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 45
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 46
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 47
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Oh $#%!!
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 49
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 50
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 51
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 52
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 53
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 54
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 55
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 56
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 57
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Community for All
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 59
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 60
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 61
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 62
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 63
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Conversations
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 65
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 66
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 67
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - First Takes
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Around Student Affairs
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - 70
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - New Members
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Cover3
Talking Stick - July/August 2017 - Cover4
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