1

ADULT DEVELOPMENTS

THE BULLETIN OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN ADULT DEVELOPMENT

SPRING 2008 . VOLUME 12. NO. 1 ______

EDITOR: ELLEN BANKS ______

The international membership of the Society for Research in Adult Development (SRAD) includes people from all disciplines who are interested in positive adult development. Positive adult development concerns itself with development starting in late adolescence and continuing throughout life. The focus is on the changes and expanded capabilities that improve the quality of life of individuals as they adapt to the challenges of adulthood's ages and stages. For practitioners, the Society offers an opportunity to discover the latest ideas in the field and to explore the application of those ideas to everyday problems and challenges. For academic researchers and theoreticians, the Society offers the opportunity to share ideas, often in a deeper way, with other researchers and theoreticians through discussion and the exchange of papers. Researchers and theoreticians are able to explore the application of their ideas to the problems and opportunities of daily life by working on them with practitioners from many fields. The Society supports diversity within its membership. Such diversity includes differences in professional status, academic discipline, occupation, race, culture, gender, and sexual orientation. We extend an invitation to all those interested in this field to join us whether their context is adult development in the individual or whether it's development within the framework of families, work, school, or communities. For more information, including the Society’s history, visit its website, http://adultdevelopment.org. ______

CONTENTS The Effects of Assessment Task Format on Moral 12 Reasoning. TITLE LINKS by Val D. Turner PAGE UPCOMING ND Upcoming 22nd Adult Development Symposium 22 ANNUAL ADULT DEVELOPMENT New publication to report Symposia proceedings SYMPOSIUM Message from the President OF Then and Now: Googling the Field THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH IN ADULT Session topics of the 2007 SRAD Symposium DEVELOPMENT Presenters and titles in the 2007 SRAD Symposium Call for Papers, proceedings of Adult Development At the Sheraton NY Hotel and Towers, New 2007 Membership Business Meeting Agenda York City Notes from the 2006 SRAD Business Meeting March 22-23, 2008 SRAD Membership, Registration, and Dues News SRAD Listserve The 2008 annual Symposium of the Society for New Books? New Accomplishments? Research in Adult Development will be held Wednesday through mid-Thursday, March 29 ARTICLES and 30, 2008 as a pre-conference meeting of the Moral Reasoning, Religious Reasoning, and Their American Educational Research Association. Supposed Relationship: Paradigms, Problems, and Each year, researchers, practitioners, and Prospects: A Brief, Empirical, Overview. students of adult development meet at the SRAD by James Meredith Day symposium to explore diverse topics from an Moral Motivation and Its Developmental interdisciplinary perspective. The program Complexity. encompasses the entire field of positive adult by Ulas Kaplan development. It is characterized by symposium- 2 style discussions in each topic’s session. Typically, participants present posters to 8:30am – 9:00am Welcoming facilitate discussion of data, theories, and Remarks applications. Many traditions and points-of-view are represented. Among the subjects addressed 9:00am - 11:00am Session 1: are life periods, seasons, stages, and levels; Wisdom and Moral development whole-life approaches; consciousness; clinical development; adult attachment; careers; and 11:00am – 1:00pm Session 2: expertise, wisdom, conflict resolution, life span, Roles, Identity and Well-being and others. 1:00pm - 2:00pm Lunch Break NEW PUBLICATION TO REPORT SYMPOSIA PROCEEDINGS 2:00pm – 4:00pm Registration table open The Society will web-publish selected proceedings from its Annual Adult Development 2:00pm - 4:00pm Session 3: Symposia under the title of Adult Development. Individual Therapy and Community Selections will be drawn from Symposia authors’ Intervention submissions to Adult Development by an editorial board. Selected papers will be those that 4:00pm -5:15pm Colloquium move the field forward. See the Call for Papers What's to Compare When Comparing on page # of this Bulletin. Content-Free Developmental Theories? Correlating an Adult Development Theory with the General Theory of MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Hierarchical Complexity By Michael Lamport Commons 6:00pm - 9:00pm Workshop Applying the Model of Hierarchical Complexity to Score Answers and To Create Self Scoring Tasks

Sunday, March 23

8:00am – 12:00pm Registration table open

8:00am – 10:00am Session 4: Promoting Adult Development in College and Beyond

10:00am – 12:00pm Session 5: Measuring Complex and Creative Thought UP TO CONTENTS 12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch Break SESSION TOPICS OF THE 2008 SRAD SYMPOSIUM 1:00pm – 2:00pm Business (CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE’S PROGRAM WITH Meeting (All attendees are encouraged ABSTRACTS, ORGANIZED BY SESSION) to participate.)

Saturday, March 22 2:00pm - 3:30pm Session 6: The Societal Contexts of Adult 8:00am – 1:00am Registration Development table open The symposium registration fee 3:30pm – 4:00pm Symposium includes a full membership to SRAD for Wrap-Up and Evaluation Session one year. 3

SATURDAY MARCH 22 Older Adults’ Experiences with Social Relations at Work THURSDAY, MARCH 23 Julia A. Smith (Southeast Missouri State PRESENTERS AND TITLES IN THE University) 2008 SRAD SYMPOSIUM Autonomy in Late Adolescent Female Development

Session 1: Wisdom and Moral development Lisa Dinella & Jacqueline Fasolino (Monmouth Saturday 9:00am - 11:00am University) Convener & Facilitator (Sara Ross, ARINA, Sex Differences in Young Adults' Emotional Inc.) Responses to Music

Christopher P. Adkins (The College of William Thomas Swan (Siena College), Suzanne Benack & Mary) (Union College) and Joshua Hart (Union Stimulating Secondary Moral Intuitions: College) Theoretical and Empirical Support for Role- The development of fundamental security taking with Adolescents and Adults operations Sharon Belden (Harvard Graduate School of Dawn E. Schrader (Cornell University) Education) Toward a new model of development and change Toward a New Psychology of Careers: in moral development theory Exploring Career Resilience of Men in Today's Business World James P. Gubbins (Salem State College) Creative Career Paths, Mentoring, and Moral Gabriel Bukobza (Tel Aviv University) Advance Associations between Self-Identity Complexity and Significant Life Events Neha Khetrapal (University of Allahabad, Allahabad) Joaquim Armando Ferreira (University of The concept of ‘Wisdom’ and its Development Coimbra), Eduardo R. Santos (University of across Adulthood Coimbra), & Maria Isabel Ventura (JI do Livramento) Shruti Baijal (University of Allahabad) Job satisfaction and subjective well-being Understanding wisdom in adult development: among Portuguese kindergarten teachers cognitive neuroscientific approach Session 3: Individual Therapy and Roderic L. Owen (Mary Baldwin College) Community Intervention Saturday 2:00pm - The Wisdom Tradition: the Afflictions of 4:00pm Affluence, the Appeal of Simplicity Convener and Facilitator: Ellen Banks (Daemen College) Eduardo R. Santos (University of Coimbra) & Joaquim Armando Ferreira (University of Audrey Kemp (Virginia Tech) Coimbra) Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Spirituality and the Fabrication of Evil Partnerships (MAPP): A health needs assessment of New River Valley, Virginia Session 2: Roles, Identity and Well-being Saturday 11:00am – 1:00pm Hayley Briggs and Frances A. Campbell Convener and Facilitator: Dawn E. Schrader (University of North Carolina/ Chapel Hill) (Cornell University) A Longitudinal Examination of Involvement in Crime: Ages 18-30 Lisa M. Dinella and Diana Igelshteyn (Monmouth University) Michelle E. Ronayne and Debra Harkins How Young Adults’ Sex and Gender Identities (Suffolk University) Relate to their Post-College Ambitions: Moving from grassroots to non-profit in the field Implications for Career and Emotional of domestic violence: How consultants can Development bridge the gap Anne E. Noonan (Salem State College) 4

Yvonne Bissonnette Tate and Jamie Rodriguez Writing their Way to Flow: A Method to Help (College of William & Mary) College Students Confront and Transform Promoting Ego and Moral Developmental in Academic Disengagement Adults with Anger Issues Lynn Swaner (Long Island University) Jordan Quaglia & Jane Berry (University of Effects of Engaged Learning Pedagogies on Richmond) Adult and Student Development: The Bringing Using Appreciative Reminiscence Therapy to Theory to Practice Project (BTtoP) Broaden-and-Build Session 5: Measuring Complex and Creative Nancy Sherman (Bradley University), Chris Thought Sunday 10:00am – 12:00pm Rybak (Bradley University), and Becky Earhart Convener and Facilitator: Patrice Miller (Salem (Fayette Companies) State College) Is there Joy After 60? Exploring Meaning in Life and Depression in Older Adults Mike Jay (Leadership University) Developmental Stage Differences Among Colloquium Saturday 4:00pm -5:15pm Developmental Assessment What's to Compare When Comparing Content- Free Developmental Theories? Correlating an Sara Nora Ross (ARINA, Inc) Adult Development Theory with the General Seeing Adult Development Through the Lens of Theory of Hierarchical Complexity Nonlinear Dynamics: The Fractal Transition Herb Koplowitz (Terra Firma Management Step Sequence of Hierarchical Complexity Consulting) and Sara Ross (ARINA, Inc) Jennifer Follis, Darlene Crone-Todd, & Nicole Workshop Cristelli (Salem State College) Saturday 6:00pm – 9:00pm A Comparison of Two Scoring Systems for Applying the Model of Hierarchical Complexity Complex Thinking Required by Exam Questions to Score Answers and To Create Self Scoring Tasks Nicole M. Cristelli, Darlene E. Crone-Todd, & Jennifer Follis (Salem State College) Session 4: Promoting Adult Development in Scoring Student Answers Using the Model of College & Beyond Sunday 8:00am–10:00am Hierarchical Complexity Convener and Facilitator: Joanna Gonsalves (Salem State College) Sascha Bernholt (Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry), Ilka Parchmann (Institute of Pure Jonathan Cabiria (Fielding Graduate University) and Applied Chemistry), and Michael Lamport and Jerri Lynn Hogg (Bay Path College) Commons (Harvard Medical School) Appreciative Coaching as a Developmental Tool Hierarchical Complexity Applied to the Domain of Combustion: An Educational Research and Ilana Y. Kustanowitz & Fran C. Blumberg Modeling Approach (Fordham University) Characteristics of Emerging Adults who Participate in Community Service Activities Sara Nora Ross (ARINA, Inc) Toward Describing New Order 15 in the Model Jerri Lynn Hogg (Bay Path College) of Hierarchical Complexity Digital Technologies Usage and Developmental and Refining Descriptions of Paradigmatic Considerations: Placing the Right Technology Order 13 and Cross-Paradigmatic Order 14 with the Right Person at the Right Time Ellen C. Banks (Daemen College) Herbert P. Ginsburg (Columbia University) & Development of Reflective Judgment: A Michael D. Preston (Columbia Center for New Longitudinal Study of College Students Media Teaching and Learning) An innovative Web system for enhancing adults’ Christine Saltzberg (University of New critical thinking skills Hampshire) Epistemological Perspectives of Nursing Deanne S. Gute (University of Northern Iowa) Students

Gary Gute (University of Northern Iowa) 5

Assessing psychological complexity in highly formatting is 10 point font in Times New creative persons Roman, .5” margins, .2” indents, using two columns; style is fully compliant APA 5th Gregory R. Quinting (University of Edition; tables and figures may use full page Pennsylvania) width. Email submissions to Nobel Strengths: The Attributes of Scientists by [email protected]. CAVE SRAD’s Approach to Facilitating and Session 6: The Societal Contexts of Adult Reporting its Meetings’ Discussions Development Sunday 2:00pm - 3:30pm Convener and Facilitator: Darlene Crone-Todd (Salem State College) The form of the SRAD meeting has evolved over Karen VanderVen (University of Pittsburgh) many years. The goal was to make the stage of The 21st Century Erikson: A New Life Course the meetings metasystematic. The principles Theory for a Changing World were straight forward. The meetings are interactive to allow for constructivist activity as Garrett McAuliffe (Old Dominion University) well as didactic. The meeting form is to replace Instigating Constructive Development through a talking heads with conversation. The least Cultural De-centering Intervention advantaged people in meetings are the audience. This is especially true in a one track meeting. Jonathan Cabiria (Fielding Graduate University) One track meetings, though, have great Virtual World Engagement and Developmental advantages. They give everyone a shared Redirection for Marginalized People experience. They also involve people who would normally gravitate to their own specialty Jacqueline Mattis, Nyasha Grayman, Sheri-Ann to interact with more disparate concerns. To Cowie, Cynthia Winston, Carolyn Watson, & empower the audience more, we use posters. Daisy Jackson (New York University) This allows for differential amounts of Intersectional Identities and the Politics of interaction. The presenters also get more Altruistic Care in a Low-Income, Urban feedback. The facilitated group discussions are Community our way of replacing discussants but allowing for the audience to provide integrative discussion of Yoonjung Park, Joan T. D. Suwalsky, & Marc H. the commonalities and differences among the Bornstein (National Institute of Child Health and papers in the session. This contrast and compare Human Development) is very metasystematic when it is done by European American Rural Appalachian Family reflecting on the systems elucidated in the Life: Adolescent and Adult Mothers and Their presentations. Infants We continue to innovate. Symposium Wrap-Up and Evaluation Sunday 3:30pm - 4:00pm Before the meeting When the meeting’s Program is in near-final draft form, it is circulated with a cover note to (CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE’S PROGRAM WITH people invited to serve as session a) chair and b) ABSTRACTS, ORGANIZED BY SESSION) summarizers. The first role is to facilitate each UP TO CONTENTS session’s before-presentations’ introductions and after-presentations’ group discussions. The CALL FOR PAPERS: PROCEEDINGS OF summarizer role is described below. People who ADULT DEVELOPMENT are not presenting in a given session are asked which one of the other sessions they are willing Authors who present their work at the 2008 to facilitate or summarize. Adult Development Symposium are invited to submit short papers on that work for inclusion in At the meeting the web publication of selected proceedings, Adult Development. Deadline for submissions is Room setup. The form we put the tables in is a May 31, 2008. large square or hexagon. This puts everyone on Instructions for submissions: file format is in equal footing and when hexagon type shape is rich text (RTF); maximum word count is 4,500; possible, enables people to see and hear one 6 another better. Poster area is provided in the guideline below is a strategy for calling upon room. people during discussions. They imply that only by being observant will one be able to use this Sessions. Sessions have three components. strategy. 1. The initial talks by participants to introduce their presentations to the group at the beginning Calling upon people to speak during of each session must be kept to 3 minutes. The discussions The purpose is to empower the least purposes are multiple. This qualifies everyone as advantaged audience member. having presented. It also lets people know with 1. The person who gets called upon first is one which posters they might like to spend more who has not spoken up during the overall time. It gives an initial overview of the session meeting. to the audience. 2. The next person who gets called upon is one who has not yet talked in the current session. 2. Posters. There are no rules for how people 3. The next person is one who has talked least present their papers in poster form but we make in the current session. suggestions (see http://adultdevelopment.org). 4. People can respond to questions. We ask presenters to bring a number of copies of their paper or an extended summary of it. These Time keeping. To give everyone equal are placed either next to the poster or on a central opportunity, we follow closely the time schedule, table for meeting participants to pick up. The on the principle that every session of people has poster portion of the session ends on time. The equal rights to being heard in the full allotted session chair and session summarizer get the time. The session chair/facilitators, or another people back to their seats. person tapped to perform the time keeping function, are responsible for the session staying 3. The final part of the session is facilitated within the meeting schedule, including beginning group discussion, using the approaches on time. mentioned here. Again, the facilitated group discussions are our way of replacing discussants Session Summarizers and Reporting but allowing for the audience to provide integrative discussion of the commonalities and Summary reports of each session’s discussion differences among the papers in the session. are to be submitted to and published in the Adult This contrast and compare is very Developments Bulletin. To ensure this outcome, metasystematic when it is done by reflecting on beginning in 2008, volunteer Session the systems elucidated in the presentations. Summarizers are recruited before the meeting to take notes during the session discussion and Workshop: compile them afterward. Students may be among We have a workshop on applying the Model of the ideal candidates to perform this function. The Hierarchical complexity on the evening of the role and publication are items for one’s first day. It is free and open to all. curriculum vitae.

Annual Business Meeting. Everyone who This first year, we need to experiment to develop registers and attends the Symposium is a member this approach. Thus, Session Summarizers may of the Society, just as are those who pay dues but choose their style, e.g., using handwritten notes, are unable to attend. SRAD strongly encourages their laptops’ word processors, or flip charts and active participation of all members. At the markers so that the group can see what it is Symposium, the business meeting is a saying, and help ensure key points and questions particularly good opportunity to feel a part of the are captured. Summarizers may include their Society and contribute to its growth. SRAD reflections, inferences, and other contributions to Business Meetings are enthusiastic, forward- make the reports both fully accurate and relevant moving, creative affairs. They are not the stodgy for others’ reference. Ideally, the summary is a variety of business meeting. scholarly work more than is a report.

Session Facilitating Guidelines This task is to make notes of the session discussion and prepare a brief report that The Session Facilitating Guidelines are simple summarizes key but they do require one to be observant during all points, questions, any conclusions, and directions of the meeting’s discussions and within the for research that were mentioned in the specific discussion one is facilitating. The first discussion. The outcome of having these 7

summaries is a record of the Symposium. The meeting’s agenda focused on supporting growth Summary would also give a short recap of the in both the field and its Society. The meeting was presentations' authors and subjects for that held over lunch after the conclusion of the one- session. The Session Summary is an opportunity and-a-half day Symposium. to report and infer research directions, compose the Summarizer’s reflections, questions, and Attendance: Ean Bett, Ellen Banks, Sara Ross, observations, and include them in the report. Tom Murray, James Day, Joanna Gonsalves, Thus, these written products are more than just Darlene Crone-Todd, Glenn Mehltretter, Michael regurgitation - ideally, they are scholarly works. Lamport Commons, Toni Antonucci, Dorothea Bye, Herb Koplowitz When agreeing to perform this task, Summarizers commit to submit their written A. Positions filled: summary to Adult Developments Bulletin Editor Society Secretary (Takes annual meeting Ellen Banks within 10 days after the meeting notes): Nominated and accepted, Ean Bett ([email protected]) . Society Treasurer: Still to be filled Meeting Manager: Still to be filled: Makes applications to the AERA and SRCD for the Preconference. Along with the president and Program 2008 SRAD MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS Committee, puts together the long and MEETING short call for papers. The annual SRAD Business Meeting will Maintains the list of organizations to take place Saturday, March 23, 1:00-2:00 PM. email the call for papers. The agenda will be announced at Registration. Prepares badges, runs registration at the meeting, arranges hotel and/or convention center room reservation Minutes of the SRAD 2007 Annual and placement. Business Meeting, Boston, MA B. Journal of Adult Development. A copy of the letter to the Journal’s publisher, Springer Meeting Theme: Strategies for Growing Netherlands, which was signed by members the Field of Positive Adult Development attending this Symposium, will become part of the Society’s records. The 2007 Annual Adult Symposium had the highest number of presentations, 42, in the last (See SRAD Influence and Journal of 20 years. SRAD is growing, reflecting the status Adult Development, p****) of the field of Positive Adult Development. The The reasons for non-renewal, without names of their C: Membership Attraction & Retention sources, are collected by the Membership Chair for later Committee reporting to help SRAD evaluate itself. The SRAD board has decided to automate basic administrative functions that interface with members, and Attraction & Retention of Members to integrate them with SRAD’s website. These include membership and symposium registrations, as well as From the attraction and retention standpoint, “new abstract submissions. Automation will enable us to track members” should be viewed as both those who pay dues membership, be in touch with members, and issue annual and those who join the list-serve without paying dues. dues renewal notices. It will also facilitate such activities as those below. The following tasks are proposed for a Monthly, the SRAD Registrar notifies the MARC Membership Attraction & Retention Committee (MARC): Coordinator of new members. MARC devises a new procedure to announce/introduce Renewals of Membership new members to the membership via newsletter and/or list serve (fostering a sense of being a group...). New members throughout the year are assigned to various When the MARC Coordinator (Gwen Sorell) notes non- MARC members to be in occasional contact with them. renewals of dues after a 2nd notice has been sent to a This could take forms such as: member, a MARC member is asked to personally contact Email them a welcoming note and inquire into their the non-renewing member with an exploratory (non- interests, and report to the board what their interests are judgmental!) inquiry. 8

(and start accumulating such data routinely when we Journal of Adult Development has since been compiling are more automated). and publishing issues. It is gradually coming back to again If they attend the symposium, introduce them to others, serve the field of positive adult development! share a meal and conversation, etc. Find out if they have joined the list serve; if not, encourage them to consider it. Postformal Development Gets Special Attention in Forward them items of interest via email during World Futures Journal the year Sara Ross

SRAD members at large are encouraged to invite others to In the autumn of 2006, Alfonso Montouri, Associate Editor join the listserve and/or Society, read the of World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution, newsletter/bulletin, review the Annual Symposium emailed an invitation to Michael Commons to consider Program’s abstracts, and contact symposium presenters editing a special issue on postformal thought and whose work is of interest to them. hierarchical complexity. He was interested in an issue that provided theoretical foundations and the applications and MLC indicated a need to collaborate with Toni Antonucci implications of postformal thought. Michael posted an and Society for Study of Human Development and the inquiry seeking anyone interested in co-editing the issue field of Gerontology with him. Sara Ross responded and they set to work MLC indicated a need to continue collaboration with Jose planning the issue. The issue grew to triple-issue length, Ferreira Alves and other colleagues in Portugal; however, and is currently in press for publication in 2008. the SRAD membership numbers are not high enough to Contributing authors are Linda Marie Bresette, Marian C. indicate an ability to hold meetings in Portugal Chernoff, Geoffrey David Commons, Michael Lamport Commons, Lucas Alexander Haley Commons-Miller, Other topics discussed: James Meredith Day, Nancy Glock-Gruenich, Eric Andrew Goodheart, Jan Inglis, Herb Koplowitz, Michael F. Darlene Crone-Todd will be sending out a survey via Mascolo, Patrice Marie Miller, Alexander Pekker, Terri Survey Monkey in order to put together summaries/ideas Lee Robinett, Sara Nora Ross, and Chester (Chet) A. from conference Wolfsont. Moderators will be asked for their feedback and summary of their part of the conference SRAD MEMBERSHIP, REGISTRATION, AND DUES NEWS SRAD will begin paying for a managing editor SRAD website has been markedly improved due to paid Among the benefits of membership in SRAD are: compensation – you become part of a network of people interested in and working in the field of positive adult development. SRAD Influence and Journal of Adult – you receive the newsletter of the Society, Adult Development Developments–The SRAD Bulletin. – you receive the Call for Papers for SRAD's annual Submitted by Sara Ross symposia and other communiqués. – you are eligible to submit work presented in annual SRAD members attending the 2007 Annual Adult symposia for inclusion in the selected proceedings Development Symposium in Boston signed a letter published in Adult Development. appealing to Springer, the publisher of Journal of Adult Development, to bring the journal back from its long- SRAD's membership year is from the beginning of one dormant condition. The signed copy of the letter was to be annual symposium to the beginning of the one the delivered to a Springer representative who would be at the following year. The symposium registration fee includes Springer booth at the Society for Research in Child SRAD membership so that symposium attendees are Development (SRCD) meeting. After the SRAD business automatically members for the year following the meeting, Herb Koplowitz, Glenn Mehltretter, and Sara symposium they attend. Ross walked over to the part of the hotel where the SCRD The combined form for both SRAD membership (only) publisher booths were, and delivered the letter to the sales and for membership plus symposium registration is at rep. The next day, when both of them arrived at the booth, http://adultdevelopment.org/Mail_in%20registration%20form.txt. the rep delivered the letter to the more influential Springer Sometimes SRAD people lose track of whether their person who SRAD had been contacting for over a year by membership is current–whether they have paid their dues phone and email. Not too many months later, the Journal for the current year. To check your dues status, please of Adult Development began posting new articles in contact Gwen Sorell at [email protected]. Springer’s Online First part of the journal’s webpage. The 9

duration, reflection activities (journaling, papers, and SRAD’S LISTSERVE discussions) and placement characteristics (task significance, skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and SRAD has an open listserve, and you are invited to join. social interaction). Data from our pilot study are Visit http://groups.y ahoo.com and subscribe to the list discussed, along with implications for research design. adultdevel. Value of Experiential Learning for Adult Development NEW BOOKS? NEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS? Research concerning experiential learning has SRAD Members are invited to submit information about traditionally focused on student outcome variables, their forthcoming books and other accomplishments for such as academic learning, psychological development, future issues of Adult Developments. Send them to Ellen interpersonal development and civic engagement. Banks at [email protected]. These outcomes have been shown to be significantly related in earlier research to dichotomous UP TO CONTENTS operationalizations of basic independent variables, such as participation/ nonparticipation in various types of experiential learning. In this paper we consider a more RTICLES A complex model of experiential learning, one that characterizes the relationship between student Experiential Learning as a Context for Positive outcomes and structural aspects of the experience. Adult Development1 Furthermore, we consider the role of potential mediating variables related to student outcome Joanna Gonsalves, Ph.D., Eric Metchik, Ph.D., & variables. Alison Clausnitzer (Salem State College) Intellectual Development

For decades, the most influential learning theorists Abstract and developmental psychologists have held constructivist views about the acquisition of knowledge Over the last decade, experiential learning (service (e.g., Dewey, 1938; Lewin, 1951; Piaget, 1970; Kolb, learning, internships, and field visits) has been 1984). A common theme of constructivist theories is incorporated into undergraduate curricula to enrich that learners actively construct knowledge through academic learning, promote community engagement, experience and reflection upon experience. Knowledge and/or provide opportunities for career development. acquired is simple and unsophisticated at first, but with Viewed from the perspective of adult development, experience and reflection, becomes increasingly these experiences may also provide contexts for complex. positive changes in psycho-social development, According to theorists such as Dewey and Piaget, cognitive development, and moral/ethical development. we learn best in situations which challenge our current While there is a growing body of literature that understanding of the world (causing disequilibrium). documents positive impacts of experiential learning for This in turn, may lead to the construction or re- students along a number of academic and organization of knowledge structures (e.g., concepts, psychological dimensions, few studies have schemas, or models) to provide a better fit with data. systematically characterized the relationship between Performance is another critical component of structural aspects of the experience and student constructivist theories. Cognitive psychologists, for outcomes. instance, have proposed that expert knowledge is In this paper we present a cognitive-developmental acquired through practice in the field and results in the framework for understanding why experiential learning construction of schemas and scripts. Textbooks, may support positive outcomes in some contexts but manuals, and formal training do not provide the “tacit” not others. Central to the framework is the assumption knowledge about a field or profession that is often that the field experience is mediated by the student’s procedural in nature and situation-specific (Gick & level of reflective judgment, learner empowerment, and Holyoake,1980; Sternberg, 2004). faculty/supervisor support. Potential independent Applied to higher education, one would predict that variables that may influence learner outcomes are an ideal learning context is one that engages students as

1 active learners, challenges existing views, and provides Your feedback about this paper is very much welcome. opportunities for performance and reflection. Please send your comments or questions to Dr. Joanna Experiential learning (i.e., service learning, internships, Gonsalves ([email protected]) or Dr. Eric Metchik ([email protected]). 10 and field visits) has the potential to provide such an engagement, including beliefs about social justice and ideal learning context for the acquisition of knowledge. perceived levels of fairness in the world. In addition to knowledge acquisition, another The first aspect, concerning the benefits of intriguing possibility is that experiential learning could volunteering, has both an inward and outward focus. provide a context for changing how a student thinks, Regarding the latter, Lakin and Mahoney’s (2006) that is, to advance a student’s stage of cognitive work centered on the development of a sense of development. In particular, experiential learning may community, especially in terms of cooperative work advance how students think about ill-structured effort and empathy towards others’ situations and life problems; that is, problems that lack a clear logical problems. The inward focus of this dimension views structure. volunteerism as a means toward self-esteem In Piaget’s theory, disequilibrium and accommo- enhancement and, most pragmatically, job acquisition. dation are the key mechanisms underlying stage The self-efficacy dimension also has inward and change. Many other theories of cognitive development outwardly-directed facets which may influence similarly adopt a cognitive-conflict model of change experiential learners’ overall attitudes toward service. (Kohlberg, 1981; Perry, 1968). The model suggests that Research has focused on attributions concerning the if students who are engaged in fieldwork encounter and plight of those in need of help; i.e., how did they arrive reflect upon different viewpoints, recognize in this situation and could they have done anything to inconsistencies and uncertainty, and repeatedly attempt prevent it from occurring, or extricate themselves from to solve complex problems, they could advance in it later on? Inwardly, there has been interest in feelings stages beyond formal reasoning. For example, King & concerning the extent to which ones efforts can make a Kitchener’s (1994) study of epistemological real difference (see, for example, Batchelder and Root development during the college years suggests that (1994) Evaluation of Service Learning instrument) and high levels of reflective thinking are achieved when a the relevance of personal challenges one has already student encounters problems with uncertain answers, met in one’s own life in terms of assisting others for which no answer is deemed correct and for which currently facing similar issues. the solution cannot simply be derived from rules of Finally, the research has tapped more generalized logic. Indeed the problems faced by service-learners feelings about the importance of social justice and its and interns in the field are more likely to include ill- implications for attitudes toward service and civic structured problems than standard classroom exercises engagement. Do we have a communal responsibility to and assessments (e.g., textbook problems and objective work towards “righting social wrongs” and increasing tests). absolute levels of fairness in the world? Indirectly, this King & Kitchener’s theory describes stages includes considerations of empathy levels toward those regarding the individual’s assumptions about how who are perceived as “different” along racial, knowledge is acquired and about the basis upon which socioeconomic or life experience dimensions. judgments/ choices are made. Another relevant realm for stage change associated with experiential learning Variations of Experiential Learning on Campus is moral and ethical development. Field experiences could present moral and ethical dilemmas to students as There is much variability among colleges, programs well as the opportunity to discuss these dilemmas with and instructors in the structure and goals of experiential a teacher, site supervisor and other students. These are learning opportunities. Furco (1996) distinguishes not hypothetical dilemmas; student’s motivation to among three general types of experiences (internships, fully understand aspects of the dilemma and to seek service learning, and community service) which differ resolution are high. Furthermore, if the dilemmas faced in duration, goals and beneficiaries. Internships which by students are non-routine the potential for cognitive- provide avenues for career and skill development conflict and growth is high. generally involve 100 or more hours of field work within an organization and relatively few hours of Personal and Interpersonal Development traditional lecture/discussion. Organizations who hire interns receive the benefit of an enthusiastic, trainable, Research in experiential learning has a long and low-paid workforce. Service learning, in contrast, tradition of exploring its effects on three specific is just one component of a content course and is dimensions related to psychological development. generally limited to 20 hours or less of volunteerism. These include a variety of facets of belief concerning The goals of service learning are to meet community the benefits of volunteering ones time and talents needs and to enrich traditional classroom learning. toward helping others; self-efficacy, including Finally, community service (e.g., participation in a attributions of responsibility concerning those in need volunteer project) provides a direct benefit to the of assistance as well as feelings about ones own ability recipient of the service but provides low support for to make a difference in their lives; and more student learning outside of the experience. A fourth generalized attitudes towards service and civic type of experiential learning not described by Furco 11

(1996) is field visits. These are briefer encounters that in conclusory, black and white terms, but solutions to extend traditional classroom lecture/discussions, but do some issues are available, while solutions to others are not meet community needs nor provide support for simply not known yet by the accepted authorities. organizations. Quasi-reflective thinking is epitomized by the Recent research on experiential learning has recognition that some problems are inherently focused heavily on service learning outcomes with ambiguous. Yet those at these intermediate levels are little regard for the variability across experiential not able to make the logical deductive or inductive learning contexts. A few studies suggest that duration conclusions from available evidence to properly test and intensity of the placement are positively correlated hypotheses and suggest solutions. Individuals at stage with psychological, social and cognitive development 4, for example, acknowledge uncertainty in the (Astin & Sax, 1998; Mabry, 1998). Placements which problems they analyze, but do not view authorities in utilize students’ skills, which substantially impact the the same way as the pre-reflective thinkers. They feel, organization or people in need, which provide for example, that one expert’s opinion may be just as feedback, and which allow for autonomy will be the valid (or invalid) as another’s, including their own. most beneficial for student development (Hetch, 2003; Given this worldview, they claim that certain types of Eyler & Giles, 1999; Schnitnzer, 2005; Billig, Root & knowledge and solutions will never be known. Those at Jesse, 2005, Mabry, 1998). As discussed in the next the higher stage (5) of quasi-reflective thinking are able section, some of these placement characteristics are to formulate a relativistic type of knowledge. They subjective in nature and are considered as mediating acknowledge that their own understanding, as well as variables in the current model. those of others they deem to be experts or sources of authority, derives from specific and differing contexts, Mediating Variables but they are unable to successfully integrate these contexts into a coherent whole. Several sets of variables explored in the current Reflective thinkers feel that the process of research have the potential to mediate relationships acquiring knowledge or understanding is a highly between the independent variables and the outcome active one, necessitating the assimilation of data and measures already discussed. Broadly speaking, these conclusions filtered through specific contextual lenses include factors related to reflection, empowerment and of multiple observers. Stage 6 thinkers can relate faculty and supervisor support and feedback. It is problem-solving orientations across different contexts important to note that several of these variables can and recognize that some are more authoritative than also be conceptualized and measured as outcome others. They are limited in their perspective of variables. A feedback loop might be the most integrating the different contexts, however, and fail to appropriate descriptor for them since they affect the achieve a clear view of the broadest context in which impact of the experiential learning, while at the same competing views are held. The higher level (7) of time are affected by the learning itself. reflective thinking is very fluid. It fully integrates Reflective thinking has previously been discussed different perspectives as part of an active process of as an independent variable, measured as opportunities knowledge construction. There is also an that the teacher and/or field work supervisors acknowledgement that “solutions” are tentative and deliberately offer (or require) for self-analysis of ones subject to evolution as the knowledge base increases. role and activities in the experiential learning. As a Empowerment has been conceptualized by mediating variable, we focus on the level of reflective Batschelder and Root (1994) and Lakin and Mahoney thinking which influences the introspective experience (2006) in terms of autonomy, in particular students’ (King and Kitchener, 1994). There are seven stages feelings that they can make their own decisions about organized under three broader headings: pre-reflective specific aspects of their service learning experiences. In (stages 1-3); quasi-reflective (stages 4-5); and the Batschelder and Root (1994) research this factor reflective (stages 6-7). was the strongest predictor of prosocial reasoning. Pre-reflective thinking is concrete and monolithic in Frymier, Shulman and Houser (1996), drawing on its orientation: problems are seen to be straightforward earlier work by Thomas and Velthouse (1990), wrote and unambiguous in their content, with the observer about the influence of empowerment on motivation. him/herself able to clearly discern the proper They found three empowerment dimensions derived interpretation or solution (stage 1). In stage 2, the from their own factor analyses: meaningfulness (the problem itself is seen as just as definite, but the ability extent to which a given task fits into an individual’s or to make a proper interpretation and prescribe the group’s value system); competence (self efficacy and appropriate action/reaction is shared with others who feeling of confidence in ones skills; confidence in the are designated proper and knowledgeable authorities. face of completing a task or meeting a goal); and Those at the highest stage (3) of pre-reflective thinking impact (feeling that ones work makes a difference in approach knowledge in a bifurcated state of the world; possibly related to level of internal “suspended animation.” Everything is still categorized motivation). 12

Frymier, Shulman and Houser (1996) found community? Which contexts are most likely to support correlational evidence supporting a link between changes in adult’s stage of reflective judgment? empowerment and learning. In fact, they suggested a The implications from the research findings are feedback loop similar to that discussed above: the more numerous. Past practice in experiential placement and empowered the learner feels, the more that he/she program design has (deliberately or not) featured a actually learns. The more that has been learned, the large element of self-selection and chance. Students more empowered the learner may feel. have gravitated toward specific experiential learning The final set of mediating variables explored in our opportunities largely based on vague notions of their research relates to faculty and field supervisor support own interests and abilities or “connections” to those and feedback during the experiential learning. working in specific agencies. The identification of Batchelder and Root (1994) gathered data on these significant IV-Mediating Variable-DV links in the dimensions as part of their Evaluation of Service- current research has the potential to radically alter the Learning (ESL) instrument. Two items, “instructor placement process as well as the structure and content support” and “relationship to site supervisor” measured of the field experience itself. Students with specific that degree to which the teacher and supervisor “helped clusters of pretest levels of reflection and me to adjust to and deal with the service-learning empowerment, for example, can be selectively assigned experience” (p. 349). The researchers analyzed these to placements at which supervisors are actively factors against various aspects of thought complexity involved and oriented towards using students’ strengths as expressed in students’ journal entries. The and helping them overcome any perceived deficits. “relationship to site supervisor” variable was This in turn has the potential to greatly enhance the significantly associated with a direct measure of overall impact of the experiential learning itself. complexity (“the number of distinct subjects, actions, Methods targets of action and reasons for actions”, p. 346). The Design same factor was also related to uncertainty/resolve (“statement of resolve to act despite explicitly The planned study entails a quasi-experimental, acknowledged uncertainty of the success of the pretest-posttest analysis of experiential learning across action.”, ibid.). When the instructor support variable disciplines. A comparison of cognitive, personal and was combined with in-class reflection (“the course (in- social outcome measures will be made between class discussion, readings, journals, etc.) helped me to students engaged in internships, service learning, field think about, and to learn more from my experiences visits, and traditional course projects without field during the service-learning”, p. 349), this index components. variable was significantly related to other cognitive factors assessing the number of foreseen obstacles and Participants the number of ways suggested to deal with these obstacles. Participants in the pilot study were 23 In general, quality of interactions with the course undergraduate students enrolled in a developmental instructor and the site supervisor can affect the impact psychology course at a public, four-year college in of the experiential learning via main effects or New England. The sample was comprised of interactively with other mediating variables. The predominantly white, middle class students in their present research seeks to increase our understanding of junior and senior years. Fifteen of the participants the instructors’ and supervisors’ influence at specific completed a service learning project and eight stages of the field experience. The influence of contacts completed a laboratory research project. The service between instructors and supervisors is also potentially learners completed 15-20 hours of volunteer service in an important mediating factor. non-profit agencies that provide direct service to children. Connections with course concepts were made The Current Study in reflection journals, in-class writing assignments, and a final reflection paper. The students opting for the The goal of the present research is to identify research project conducted an experiment of their own significant interactions between the independent, design with children in the psychology department mediating, and dependent variables discussed above. In observation laboratory. These students submitted other words, do various configurations of placement traditional research reports. type, duration and characteristics, relative emphasis on and level of reflection, sense of empowerment and Measures faculty/field supervisor involvement and support coalesce to yield significant differences in attitudes All students completed pre-test and post-test toward volunteer service, subjects’ sense of community measures of self efficacy, learning empowerment, and beliefs about their ability to effect change in that reflective judgment and attitudes towards volunteering and others. Demographic information, information 13 about students’ previous experiential learning, a pre- Inventory constructed by Clary, Snyder, Ridge, test survey about project expectations and a post-test Copeland, Stukas, Haugen, & Miene (1998), and six survey about project experiences was also gathered. items regarding social justice were drawn from the Finally data were also collected from the instructor and Global Belief in a Just World Scale by Lipkus (1991). field supervisors, but are not included in the present Project Expectation/Experience Survey. The pilot test analyses. final measure captures students’ expectations about Self efficacy. A ten item, 5-point Likert scale, Self their experiential learning project (pre-test) and post- Efficacy test developed by Ralf Schwarzer & Matthias course reflections of the experiential learning project Jerusalem (1992) was used to measure the degree to (post-test). This measure was included to better which students believe they can effectively handle capture components of experiential learning that may novel or difficult tasks across situations. The measure be related to changes in the above dependent measures. is fairly reliable with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from . The items on the pre-test and post-test test version of 76 to .90 (Schwarzer, 1992). The measure yields a the project survey were the same except for changes in single score ranging from 0-50. verb tense. The items were drawn from two sources, Learner Empowerment. Learner empowerment is Eyler & Giles (1999) and Marcy H. Schnitzer’s conceptualized as a motivational force that enables the discussion of the Job Characteristics Model applied to learning process and varies widely between students. A service learning research. The resulting questionnaire modified version of the Learner Empowerment Scale had 26 Likert-scale items and included items about (Frymier, Shulman and Houser, 1996) was used to Task Significance (e.g., “During the project I felt that I capture aspects of students’ state motivation and made a real contribution.”), Skill Variety (e.g., “During perceived efficacy for the course under investigation. the project I had a variety of tasks to do.”), Task A total of 18 Likert scale items measured 1.) the degree Identity (e.g., “During the project I performed tasks to which students’ feel they have control of the directly related to my future career.), Autonomy (e.g., learning process (impact subscale), 2.) the degree to “During the project I was free to develop and use my which learning experiences are perceived as ideas.”), Feedback and Support (e.g., “During the meaningful (meaningfulness subscale) and 3.) the project I was appreciated when I did a good job.”), and degree to which students feel confident in their ability Social Interaction (“During the project I worked with to manage course tasks and succeed in the class other students”). (confidence subscale). The measure is reliable with Cronbach’s alphas ranging from .81 to .95 (Frymier, Results of the Pilot Study Shulman and Houser, 1996). Reflective Judgment. A paper version of the An ANOVA was performed on the data with type Reflective Judgment Interview (King & Kitchener, of student project as the independent variable (service 1994) was used to measure level of students’ reflective learning or research) and the following dependent thinking. Three ill-structured problems concerning variables: change in self efficacy, change in attitudes opposing views on a subject matter were presented to towards volunteering, change in beliefs about social students. For each problem students were asked to state justice, and change in level of reflective judgment. their own views about the issue, the reasons for their There was no main effect for type of project, however, positions, their beliefs about why others hold opposing there was a significant increase overall in participants’ views and the certainty of one’s knowledge state. self efficacy, more positive attitudes towards Students written responses were coded according to volunteering and more positive beliefs about social level of reflective judgment: Pre-reflective Reasoning, justice from the pretest to the post-test (p < .05). There Quasi-reflective Reasoning and Reflective Reasoning. was no measurable change in level of reflective Different sets of ill-structured problems were given in judgment. the pre-test and post-test. One problem of each set was To consider the role of potential mediating created by the current authors to tap into students’ variables, a regression analysis was conducted to reasoning about course-related issues. Inter-rater determine which project characteristics (task reliability for pre-test/post-test responses was initially significance, task identity, skill variety, autonomy, low (.72) but reached .84 on the second pass. feedback & support, and social interaction) best predict Attitudes towards Volunteering and Others. A the observed changes in each of our dependent questionnaire with 26 Likert scale items about variables. The results showed that level of feedback & students’ beliefs about volunteering and social justice support significantly predicted changes in self was compiled from three previously published efficacy, attitudes towards volunteering, and beliefs instruments. Ten items about social justice and about social justice (accounting for 48%-64% of the community problem solving were drawn from Janet variability in responses). In each case, there was a Eyler & Dwight. E. Giles’ (1999) FIPSE survey of positive psychological gain for these variables, from service learning. Ten items regarding motivations for the beginning to the end of the semester, when volunteering were drawn from the Volunteer Functions perceived feedback and support was high. Higher 14 degrees of social interaction further predicted positive identity outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 17, p. changes in beliefs about social justice. Other project 341-355. characteristics did not significantly account for Billig, S.H., Root, S., and Jesse, D. (2005). The impact of variability in our dependent measures. participation in service-learning on high school students’ civic engagement. (Working Paper 33). College Discussion Park, MD: Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Although the sample size of the pilot study is small, Clary, E.G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R.D., Copeland, J., Stukas, the data provide some encouraging support for a model A.A., Haugen, J. and Miene, P. (1998). Understanding of Experiential Learning that includes such mediating and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A factors as field supervisor & instructor support and functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social feedback. Presently we have not yet considered data Psychology, collected from the supervisors or instructor. It appears 74, 1516-1530. that this may be a fruitful avenue for analysis and for Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: future data collection. One question about the construct Touchstone. of “feedback” that is raised by the current study and Eyler, J, and D. E. Giles, J. (1999). Where's the Learning that will be systemically investigated in future work is in Service-Learning? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. whether the feedback provided by supervisors and Frymier, A., Shulman, G. and Houser, M. (1996). The instructors needs to be generally positive in nature or development of the learner empowerment measure. whether the quality and/or quantity of feedback, Communication Education. 45, 181-199. regardless of its valence, is more important for Furco, A. (1996). Service Learning: A balanced approach effecting positive changes in the dependent variables. to experiential education. Service Learning Toolkit. With regard to the construct “social interaction”, we Washington, DC: Corporation for National Service. plan to investigate whether different types of social Gick, M.L. and Holyoake, K.J. (1980). Analogical interaction (e.g., interactions with program participants problem solving. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 306-355. or interactions between co-volunteers) vary in their relative importance. Jerusalem, M., and Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy as The pilot study also suggests that the measure of a resource factor in stress appraisal processes. In R. reflective judgment that was employed in this study Schwarzer (Ed.), Self- efficacy: Thought control of may be insufficient to detect smaller changes that may action (pp. 195-213). Washington, DC: occur over the course of one semester. There was very Hemisphere. little variability in both the pre-test and post-test King, P.M. and Kitchener, K.S. (1994). Developing measures of reflective judgment in our sample. We Reflective Judgment: Understanding and promoting used a simplified scheme with only three levels (pre- intellectual growth and critical thinking in reflective, quasi-reflective, and reflective) and the adolescents and adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. majority of responses were coded at the quasi- Kohlberg, L. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral reflective level. We intend to develop a more sensitive Development. San Francisco: Harper. coding scheme for future analysis that would identify Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as seven levels of reflective thinking as proposed by King the source of learning and development. and Kitchener (1994). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Finally the variation in experiential learning in this Lakin, R. and Mahoney, A. (2006). Empowering youth to pilot study was limited; we are reporting pretest/post- change their world: Identifying key components of a test data from a single class. Ideally participants will be community service program to promote positive drawn from a wide range of courses that offer a variety development. Journal of School Psychology, 44, 513- of experiential learning opportunities (i.e. internships, 531. field visits, & service learning, in a variety of real Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science; selected world settings). Only then can we fully identify and theoretical papers. D. Cartwright (Ed.). New York: test a more complex model of experiential learning Harper and Row. than currently exists in the literature. Lipkus, I. (1991). The construction and preliminary validation of a Global Belief in a Just World Scale and the References exploratory analysis of the Multidimensional Belief in a Just World Scale. Personality and Individual Astin, A. W. and Sax, L. J. (1998). How Undergraduates Differences, 12, 1171-1178. are Affected by Service Participation. The Journal of Mabry, J. B. (1998). Pedagogical variations in service College Student Development, 39 (3): 251-263. learning Batchelder, T. H. and S. Root (1994). Effects of an and student outcomes: How time, contact and reflection undergraduate program to integrate academic learning matter. In Michigan. Journal of Community Service and service: Cognitive, prosocial cognitive, and Learning, 5, 32-47. 15

Schnitzer, M. H. (2005). The Job Characteristics Model Row. and Placement Quality. In S. Root, J. Callahan and S. Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy: Thought Control of H. Billig (Eds.) Improving Service-Learning Practice: Action. Washington, DC: Hemisphere. Research on Models to Enhance Impact. Greewich, Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Culture and intelligence. American CT: Information Age Publishing. Psychologist, 59, 325 - 338. Perry, W. G., Jr. (1968). Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Thomas, K. W. and Velthouse, B.A. (1990). Cognitive Development in the College Years: A scheme. New elements of empowerment. Academy of Management York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Review, 1(l5), 666-681. Piaget, J. (1970). Structuralism. New York: Harper and

UP TO CONTENTS

16