Abstract
Ask professional finish carpenters what matters most in their trade and they will tell you it is the tools. One does not use a 15–gauge one–and–a–quarter–inch–angled finish nailer when a two–and–a–half–inch one is required. Some jobs call for a four–foot level; for others, it's the torpedo. Promoting learning among college students is not often as clear. However, there are tools that decades of research and practice have identified as most appropriate for different situations and for different students. This issue of About Campus is about some of those tools.
In her piece on cogenerative dialogues, Stephanie Bondi describes the opportunities and challenges involved in sharing full responsibility for teaching and learning with her students. In their feature, Colette M. Taylor and Kathryn L. Colvin offer a research–based approach to working with students with Asperger's syndrome. Thomas A. Murray and Stacie M. Schultz share the University of Arizona's discovery that Workshops on Demand exponentially increase the number of students participating in leadership development. From San Diego State University, Donna M. Daly, Suzanne Baker, and Stephen J. Williams illustrate the power of mandatory, short–stay international experiences for human services students. A coaching model is offered by Emily M. Slager and D'Arcy J. Oaks as a powerful tool for outcomes–based assessment. In his piece, Daniel W. Newhart argues that surveys can be used to immediately support the learning and success of respondents as well as offer data for future program and service improvement.
While enhancing the college student learning experience can sometimes seem a complicated and difficult endeavor with few ready answers, there are tools that can be used to make it less so. No one can know every tool for every job. We can, and do, know a few.