Appreciative Advising 101 - NACADA Region 8 2014

Appreciative Advising 101

Presented by: Allison Todd, Oregon State University

Bernard Ryu, Simon Fraser University

Learning Outcomes

Today we'd like to...

1. Introduce you to Appreciative Advising

2. Explain the six stages of appreciative advising

3. Explain how to use each stage in your advising sessions

At the end of this session...

1. Have a working understanding of how Appreciative Advising works

2. Takeaway ideas to implement Appreciative Advising into your practice

Why, Appreciative Advising?

“How can I use the Appreciative Advising model to support and challenge my colleagues to embrace the revolution?”

( p. 143)

Chickering's Advising Definition

“The fundamental purpose of academic advising is to help students become effective agents for their own lifelong learning and personal development. Our relationships with students – the questions we raise, the perspectives we share, the resources we suggest, the short-term decisions and long-range plans we help them think through – all should aim to increase their capacity to take change of their own existence.”

(Chickering, 1994)

Appreciative Advising

“High impact advisors realize that the positive outcomes of advising sessions are not just limited to students; in fact, the real joy of advising occurs when advisors understand how fulfilling it is to really impact other peoples’ lives and how much they can learn from their advisees.”

-Jennifer Bloom

What is Appreciative Advising?

“Appreciative Advising is the intentional collaborative practice of asking positive, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals, and potential.”

6 stages of Appreciative Advising

Setting the bar.

It's all about first impressions!

Disarm

Don't Settle

• First impressions
• Create a safe and welcoming environment
• Creating trust
• Laying the foundations for the next stages

1

6

• Raise the bar!
• Challenge vs Growth vs Support
• Inspire

Office Space Self-Check

NACADA Research States...

If you were a student would you want to be in your office?

Don't forget to "reset"

“The physical location and décor of advising space send a message about the institutional role and mission of academic advising to students and parents before they ever meet with an advisor” (Folsom, 2011).

Rate Your Office Space

NACADA Research States...

- Does your space include any personal artifacts?

- Does your space reflect campus culture?

- Does your space reflect your commitment to your profession?

- Does your space build rapport with students?

Positive spaces encourages

- Exploration

- Collaboration

- Discussion

Negative spaces can carry an unspoken message of silence and disconnectedness (Eckerty, 2010).

Getting it done!

(with help)

Ask open ended questions.

Discover

2

Deliver

5

• Effective Open Ended Questions
• Active Listening
• Strength Based Story Reconstruction
• Come up with a Positive Spin!

• Energizing students to be their best
• Academic hope
• Ending the conversation well
• Follow up

Things to keep in mind...

• Its not about you!
• Watch your tone!
• Cultural differences
• Enjoy the silence
• Making eye contact
• "Thinkers" vs "Talkers"
• Be Patient!

In an ideal world...

Plan of action.

"I advise... You decide!"

Tips and Pre-requisites...

Other...

ECON?

Engineering?

Design

4

Pros / Cons

• Dream phase relies heavily on the Disarm phase
• Sharing one's dream is a very personal experience, important to be sensitive and open minded
• Nudging students to push a bit harder and reach a bit further is important here
• Don't be afraid to sow the seeds and move on (why? questions)
• Combine Discover and Dream to go to the next phase!

• Concrete
• Incremental
• Achievable goals

Dream

3

• Help students think of their dreams
• Develop it to life/career goals
• Create powerful images
• Parallel plans

Important to consider...

Is it the students dream or the parents dream?

References

Questions?

Bloom, J., Hutson, B, & He, Y. (2008). The Appreciative Advising Revolution. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing L.L.C

Chickering, A. W. (1994). Empowering lifelong self-development. NACADA Journal, 14 (2), 50-53.