News

Student Learning Knowledge Community to meet at NNC

Chair Dr. Julie Wallace Carr shares why student learning matters to NIRSA Members

Dr. Julie Wallace Carr

The first face-to-face meeting of the NIRSA Knowledge Community on Student Learning will convene March 1 at the NIRSA National Center in Corvallis, Oregon. A Knowledge Community (KC) is similar to a think tank and provides ideas, innovations, and leadership to the NIRSA Board of Directors in “new frontiers” or underdeveloped realms of educational research, programs, and products. Members of the Student Learning KC are:

• Chair: Dr. Julie Wallace Carr, James Madison University
• Dr. Sarah Hardin, George Williams College
• Alex Accetta, Portland State University
• Dr. Jeanne Steffes, Associate VP of Student Affairs, Syracuse University
• Dr. Larry Roper, VP of Student Affairs, Oregon State University

The goals for the first meeting of the knowledge community are:

• To conduct an environmental scan to gain a sense of what is being done in student learning throughout the higher education community outside of the realm of academic affairs.
• To review what we know about current student learning, specifically within campus recreation sports programs.
• To articulate the benefits and opportunities that recreation brings to the student learning effort on the college campus.
• To make recommendations to the NIRSA Board of Directors as to what the Association, its members, and the collegiate recreational sports profession at large ought to be doing to become acknowledged and significant players in student learning efforts within higher education.

Chair Dr. Julie Wallace Carr has been the Senior Associate Director for Programming at James Madison University since 1995. She earned a B.S. from West Virginia University in Physical Education, an M.S. from James Madison University in Adult Fitness, and her Ed.D. from The George Washington University in Human Resource Development and Organizational Studies. She served on the faculty of the NIRSA School of Recreational Sports Management from 2002-2006 and as a trainer for Student Learning and Outcome Development for the Division of Student Affairs at James Madison University. She had this to say about the topic of student learning:

“Student learning is intentionally creating and facilitating experiences that assist individuals in their growth and development. It involves beginning with the end in mind—considering what you want students to learn as a result of participation. It is an avenue to help students increase their knowledge, develop skills, and in some cases, change attitudes and behaviors. The forum may be formal or informal, and student learning may occur in recreational activities, in the workplace, in activities that support the in-the-classroom experience, or simply in the relationships we create during our daily interactions with students.

The most important thing for NIRSA Members to know about student learning is that it can be, and is, done on a daily basis by all members of an organization. It is just a matter of getting people to recognize how they contribute to the process. It is not complex; intentionality is easy to integrate as a philosophy into your culture if people are just willing to give it a try. After all, every one of us touches a student’s life in some form or fashion each day, and that is what gives our jobs meaning and purpose.”

Other Knowledge Communities

In addition to the Student Learning KC, the NIRSA Board of Directors authorized the creation of two others: Health & Wellness and Sustainability. The Sustainability KC is still being formed. The Health & Wellness KC will meet March 13 at DePaul University in Chicago. Members of the Health & Wellness KC are:

• Chair: Jacque Hamilton, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
• Laurie Betting, University of North Dakota
• Dr. Gerald S. Fain, Boston University
• Carol Kennedy-Armbruster, Indiana University Bloomington
• Christopher Arterberry, DePaul University