40 Assets for the Forty Acres
The 40 Assets for the Forty Acres applies the Search Institute’s Developmental Assets© Framework which identifies 40 positive supports and strengths that young people need to succeed.
Support
Older adult relationships
Build relationships between you and students as much as possible.
Older peer relationships
Have at least one older peer (e.g., teaching assistant, mentor) provide academic and well-being support to students.
Caring university community
Create a climate of caring for students.
Community mentor or family member involvement in schooling
Have students collaborate with trusted individuals outside the campus community to help them succeed in school.
Awareness and/or utilization of mental health experts/clinicians
Provide students with information about accessing support professionals (e.g., CARE counselors, CMHC services, BASICS/CASICS, Substance Use Support Team).
Empowerment
Community values students
Demonstrate to students that they are valued members of the learning community.
Students as resources
Give students useful leadership and participatory roles in the classroom community (e.g., let them be the experts in certain areas, allow them to provide support to their peers).
Individual service to others
Assignments/projects provide opportunities for students to serve in the community.
Participation in group philanthropy or service commitments/ projects
Provide opportunities for students to join with others to engage in service.
Safety
Ensure students feel safe in the classroom and other learning environments.
Safe supports
Remind students to utilize mechanisms to enhance their and their peers’ safety (e.g., going out in pairs/groups, using SURE Walk).
Boundaries & Expectations
Course boundaries
Provide clear expectations, protocols for difficult dialogues, and reasons for clear boundaries.
Positive peer influence
Encourage students to model responsible behavior for each other.
Standing up for others
Help students to advocate for and protect themselves and others (e.g, provide information about BeVOCAL, UT’s Bystander Intervention Initiative).
Expectations
Keep your expectations high for student learning and success.
Constructive use of Time
Creative activities
Have students participate in assignments/projects that involve creativity (e.g., using music, art, theater, video, entrepreneurial planning, community outreach, cooking).
Student programs
Provide incentives for students to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, religious groups, spirit groups, sororities/fraternities, school or community organizations.
Commitment to Learning
Achievement motivation
Use instructional techniques and systems that encourage students to be more internally motivated to learn (e.g., have students set and monitor progress toward goals, provide feedback that encourages mastery over performance).
School engagement
Provide and encourage opportunities for students to actively engage in learning (e.g., help students set up study groups, provide flexible office hours).
Bonding to school
Encourage students to build bonds between themselves, the University, and their college/department.
Enhanced knowledge of substances and risk/protective behaviors.
Provide students with information related to substances and risk/protective behaviors (e.g., Alcohol and Consent Project, BASICS and CASICS programs, Center for Students in Recovery, Student Amnesty for Alcohol and Drug Emergencies).
Positive Values
Caring
Model and encourage students to place a high value on helping others.
Access to opportunity
Place a high value on promoting access to individual opportunities for all in society.
Integrity
Model and have students practice acting on convictions and standing up for their beliefs.
Honesty
Allow students to have vulnerable conversations and share authentically.
Responsibility
Model and have students practice being held accountable for actions, including unmet expectations.
Health and wellness
Encourage students to value and take action toward supporting their own well-being.
Reasonable expectations
Model and have students practice maintaining reasonable expectations for themselves.
Creativity and uniqueness
Encourage and support students in valuing and asserting their own styles, opinions, strengths and talents.
Social Competencies
Planning and decision making
Model and have students practice planning ahead and making informed choices.
Interpersonal competence
Model and encourage students to practice empathy, sensitivity and friendship skills.
Cultural competence
Provide opportunities for students to develop knowledge of and comfort with people of different backgrounds.
Resistance skills
Model and have students practice resisting negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.
Peaceful conflict resolution
Model and have students practice resolving conflict nonviolently.
Values varied perspectives and opinions
Provide opportunities for students to voice their own beliefs and perspectives as well as listen to, make sense of, and value those of others.
Positive Identity
Personal power
Create a learning environment in which students feel they have control over what happens to them (e.g., provide students with choices).
Self-efficacy
Support students in developing confidence and believing in their abilities to achieve goals.
Sense of purpose
Help students to see how their lives have purpose.
Positive view of personal future
Model and encourage students to practice being optimistic about their personal futures and willingness to learn from failures and obstacles.
Self-compassion
Model and have students practice placing value on themselves as their own best friends.