Practicum Project
For my practicum project, I created a Conflict Management Training program for CSULB's Housing and Residential Life department. The training consists of two modules, Intro to Conflict and Conflict Management Practices, that will be presented at Summer 2023 RA Training. Below is a summary of the project process and final department deliverables.
About Housing and Residential Life
At California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) there are three residential villages consisting of 20 buildings that house up to 3,200 students. Crucial to the success of creating a welcoming and inclusive living environment for these residents is the Housing and Residential Life (HRL) department.
Mission Statement: “Housing and Residential Life creates safe, welcoming, and inclusive communities that engage a diverse student population in their personal and social development while promoting academic success and responsible citizenship through high-quality services and initiatives.”
Needs Assessment
With nearly 90 Resident Assistants, consistent training and development is needed.
Currently, training is provided for 2 weeks over the summer, 1 week over winter break, and in monthly, 2hr all-staff trainings
Between trainings, we assess transfer of learning through performance review and feedback.
Recent review has shown Conflict Management to be both a point of low performance and an area RAs have asked to be developed further
RAs are expected to use conflict management for a variety of job tasks such as roommate mediations, addressing community-wide issues on their floor, and responding to policy violations
From Job Analysis, the “ability to communicate verbally with others to express empathy and compassion while navigating emotionally tense situations was rated as being critically important and a skill acquired before the job
Project Goals
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Immediate Goals
•Increase retention of knowledge and transferability of Conflict Management Skills to RA role
•Increase RA confidence in handling conflict in emotionally tense situations
2
Long Term Goals
•Mitigate high-level conflict/conduct cases
•Ensure safe & healthy living environment for academic success
•Ensure a qualified/robust applicant pool for future RAs
3
Organization Goals
On the organizational level, the goal is to ensure that the residence hall communities are maintained as safe living environments conducive to academic success for students, which aligns with the mission statement of the Housing and Residential Life department.
Modules & Objectives
1 / Intro to Conflict
The first module serves to introduce trainees to the topic of conflict by defining conflict, identifying types and sources of conflict, and allowing participants to evaluate their own conflict style. The module also expresses the positive and negative impact of conflict.
Training Objectives:
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Distinguish the different types of conflict based on their core characteristics in a variety of contexts.
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Provide examples of each type of conflict from personal experience in order to relate to the content.
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Determine the most prominent conflict style through a validated assessment and thorough self-reflection.
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Characterize the common conflict management styles by their constructive/destructive outcomes to avoid negative impact.
2 / Conflict Management Strategies
The second module builds upon the foundation from the introduction to conflict by considering deeper conflict topics, such as culture and implicit bias in conflict. This module also provides trainees with the tools needed to successfully mediate conflict as a student leader.
Training Objectives:
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Explore individual implicit biases that may affect conflict management to ensure equitable approaches to conflict.
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Develop awareness of different cultural perspectives to conflict to address the needs of a diverse student population.
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Explore different conflict mediation strategies that are most appropriate to utilize in a leadership role to maintain a safe environment.
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Facilitate an effective conflict resolution discussion through role-play scenarios.
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Analyze peer conflict management strategies and outcomes to share constructive feedback.
Active Learning Strategies
Active training involves a three-pronged approach: fostering attitudes, developing and practicing skills, and promoting understanding of the concepts and models behind the subject.
The following active learning strategies have been incorporated into the training modules to expose trainees to each of these three prongs while ensuring they have the required KSAs of their position.
Icebreakers
Each module starts with an icebreaker that introduces participants to the upcoming training concepts while getting to know their peers.
Worksheets
Each module includes a worksheet for participants to fill out in small groups to evaluate their learning on the topic or reflect on their experiences to build upon in the training.
Group Discussions
Throughout both modules, participants have the opportunity to discuss topics in small groups with guiding questions. Facilitators can then lead a large-group discussion.
Review Quiz
This activity in module 2 will refresh participants' memory of module one while also evaluating the training at level 3 of Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Model.
Conflict Styles Quiz
In Module 1, participants will have the chance to learn about their prominent conflict style with a short quiz to help them relate to the topic and assess their own conflict behaviors.
Role-Play
The final activity of Module 2 will allow participants to practice what they have learned in a scenario they may experience in their position while receiving peer feedback.
Implementation & Expected Outcomes
The current plan is that Housing and Residential Life will implement the two-module training in person this August 2023 during Summer RA training. The two modules will be split up and presented on different training days to allow time for module 1 concepts to be internalized before being built upon in module 2. In the future, the goal is to implement the training outside of RA training, opening the program to residents and students in other leadership roles on campus.
The implementation plan will help the Housing and Residential Life Department reach the following outcomes
Increased RA confidence and self-efficacy in Conflict Management Skills
Produce qualified candidates for those applying to the RA position
Achieve HRL Mission to promote academic and personal success of residents
Improve department capacity to expand skilled staff to new Residence Halls
Reflection
Successes
Time management was a crucial skill needed for the completion of this project and by having a set schedule for when each step of the project was to be completed was very helpful. Additionally, as this was an independent project, I was able to practice my critical thinking skills to tackle any obstacles that came up in the training development, while communicating updates and changes with the department.
Future Considerations
When first designing this practicum, I had so many ideas for the project and was very optimistic in what I could accomplish. However, it is important to have a view a project from a practical perspective to ensure that the time and resources are available to achieve all goals. I had to practice adaptability while developing this practicum to change the overall scope for the project in order to deliver a quality product by the deadline.
Skills Developed
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Project Management
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Organization
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Time Management
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Adaptability
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Critical Thinking
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Communication