Fostering Initiative: A Look at the Psychology of Why Some Students Lack Initiative and How to Help Them Develop This Skill

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Session Type: Lightning Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Union Square 23 & 24

Floor: Fourth Floor

By the end of this session, participants will understand the three stages of professional identity development, understand why some students may resist taking initiative, and receive concrete exercises to help students develop the skill of taking initiative. Adult development theory helps us understand how, with each new role or identity that we take on (in this case, lawyer), we go through three developmental stages. Understanding these stages helps us see some of our students’ behaviors in the larger context of their overall development more clearly. For example, all students go through one stage where they seek external direction and validation. This reliance is not a failing, but rather an essential step before they are able to independently plan and self-assess. This session will include an overview of these stages, provide the audience an opportunity to reflect on their own development, and will offer concrete exercises to help students progress through these stages and build their ability to take initiative. These exercises include a rubric on self-development, a Professional Development Plan, a Mid-Term Self-Assessment, and journal topics. In-house clinicians or professors teaching in an externship context will be able to use these materials.