Residential Life at Resolve-it College

The staff at RC have been exploring some new training tools for use during the next Resident Assistant (RA) training session. They've decided, in part based on Professor Rodgers's research (for more info, click here), to focus on providing conflict resolution support for roommates in conflict. One goal is to reduce the number of room change requests, and another is to try and use conflict more effectively as a learning opportunity.

At a recent conference, one of the staff members saw a demonstration of an interactive CD Rom called Allwyn Hall (see screen shots above). The CD was developed under a FIPSE grant by folks at Carnegie Mellon University, and it seems like it may be just the tool they've been looking for. Videos clips of one of three different conflict situations play when the viewer (an RA) "enters" one of the rooms in the freshman floor of Allwyn Hall. The RA's goal is to try to be helpful using a three-step problem-solving model that closely resembles mediation. The training process is interactive, and the outcome varies depending on the RA's response. An on-screen coach is available to provide an overview of basic skills, and feedback as the process unfolds. While the basic scenario puts the viewer in the role of a RA, the Residence Life team think the CD will work well with a wider audience of students and staff. And all for just $60!

The CD Rom is available via the Heartwood Institute where it's creator Martha Harty now works.

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Produced by Bill Warters,
Wayne State University © 2000