Making the Transition from Prescriptive Advising to Advising as Teaching

1
Making the Transition from Prescriptive Advising
to Advising as Teaching

• Robert F. Pettay
• Kinesiology Department
• Kansas State University

2
Information

• Robert Pettay
• pet7_at_ksu.edu
• 785-532-0710
• NACADA National conference

3
Goals for this Session

• Discuss the current transition from prescriptive
  advising to advising as teaching
• Look at what to teach and how to change advising
  to a teaching approach
• Discuss the advising syllabus currently being
  used
• Discuss the challenges to this transition, and
  some potential solutions

4
Graduating Seniors on-line advising survey

• Surveyed in Spring 2006
• 29 respondents to on-line survey
• Survey looked at background, understanding of
  degree program, and assessment of advising and
  teaching
• Additional data will be collected each December
  and May on graduating seniors

5
Number of times students changed majors
6
Understanding of the Mission of the Kinesiology
Department
7
Understanding of the Student Learning Outcomes
for Kinesiology
8
Understanding of the Mission of Kansas State
University
9
Understanding the meaning of a Liberal Arts Degree
10
Understanding the types of minors available at
Kansas State
11
Understanding the University Counseling Services
available to students
12
Understanding the University Tutoring Services
available to students
13
Understanding the University Career Exploration
services available to students
14
Understanding the University Crisis Assistance
services available to students
15
Why develop an advising syllabus?

• What can be done to increase the learning in
  students of the mission of the College and
  University?
• How can students be educated about the service
  available to them as an undergraduate student?
• What can be done to provide a better overall
  learning experience within the advising program?

16
Prescriptive Advising

• Tell me what to do!
• Based on the authority and primary responsibility
  and involves the dispensing of information about
  courses and class schedules and the prescribing
  of remedies for problems (Winston Sandor, 1984)

17
Advising Responsibilities- Undergraduate handbook

• Goal setting- setting short and long-term goals
• Information- requirements
• Transitions changing majors, enroll
• Accessibility to advisor
• Referral to campus resources

18
University Advising Survey- Fall enrollment

• I can contact my advisor when I need to
• My advisor takes enough time to answer all my
  questions
• My advisor has a good knowledge of my academic
  degree or program requirements
• My advisor has a good knowledge of
  university/college policies and procedures or
  knows where to find them
• My advisor helps me include educational
  experiences which develop the skills necessary to
  live and work in a diverse world
• When helping me select courses, my advisor
  considers past courses in which I have done well
  or poorly
• My advisor discusses my long-term academic/career
  plans
• If I have a problem, my advisor helps me or knows
  where to send me to get help
• I go to my advising sessions well-prepared
• Overall I am satisfied with my academic advisor
  and the advising I receive

19
Developmental advising

• Developmental advising advising as counseling.
  Concerned not only with a specific personal or
  vocational decision, but also with facilitating
  the students rational processes, environmental
  and interpersonal interactions, behavioral
  awareness, and problem solving, decision making,
  and evaluation skills. (Crookston, 1972)

20
Developmental advising

• Acknowledges the individuality of students
• Helps them integrate life, career, and
  educational goals
• Connects curricular and co-curricular aspects of
  their educational experiences
• Provides scaffolding that gives them
  opportunities to practice decision-making and
  problem solving skills
• (Smith Allen, 2006)

21
Advising as teaching

• What to teach?
• How to teach?
• How to assess learning?

22
What do advisors teach?

• How to find/create the logic of ones education
• How to view the curriculum as a whole
• How to base educational choices on a developing
  sense of self
• How to continually enhance learning experiences
  by relating them to knowledge previously learned
• Lowenstein (2005)

23
What to teach

• Without the cohesion of a strong curriculum and
  people (including advisors and directors of
  advising programs) who can articulate clearly the
  purpose of the curriculum, students may graduate
  believing that they have completed a series of
  unconnected courses, marked by checks on an
  arbitrarily mandated list, without being aware
  that they have also acquired skills (and
  marketable ones at that) that can foster
  self-guided learning.
• -Reynolds (2003, p.23)

24
The advising syllabus

• Rationale
• Mission of the University/ The individual
• Mission of the College
• Mission of the Department
• Logic of the curriculum learning outcomes
• Skills, responsibilities, and processes
• The overall University experience

25
Rationale

• This syllabus is designed to assist the student
  in understanding and planning their Undergraduate
  experience as a Kinesiology major at Kansas State
  University. At the conclusion of this degree
  program, the student should understand the
  Kinesiology curriculum, the department, college
  and university mission, have awareness of the
  services available at the university, and
  understand and be prepared for their professional
  future with this degree.

26
Mission Statement Kansas State University

• Since its founding in 1863, the University has
  evolved into a modern institution of higher
  education, committed to quality programs, and
  responsive to a rapidly changing world and the
  aspirations of an increasingly diverse society.
  Together with other major comprehensive
  universities, Kansas State shares
  responsibilities for developing human potential,
  expanding knowledge, enriching cultural
  expression, and extending its expertise to
  individuals, business, education, and government.
  These responsibilities are addressed through an
  array of undergraduate and graduate degree
  programs, research and creative activities, and
  outreach and public service programs. In
  addition, its land-grant mandate, based on
  federal and state legislation, establishes a
  focus to its instructional, research, and
  extension activities which is unique among the
  Regents' institutions.

27
Mission statement

• Through quality teaching, the University is
  committed to provide all students with
  opportunities to develop the knowledge,
  understanding, and skills characteristic of an
  educated person. It is also pledged to prepare
  students for successful employment or advanced
  studies through a variety of disciplinary and
  professional degree programs. To meet these
  intentions, the institution dedicates itself to
  providing academic and extracurricular learning
  experiences which promote and value both
  excellence and cultural diversity. Kansas State
  University prepares its students to be informed,
  productive, and responsible citizens who
  participate actively in advancing cultural,
  educational, economic, scientific, and
  socio-political undertakings.

28
Mission statement and the Student

• - A helping degree extending expertise to
  improve quality of life
• - Diversity
• - Lifelong learning professional
  responsibilities and certifications
• - An educated person

29
A Liberal Arts degree

• The College of Arts and Sciences is the home of a
  wide range of disciplines, that, together, offer
  a liberal education to our students. These
  disciplines include the arts and sciences, the
  social sciences, and the natural sciences. These
  areas embody the core studies of a university
  education. A liberal education seeks to develop
  intellectual skills such as critical analysis,
  effective communication, and creativity.

30
What is a liberal arts degree?

• Skills
• Defining problems and tasks.
• Mastery of information retrieval systems
  (libraries, books, periodicals, Internet,
  personal interviews).
• Planning and executing research.
• Organizing ideas and solutions.
• Writing and communicating.
• And perhaps most important, a well-honed ability
  to learn what you need to in order to accomplish
  a task.
• Attributes
• An open mind to new ideas and approaches.
• Disciplined work habits.
• A critical eye and ear.

31
Components of a Liberal Arts Degree

• Fine arts to ensure some interpretive or
  expressive competence in a traditional
  non-literary mode of artistic expression
• Philosophy to ensure some interpretive or
  expressive competence in the fundamental
  conceptual issues of human thought and activity
• Western Heritage to ensure some interpretive or
  expressive competence regarding the institutions,
  traditions, and values that have shaped Western
  civilization
• Literary or rhetorical arts to ensure some
  interpretive or expressive competence in a
  traditional literary or rhetorical mode of
  artistic expression

32

• Social sciences to acquaint students with the
  adaptation of scientific method to the analysis
  of human social systems
• Life sciences to introduce students to the
  systematic study of organisms and their
  interrelationships
• Physical sciences to introduce students to the
  appropriate attitudes and methods that
  characterize the systematic study of matter and
  energy
• International studies overlay to equip students
  better to become citizens of a world where the
  most important problems are unavoidably defined
  in international terms, and to understand
  cultures of the world outside the Western
  tradition
• Quantitative to give students training in a
  clear, non-ambiguous, simplified language for the
  efficient transfer and logical analysis of
  information a language in which a good deal of
  discussion is conducted in the sciences.

33
Mission of the Department

• Kinesiology is the study of human movement across
  a range of tasks including exercise, daily
  living, play, sport and work. Course work
  integrates biological and behavioral approaches
  using biomechanical, physiological,
  psychological, and sociological perspectives to
  study human movement from cell to society.
• Kinesiology promotes an understanding of the
  necessity of movement activities for an
  individuals physical and psychological health.

34
What is the logic of the curriculum

• What is the Kinesiology curriculum and what
  should I learn SLOs
• How do courses in other departments influence
  core courses
• Why do courses have to be taken in a specific
  order
• How does the curriculum prepare a student for
  different professions
• Why is this a liberal arts degree
• How does this degree tie into the University
  mission

35
The processes

• What are the necessary skills/knowledge I need
  about the University system?

36
The University Services

• What services are available to make the
  University experience the best one possible?
• Pre-health advisors
• Career Employment Services
• Academic and Career Information Center
• Academic Assistance Center
• Office of Student Life
• Counseling Center
• Student Financial Assistance
• Tutoring Center
• Student Services

37
How will the curriculum be taught?

• Freshman/transfer orientation
• On-going advising meetings
• Student organizations

38
Freshman/transfer orientation

• Overview of the program
• Introduction to the mission statements and
  department
• Introduction to a liberal arts degree
• Introduction to the logic of the curriculum
• Interaction of courses in and out of department

39
On-going advising sessions

• Goals and progress sheet
• Goals for semester
• How courses support goals
• Interaction of courses/progression
• Syllabus checklist progression

40
(No Transcript)
41
Syllabus Checklist

• ? I understand what Kinesiology is and how the
  Kinesiology curriculum was constructed
• ? I understand the career options available with
  a degree in Kinesiology
• ? I have written my short and long term goals to
  guide my progress through this degree
• ? I understand both the department and College
  requirements needed for completion of this degree
  including total number of hours, General
  Education hours, and GPA
• ? I understand the mission of the University and
  the meaning of a Liberal Arts degree and how they
  relate to the Kinesiology program
• ? I understand the Student Learning Objectives
  for the Kinesiology program
• ? I know how to assess the KATS system using my
  eid and password, how to find course schedules,
  finals schedules, and how to determine my
  enrollment time
• ? I understand that in order to enroll, I must
  meet with my advisor or waive my right to
  advising to have the flag on my enrollment
  account pulled allowing me to enroll
• ? I understand how to enroll in courses, find
  open sections of courses, and put together a
  semester schedule for classes
• ? I know how to run a DARS report, how to read a
  DARS report, and how to determine
• deficiencies that must be met to complete my
  degree
• ? I know how to drop and add classes and the
  requirements and deadlines related to this
  process
• ? I understand the process for adding minors or
  having multiple majors
• ? I understand that I can request a grad check at
  the completion of 90 credit hours
• ? I understand that I must apply for graduation
  at the Deans office (114 Eisenhower) before the
  due date the during my final semester
• ? I understand the role of the following
  University Services if applicable to my career

42
Student organizations

• Session on Curriculum structure
• Professional speakers

43
Challenges to advising as teaching model

• Time
• Training- advising structure of Department
• Motivation of student

44
Potential ideas to overcome challenges

• Introduction to Kinesiology 1 hour credit
  course required for all majors
• Emphasis in training of advising assistants
• Peer advisor program

45
Assessment of learning

• Survey graduating seniors
• Goal sheets from each semester
• Reflection paper- feedback
• Follow-up surveys with graduates

46
Ultimate Goal Reframing Advising Experience

• Moving from advising framed as a service
  component to advising as a key component of the
  overall learning experience for college students

47
Thanks

• KAAN Professional Development fund

48
References

• Crookston, B.B. (1972). A developmental view of
  academic advising as teaching. Journal of College
  Student Personnel, 13, 12-17.
• Lowenstein, M. (Fall, 2005). If teaching is
  advising, what do advisors teach? The Journal of
  the National Academic Advising Association,
  25(2). 65-73.
• Reynolds, M. (2003). Faculty advising at small
  colleges Realities and responses. In M.K.
  Hemwall K.C. Trachte (Eds.), Advising and
  Learning Academic Advising from the Perspective
  of Small Colleges and Universities. (NACADA
  Monograph No. 8, pp 21-32). Manhattan KS
  National Academic Advising Association.
• Smith, C.L. Allen, J.M. (Spring, 2006).
  Essential functions of academic advising What
  students want and get. The Journal of the
  National Academic Advising Association, 26(1).
  56-66.