Division of Student Affairs Research Symposium
Deconstructing Theory to Practice
Making Sense of the Information
The Division of Student Affairs Research Roundtable at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce calls for presentations and roundtables for the Sixth Annual Student Affairs Research Symposium: Making Sense of the Information on 12 May 2009. The 2009 Student Affairs Research Symposium invites presentations from staff, students, and faculty nationwide on topics related to issues of theory to practice in our work with students. This year, we extend that collaboration to include initial work about accreditation, in order to share research and dilemmas. We strive to build a true dialogue around the application of theory to practice, and the ways that practice shapes theory.
Feel free to send any questions to StudentAffairsResearch@umich.edu
History
In 2004, the University of Michigan Division of Student Affairs Research Roundtable hosted its first ever Research Symposium. This event was meant to elevate the use of research across the Division of Student Affairs, and to start conversations and collaborations between units. Last year's highly successful event was attended by over 160 staff, students, and faculty who heard 12 presentations from a range of Student Affairs professionals from across the nation.
Purposes
The purposes of this event are to:
- Inform members of the Division of Student Affairs (and the University as a whole) about the kinds of research being pursued about students,
- Collaborate on common dilemmas in researching students (particularly related to applying theory to our practice),
- Help staff members develop skills in program assessment and evaluation,
- Assist staff members to incorporate research in their decision making for day to day work,
- Help us understand how we might approach issues of accreditation and of documenting our work with students, and
- Network staff and researchers across campuses around these common dilemmas.
What is "theory to practice"
Theory to practice suggests ways we might apply research to day-to-day work with students. Examples might include:
- How do we use data to make decisions, large and small?
- How do the developmental theories we read change our behavior with students?
- As we finish an assessment or research project, what do we do with the information we have collected?
- How does practice inform research and theory?
Presentation Ideas
Presenters may choose to focus on research about students today, or on how to research students. We are interested in follow up presentations from previous years, including how their research has changed practice or confronted barriers. We are also interested in new presentations and projects. We seek presentations that focus on how units within the college and university communities attempt to deepen our understanding of how to work with students.
Possible focus areas include:
- What do we know about trends in student behaviors, expectations, or learning outcomes?
- How do international students integrate in a U.S. campus environment?
- Mental health issues at all levels of practice.
- How can research about substance use affect our current practice?
- How do we create climate that supports diversity, and evaluate our efforts?
- How are graduate student experiences studied?
- What exploration exists of how students create separate identities from parents and families?
- What are impacts of study abroad experiences?
- How are we evaluating critical incident management within student affairs?
- How might "all-hazards" planning influence our assessment practices?
- What is new in research methods or theory today?
Presentation Formats
Participants will spend time sharing ideas, learning of research in other areas, and brainstorming strategies for their own campuses or for collaborative endeavors. The presentation blocks will be 45 minutes. There are three formats:
Presentations:
The focus of your role in a presentation session is as presenter, but we strongly encourage dialogue. For example: we suggest presenters share information for 15-20 minutes, to provide a good overview of your project or ideas. Consider utilizing the remaining time in a conversation that focuses on the larger application of your topic and/or how it can be adapted for use elsewhere.
Panels:
The focus of your role in a panel session is as a shared presenter, starting the dialogue. For example: we suggest panelists share information for 3-5 minutes each, to provide multiple perspectives of a topic. At least half of the total time should be saved for questions from the audience, which may provoke varied responses from panelists.
Roundtable sessions:
The focus of your role in a roundtable is that of facilitator or convener. Opening presentations to frame the conversation should be brief, providing information to ground roundtable participants. The bulk of these sessions should be spent discussing or brainstorming how to adapt ideas in different environments or work through barriers and stumbling blocks. This can involve sharing research problems or sharing ideas to translate research to day to day work. The facilitator/convener sets the context for this conversation. This year, we are particularly interested in cross-institutional perspectives, with panels from multiple institutions.
Submission Guidelines
By electronic submission, we ask for several items in order for us to make decisions about proposals:
- Title of presentation or roundtable
- Abstract for the program (50 words)
- Authors (with units)
- Program description
- Audio/Visual requests for presentations. We will try to meet requests, but cannot guarantee all AV elements may be available.
- More complete description of the presentation, panel, or roundtable.
These elements will help us create the best event, and help us let people know about the various sessions. We ask for proposal submission by 15 January 2009, to mmatney@umich.edu.
We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues at this year's University of Michigan Division of Student Affairs Research Symposium on 12 May 2009!
