The SDTLA can be used to provide students with individualize feedback based on the responses they provide to each item. The following information is (a) a list of actions a student could take to further his or her development related to each of the tasks, subtasks, and scales, and (b) the SDTLA items are coded with the items from the list of actions. It is our hope that researchers will use this list to provide students with suggested activities they can initiate to increase the likelihood of enhancing their psychosocial development.
One way this might be reported to students is to list (in frequency of
mention) activities that a student might pursue if she or he was interested
in enhancing her or his development in a subtask or scale area. For
example, suppose that a student responded b to item #2, c to item
#133, and b to item #142. All of these items are part of the Lifestyle
Planning Subtask. A partial list of suggested activities would be:
13. Register for an internship in
your major or one you are considering (LP01)
14. Participate in a service learning
or community service activity/project (LP02)
15. Get a summer job in a field
related to your major (LP03)
16. Read biographies of individuals
who worked in areas in which you may be interested (LP04)
17. Attend a goal setting workshop
(LP18)
18. Talk with a counselor about
your personal strengths and weaknesses (LP26)
19. Investigate students organizations
related to personal interests (e.g., music, theater, service, athletics,
writing, literature) (LP27)
20. Attend an organizational fair
on campus and check out student groups that might be of interest to you
(LP28)
21. Talk to people about their leisure/hobby
interests (LP29)
22. Talk to a recent graduate in
your major (area of interest) about what their life has been like since
graduation (LP11)
23. Talk with faculty advisor about
alternative majors (LP12)
24. Visit various career option
sites on the world wide web (WWW) [contact career center if assistance
is needed] (LP 13)
Institutions can also use a tally of the list of actions generated by the
students taking the SDTLA as a guide for providing programs and services
to their students. For example, if 60% of the students taking the
SDTLA answer in a way to trigger the response “visit the counseling center
or career placement center to complete one of several types of personality
assessments that are linked to possible career choices (Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator, Self-Directed Search, Strong Interest Survey)”, that should
be useful information in the planning process for that office. It
may also be useful for the budget planning and allocation process of 80%
of the student responses trigger, “Seek help with developing self-discipline
in completing course assignments (e.g., at counseling, advising, or academic
assistance center)”.