Student affairs needs to be conscious of the continual learning process, and take advantage of learning opportunities everywhere. Learning is constant, occurring either consciously, unconsciously, or subconsciously. Consistent with the philosophy of intentional learning, student affairs needs primary focus on conscious learning. Understanding and utilizing various learning processes assists the development of effective educational strategies and practices. Recognizing teachable moments, or times at which conditions are most favorable for conscious learning experiences, is crucial to student affairs.
Teachable moments are applicable in two major ways.
Recognizing students' developmental stages and meeting them at their individual levels will produce effective results. Second, teachable moments occur relative to personal perspective. For example, a student in violation of campus policy is more likely to participate in developmental dialogue sometime after the infraction rather than during it, due to various reasons including emotional bias and environmental factors. Important to recognize is that these moments often occur within crisis or challenge, when cognitive dissonance forces an individual to reconsider previously developed perspectives of reality. Active learning occurs several ways.