ERIC Number: EJ913637
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 8
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1086-4822
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
When Involvement Becomes "Busyness"
Murray, Joseph L.
About Campus, v15 n5 p9-16 Nov-Dec 2010
Like many of the author's colleagues in higher education, he has long maintained that their work is primarily about forging personal connections within their campus communities by engaging students in a variety of learning activities. He fervently believes that learning must be broadly conceived to include an array of cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes, and that the process of learning by its nature demands human interaction and active participation by the learner. Implicitly, the author also assumes that more activity and more interaction would invariably lead to more learning, but now realizes that he is not so sure about this last part. In this article, the author examines the wisdom of involvement theory and how to best create campus environments that advance a comprehensive vision of personal development, rather than simply busyness for its own sake. One's role as mentor is key. One of the ways in which mentors can support students is by impressing upon them the necessity of careful choices from among the many involvement opportunities that exist on campus, and working with them to identify those opportunities that are in closest alignment with their emerging senses of purpose. Just as mentors work with students in choosing from among the curricular offerings of their institutions within the context of the students' overall visions of their lives, mentors must similarly support them in selecting from among the cocurricular offerings, pursuing some and foregoing others.
Descriptors: Higher Education, College Faculty, Learning Processes, College Environment, Interpersonal Relationship, Learner Engagement, Student Participation, Teacher Role, Mentors, Teacher Student Relationship, Student College Relationship, Expectation, School Involvement, Moral Development, Spiritual Development, Activities, Selection, Decision Making Skills
Jossey-Bass. Available from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. Tel: 800-825-7550; Tel: 201-748-6645; Fax: 201-748-6021; e-mail: subinfo@wiley.com; Web site: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/browse/?type=JOURNAL
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A