One reason so many students fail to achieve complex learninggoals may be that they rely too heavily on others' opinionsabout what to believe, who to be, and how to relate to others.The meaning-making capacity of self-authorship provides a basisfrom which to understand and learn from one's experiences;without this, students are at a loss to know how to makeintentional choices about what to believe and how to act.Similarly, without a means to access and assess students'meaning making, researchers are at a disadvantage in deciding howto interpret students' academic performance and otherbehaviors, and educators are at a disadvantage in translatingfindings into the design of new programs and services.This monograph is for those who are interested in understandingself-authorship and its assessment, and in using this approach intheir own work. Drawing from well-established theories andextensive longitudinal research including nearly two thousandinterviews, it offers a detailed account of how young adults'capacities become more complex and adaptive over time. Those whounderstand the role of meaning making will be better able todocument its effects on educational outcomes and provide betterinformation to decision makers about program effectiveness.Each monograph in the series is the definitive analysis of atough higher education problem, based on thorough research ofpertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics areidentified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholarsare then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providingcritical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Executive Summary viiForeword xiAcknowledgments xvNudging Minds to Life: Self-Authorship as a Foundation forLearning 1Meaning Making and Collegiate Learning Outcomes 4The Nature of Meaning Making: Constructivist-DevelopmentalAssumptions 5Self-Evolution and the Journey Toward Self-Authorship 11Conclusion 17Assessing Self-Authorship and Its Evolution 21Assessment Challenges 21Assessment Formats 25Four Interviews to Assess Self-Authorship 28Conclusion 34Development of the Ten Positions in the Journey TowardSelf-Authorship 37Baxter Magolda's Study 37Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education 40Nuances of Self-Authorship 51Trusting External Authority: External Positions 53Trusting External Authority 54Tensions with Trusting External Authority 59Assessing Meaning Making and Self-Authorship v RecognizingShortcomings of Trusting External Authority 62Developmental Progression in External Meaning Making 65Entering the Crossroads: Predominantly External Positions 67Questioning External Authority 67Constructing the Internal Voice 73Developmental Progression in Entering the Crossroads 76Leaving the Crossroads: Predominantly Internal Positions 77Listening to the Internal Voice 77Cultivating the Internal Voice 78Developmental Progression in Leaving the Crossroads 86Self-Authorship: Internal Positions 87Trusting the Internal Voice 88Building an Internal Foundation 90Securing Internal Commitments 93Developmental Progression in Internal Meaning Making 98Using the Self-Authorship Assessment Guide 101Assessing Student Characteristics and Experience 102Example of a Phase 1 Summary (Excerpts) 104Assessing Developmental Meaning Making 107Example of a Phase 2 Summary (Excerpts) 107Links Between Development and Experiences 116Working Through Difficult Summaries 117The Value of Listening to Students 119Appendix: Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education:Qualitative Research Team 121References 123Name Index 131Subject Index 133About the Authors 137