Posts tagged: developmental advising

Supporting Students: Alternatives to Questions in Academic Advising

February 15, 2012, by 2 comments

In a previous article, I spoke about the problem with questions in academic advising. Here is a summary of the potential downsides to overusing them in our conversations with students:

  • Builds the student’s hope that you will eventually offer a solution
  • Teaches students to passively respond to questions instead of actively participate in a co-constructed dialogue
  • May foster defensiveness (especially with lots of “why” questions)

You might wonder what this looks like in a conversation. Mitchell (2009) described Read more →

The Problem with Questions in Academic Advising

January 11, 2012, by 7 comments

Asking questions is overrated. Chances are, however, that if you’re an academic advisor then you’ve probably been told otherwise. You may believe that questions are one of the most powerful tools in your advisor tool box. Maybe you even have some favorites; the ones that really make your students think or lead to profound insights. Don’t get me wrong, an effective question can help students critically evaluate their issues and lead to resolution but just for once, let’s talk about the potential downside to questions. Read more →

Academic Advising TIP: Theory Into Practice

July 3, 2011, by 2 comments

There’s more than one way to do academic advising. We wear many hats. Sometimes we act as mentors/coaches who diligently guide students through their educational journey. Other times we function as expert consultants who provide information and offer advice. With all these different approaches, who determines which is best? Where do our ideas about “good” academic advising come from? Academic advising theory addresses these questions.  So what’s your theory?

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