The Loop: Theory, Practice (and a bit of technology)

Funny how life works... frequently, something will come up in one part of my life, and then later that day or week will appear elsewhere.  This week, that "thing" was the topic of theory and practice - and I'll add the technology part.

In my student affairs class last week, many of our readings were around the topic of how theory and practice play into each other within higher education.  We learn many theories as students in higher education, but then the question is how those are used once we start to practice.  Inquiries arise: how do we use theory in practice?  Can we?  Should we learn theory first and apply it to practice, or wait until an issue comes up to go back to the theory? (You can see how this quickly becomes a "loop"...).  So, during the three hours we had to discuss this last Tuesday, our professor decided we should make a collective model of our thoughts on theory-practice.  And we did... it was messy, but on the whiteboard, we took turns adding, modifying, editing a model that showed how our class thought of theory and practice, and how we thought both should be used.

I was struck by this model - it was comprehensive, slightly confusing, but surprisingly clarifying.  The 11 of us really came together to create something that - while not pretty - incorporated many of the ideas of theory and practice that show how our work can and should use both theory and practice in meaningful ways.  So, I took a photo of it on my iPhone, and sent it to the class.  Why waste our thoughts by erasing them?

And then... in our staff meeting at work last week, the question arose... would we want to start a "book club" style group to read theoretical articles and discuss how we can use them in our practice? Why, of course!  And, why not?   It was so exciting to hear the same question that I was pondering in class come up in my workplace.  So, I sent the photo of our model to some of my co-workers... connections being made between my theoretical learning and my practical practice.

I've realized in my short time at my job, we use theory in our practice.  I've also realized that UM uses theory in its teaching and learning practices all the time.  When I first started studying higher education, I wasn't sure how much there was to learn about supporting students and what goes into that.  It's a lot.  And it's so awesome to see theory play into practice and be able to reflect on how it's helped me become a better student and a better professional within higher education.