Dr. Jerry Johnston, a turtle ecologist at Santa Fe College, opened a lecture by unexpectedly asking his students: “How many of you know what you are going to do with your life?“ Although this question was surprising at a science lecture, it introduced his central argument that examining one’s purpose is directly connected to both scientific and personal growth. He continued to explain why the question was relevant to his journey as a turtle ecologist. He stated that when he graduated from high school, he had no idea what to do with his life. His time had been dominated by basketball, football, and his girlfriend. He decided to do what his friends did—study business. He said the following:
Sitting in economics class, accounting class, and having this awful feeling hit me: what the heck am I doing with my life? It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was one of these things where I looked around and I felt lost. All these other people look like they were interested in everything. I didn’t care. Right from the beginning, I got off track, instead of going to a happy place. (Santa Fe College Educational Media, 2019)
After that realization, he told his parents he was miserable. His parents asked what made him happy. He remembered going out in the woods, catching salamanders, and playing around with turtles. Therefore, his parents advised him to major in biology. He transferred to a biology program and felt it was the right fit for him. Eventually, he got a PhD in gopher tortoise ecology, and then “everything fell into place.” Johnston reminds his students that embracing course corrections and having the courage to self-assess, adapt, and act on values is essential not only for career satisfaction but also for personal growth.
Johnston’s journey illustrates how college serves as a critical period for social, emotional, and cognitive development—a process that requires intentional pedagogical design, especially in increasingly technology-mediated learning environments. This article explores how educators can apply learner-centered design principles to create online environments that support the full spectrum of student development, transforming digital spaces from mere content delivery systems into platforms for meaningful growth.
Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Development in College
Navigating college involves a complex developmental process that challenges students intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Johnston’s path from business to biology to turtle ecology exemplifies how students must manage rigorous coursework, select a discipline, and reshape their identities. Alongside academic adjustments, students must confront experiences that challenge their values, foster independence from their families, form new social circles, resolve roommate conflicts, manage finances, and make decisions about substances and behavior. These interconnected challenges foster emotional regulation, autonomy, competence, interpersonal skills, identity, and purpose development (Chickering & Reisser, 1993).
Johnston’s decision to diverge from his friends’ path and forge his own reflects a shift in cognitive development described by William Perry’s (1968) theory. Perry outlined how college students progress through different stages of intellectual growth: dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment within relativism. In the dualism stage, students see knowledge as absolute, believing that authorities have all the correct answers. As they move into multiplicity, they begin to acknowledge multiple viewpoints, though they may struggle to assess them critically. In the relativism stage, students understand that knowledge is contextual and requires evidence and reasoning. Finally, in the commitment within relativism stage, they learn to make informed decisions based on their personal values while recognizing the complexity and uncertainty inherent in knowledge. Johnston’s journey mirrors this progression from relying on external guidance to developing independent, reflective thinking.
Social Interactions and Emotional Regulation
The developmental theories of Chickering and Reisser (1993) and Perry (1968) emphasize that growth occurs not in isolation but through meaningful interactions—between students and their peers, between students and instructors, and between students and diverse perspectives. Johnston’s journey exemplifies this principle: his parents’ question prompted self-reflection, and his eventual success likely depended on relationships with mentors and peers who shared his passion for ecology. These interactions become particularly important when students engage with people whose experiences reflect the full range of human experience—differences in culture, language, gender identity, ethnicity, religious orientation, sexual orientation, ability status, family composition, and physical attributes. Through such diverse interactions, students develop their social identities, clarify values, and learn to navigate multiple perspectives.
However, engaging productively with others requires developing personal and interpersonal skills—emotional regulation, empathy, communication, and collaboration. When students have not yet learned to channel difficult emotions productively, social challenges can become overwhelming and impede learning. Research consistently demonstrates that classroom climate significantly impacts both learning and performance: negative climates create barriers to engagement, while positive climates foster student growth and achievement (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Konstantinidis, 2024). This makes the design of learning environments—whether physical or virtual—a critical factor in supporting student development.
Understanding these foundational developmental processes becomes even more critical when considering how technology is reshaping the landscape of student experience and learning
Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Development Mediated by Technology
The developmental challenges Johnston faced—understanding himself, navigating uncertainty, and building authentic connections—are now complicated by an additional layer: the pervasive presence of technology in young people’s lives. Today’s college students are navigating identity formation and social development while simultaneously managing constant digital engagement, creating unique challenges and opportunities for educators.
Research suggests that the transition-age period (ages 12 to 25) is critical for brain development, particularly for the development of social relationships and friendships (Sisk & Gee, 2022). However, excessive, unstructured screen time during these formative years has been linked to increased rates of depression, anxiety, inattention, and aggression (Zink, 2020). The concern is not technology itself, but rather how passive consumption and algorithmically-driven content can replace the active, sometimes difficult work of understanding oneself and others—the very work Johnston had to undertake when he realized business wasn’t his path.
This presents a paradox for higher education: if unstructured digital engagement can hinder development, how can online learning support it? The answer requires moving beyond simply digitizing traditional lectures to reimagining how online spaces can facilitate the kinds of developmental experiences Johnston needed — opportunities for self-reflection, to participate in meaningful discussions, collaborate on authentic challenges, and receive individualized feedback.
Designing Online Learning Environments That Support Development
What specific online teaching practices can educators implement to support students’ social, emotional, and cognitive growth? McCombs and Vakili (2005) identified four interconnected domains of learner-centered online course design that directly address these developmental needs. When thoughtfully implemented, these principles transform online learning from passive content consumption into active developmental work.
Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors: Building Self-Awareness
This domain involves helping students construct meaning from information and experience while developing awareness of their own thinking processes. In Johnston’s case, his realization that he was “off track” required metacognitive awareness—the ability to step back and honestly assess whether his path aligned with his values and interests.
In online environments, educators can foster this development through reflective assignments that ask students to connect course content to their own experiences, learning journals that allow students to analyze their thinking processes, and discussion prompts that encourage students to explain not just what they think but why and how they arrived at their conclusions. For example, rather than simply asking students to define ecological concepts, an instructor might ask: “Reflect on a time when you had to revise your understanding of a natural phenomenon. What prompted that revision, and how did it change your perspective?” Such assignments mirror Johnston’s reflective journey and help students develop the metacognitive skills necessary for ongoing personal and intellectual growth.
Motivational and Affective Factors: Honoring Individual Purpose
This domain focuses on understanding and integrating students’ interests, goals, background knowledge, and needs to tailor instruction to each individual. Johnston’s early struggles stemmed partly from a mismatch between his genuine interests and his chosen path. Had his business professors incorporated strategies to assess and engage his authentic motivations, he might have recognized his misalignment sooner.
In online courses, educators can implement pre-course surveys to understand students’ backgrounds and goals, offer choice in assignment topics so that students can pursue their interests within course objectives, provide personalized feedback that acknowledges individual progress and challenges, and create opportunities for students to set and reflect on personal learning goals. An online biology course might allow students to choose between researching marine ecology, forest ecosystems, or urban wildlife—all addressing the same learning outcomes while honoring different interests. This personalization acknowledges that students are on individual journeys of self-discovery, and education should support rather than suppress that exploration.
Developmental and Social Factors: Creating Community and Connection
This domain addresses relationship-building and community formation—essential elements for the kind of meaningful social interactions that support identity development. Johnston’s decision to pursue biology was prompted by conversations with his parents, and his ultimate success likely depended on relationships with mentors and peers who shared his passion for ecology. Online environments must intentionally create spaces for such connections.
Effective practices include designing structured small-group collaborations that require genuine interdependence, creating informal discussion spaces (like virtual “coffee hours” or off-topic forums) where students can connect personally, using both synchronous video sessions for real-time interaction and asynchronous discussions that allow deeper reflection, implementing peer review and feedback processes that build empathy and communication skills, and inviting students to co-create classroom norms and policies, fostering a sense of shared ownership. For instance, an instructor might begin an online course with a synchronous icebreaker activity followed by small-group projects that span several weeks, allowing relationships to deepen over time. These structured interactions provide practice in navigating “difficult situations” that passive screen time allows students to avoid, while offering the support and scaffolding that makes such interactions productive rather than overwhelming.
Individual Differences Factors: Honoring Diverse Pathways
This domain acknowledges that students bring unique combinations of strategies, capabilities, and experiences shaped by their background and prior learning. Johnston’s story illustrates this. His capabilities and interests, formed through years of outdoor exploration with salamanders and turtles, were fundamentally different from those of his business-focused peers. This domain encompasses three interconnected principles: recognizing that learners develop different strategies and approaches; understanding that learning is most effective when cultural and social backgrounds are considered; and using comprehensive assessment approaches that include diagnostic, process, and outcome measures while maintaining high standards.
In online environments, educators can honor individual differences by providing content in multiple formats (such as text, video, audio, and interactive simulations). They can use examples and case studies that reflect diverse cultural contexts and offer students opportunities to connect course content to their own backgrounds. Instructors can also implement varied assessment approaches. These assessment methods should identify students’ starting points, monitor growth over time, and allow multiple ways to demonstrate mastery while maintaining rigorous standards. For example, when teaching ecological concepts, an instructor might invite students to share traditional ecological knowledge or cultural perspectives on environmental stewardship and use a combination of quizzes and final projects that maintain consistent standards while acknowledging different starting points and learning pathways.
Conclusion
These four domains are interconnected elements of a comprehensive approach to online learning. When Johnston asked himself “What makes me happy?” and acted on the answer, he was engaging in metacognition (cognitive domain), following his authentic interests (motivational domain), seeking guidance from meaningful relationships (social domain), and pursuing a personalized path (individual differences domain). Effective online learning environments must similarly integrate all four domains, creating digital spaces where students can engage in the full scope of developmental work that college requires.
The challenge for educators is to resist the temptation to use technology merely for efficiency or content delivery. Instead, online learning environments should be designed with the same developmental goals as traditional classrooms: to help students like Johnston discover who they are, what matters to them, and how they can contribute meaningfully to the world. When technology serves these deeper purposes, it becomes a powerful tool for facilitating the reflection, connection, and growth that define the college experience.
References
Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Konstantinidis, A. (2024). An integrative review of the literature on factors influencing student well-being in the learning environment. International Journal of Educational Research, 7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666374024000669?via%3Dihub
McCombs, B. L., & Vakili, D. (2005). A learner-centered framework for e-learning. Teachers College Record, 107(8), 1582–1600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2005.00534.x
Pascarella, E., & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. Jossey-Bass.
Perry, W. (1968). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Santa Fe College Educational Media. (2019, November 7). SF2UF Dr. Jerry Johnston, what does a turtle ecologist do? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnseAgs6HIM&t=428s
Sisk, L. M., & Gee, D. G. (2022). Stress and adolescence: vulnerability and opportunity during a sensitive window of development. Current Opinion in Psychology, 44, 286–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.10.005
Weimar, M. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Zink, J., Belcher, B. R., Imm, K., & Leventhal, A. M. (2020). The relationship between screen-based sedentary behaviors and symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth: a systematic review of moderating variables. BMC Public Health, 20, 472. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08572-1
Ana Useche holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and a B.A. in Psychology. Over the past ten years, she collaborated with faculty across disciplines to create engaging, learner-centered experiences. Currently, she is an Instructional Designer at Santa Fe College in Florida.
