THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN AND FRACTAL GENERATORS' IMPORTANCE TO HIGHER EDUCATION

The Boot Camp for Profs® summer faculty development program began in 1993, but for the past six years has successfully developed faculty from many disciplines and many institutions on the basis of a fractal model of career development. The fractal model is more than a useful analogy. It follows the pattern of brain neurology developed during learning. Fractal forms develop from recursive operations on a unit called a generator. All cognitive learning is bound to some aspect of the affective domain, and the affective domain is particularly important to the generator that forms during introductions to classes, careers and professions. Even classroom colors and lighting can influence learning through the affective reactions that they produce. Research shows that students may form within the first thirty seconds of a class an evaluation of the professor that remains consistent through the semester. Professors often obtain their personal model for what constitutes "good teaching" based on a good experience with an undergraduate professor, a high school teacher, or even a parent. We likely choose majors and careers based on more influence of the affective domain than many of us realize. The foundations of our careers include our choices, ethics, values, and our affective domains influence major career decisions.