Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of articles written by students who were enrolled in Jennifer Bloom's spring 2008 graduate course in the higher education and student affairs program at the University of South Carolina. As part of her course syllabus, Dr. Bloom required each student in her class to submit an article to The Mentor or other publications for consideration.
Introduction
In the world of academic advising, the Appreciative Advising model is the hot topic (Bloom, Hutson, & He, in press). Academic advisers continually strive to build better, more positive relationships with their students, and incorporating Appreciative Advising skills can help them to achieve this end. As college enrollments continue to grow, however, so have advising loads, and thus there do not seem to be enough hours in the day for advisers to meet individually with each and every student. Take, for example, the following situation:
Kate is a sophomore print-journalism student at a big research university. As she approaches the end of the spring semester, she starts thinking about which classes she will take in the fall. As an incoming junior, she anticipates taking upper-level courses in her major, but she needs to meet with her adviser to be cleared for registration. She goes by her adviser's office and sees an announcement posted for all print-journalism majors. She instantly gets a knot in her stomach. Due to the high number of students her adviser had to see last semester, it was difficult to schedule an appointment.. She hopes this semester will be easier. Instead of the usual sign-up sheet for one-on-one sessions, Kate notices that group advising sessions will be used this time. There appear to be several options for the group advising sessions. Kate is not familiar with group advising, but decides that it can't be that bad. She has never had any big problems with her schedule, and she is excited at the idea of being advised with her classmates, so that she will know who is taking which classes. She writes down the times of the sessions and makes a mental note to look over the course listing before attending the session. She wants to go into the session with a plan, since she figures most of the others will do the same. Though Kate is a little nervous about not getting any individual attention during the group advising session, she is excited to share in the advising process with her fellow classmates. At least they'll have each other for support.
With college enrollment continuing to escalate and funding for higher education continuing to decline, we may see institutions relying more heavily on group advising. Therefore, it is important to know how to effectively use the group advising method. This paper advocates using the principles of Appreciative Advising to enhance the quality of group advising initiatives.
The Appreciative Advising Method
“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 potentials” (Bloom, in press). There are six phases in Appreciative Advising—Disarm, Discovery, Dream, Design, Deliver, and Don't settle. These phases are designed to help draw out our students' stories as they visualize their academic and professional futures. By helping students establish specific goals, energizing students to follow through on their plans, and serving as a continuous support system, Appreciative Advising is geared toward helping students become successful.
Infusing Appreciative Advising Techniques into Group Advising Settings
The six phases of Appreciative Advising can easily be incorporated into group advising settings. In the end, students may find Appreciative Advising-infused group advising sessions more beneficial than individual advising sessions due to the opportunity to interact with, and learn from, their fellow students. Take, for example, the first phase, the Disarm phase. This phase begins as soon as the students walk into the advising session. They are likely to be a little apprehensive about talking with a group of students that they do not know. As advisers, it is our job “to create a safe, welcoming environment for students” (Bloom Hutson, & He, in press). We can do this by first having each student introduce themselves. We can also set ground rules at the beginning of the session. These rules would include emphasizing the importance of accepting and respecting other students' ideas and passions in order to create a safe environment for every student. We must also encourage students to think independently and not feel pressured to mimic the ideas of their peers. Finally, we must encourage students to feel “free to interrupt and ask questions” (Hammond, 1999, ¶ 5). They should feel comfortable interacting and engaging in each other's stories. It would also be appropriate to teach students how to be active listeners and how to use positive nonverbal body language when listening to their classmates' stories. If the adviser establishes these ground rules at the beginning of the session, students will feel more comfortable as they participate and share their stories in the subsequent phases.
The second phase, the Discovery phase, is all about asking the right questions and learning from one another. In this phase, the think-pair-share technique would be useful. This technique is used to get several students involved in conversation when in a group setting. As the adviser, you pose open-ended questions to your students and ask them to think about their answers individually, then pair off and discuss their answers with each other. Some of them will then share their answers with the group (Ledlow, 2001). Having students share and listen to each others' stories will allow students to feed off and be inspired by each other's stories. As an undergraduate, I always looked forward to the group advising sessions, because they gave me the opportunity to hear from my peers and express my own hopes for the future. We know that students are usually most comfortable talking openly with their peers, so bringing a peer group into an advising session can potentially make the discovery phase more effective.
Some may suggest that advising students in a group setting will hinder their ability to open up. By including carefully crafted questions and establishing a safe environment for sharing, the group advising session should be effective. Advisers can show students genuine interest in hearing their dreams and passions by actively listening to their conversations and using relevant follow-up questions to encourage them to elaborate on their thoughts.
The third step in Appreciative Advising is the Dream phase. In this phase, advisers assist students in creating a vision for the future and then help them develop goals for their careers and lives (Bloom et al., in press). As in the Discover phase, the group advising setting allows students to feed off each other's ideas and learn from each other's experiences. The think-pair-share technique (Allen, 2002) would also be beneficial in this phase, because it would allow students to hear not only each other's passions but also each other's challenges. This creates connections among students that can help them function more effectively and make better decisions in their own lives (Allen, 2002). For example, a sophomore thinking about changing his major may find comfort in hearing the story of another student who struggled with the same situation and was able to work through the process.
The fourth phase, the Design phase, is when the students' dreams come to life in the form of concrete plans that prepare them to achieve their goals (Bloom et al., in press). In this phase, group advising will likely be most effective in that it allows students to feed off each other's creativity as they develop their action plans. Students will be able to utilize the resources and experiences of their peers in the session. For example, if Kate is looking for a summer internship at a magazine and another student in the session participated in a similar internship last summer, she might be able to use the same contacts or strategies to find her own internship. In this way, students serve as motivators for each other in working toward achieving their goals.
The fifth phase in Appreciative Advising is the Deliver phase, when the students put their plans into action. During this phase, advisers continue to support the students through their challenges and successes and as they refine their goals (Bloom et al., in press). This phase is focused on each student individually pursuing his/her goals, but through the group advising dynamic, students can also support each other as well as serve as accountability partners, motivating each other to continue working toward their goals. This accountability technique will help students connect with each other and form relationships built on encouragement and, ultimately, success.
The last phase is the Don't settle phase. In this phase, advisers continue to support and encourage students in reaching and refining their goals. Advisers motivate students to reach their full potentials. This involves encouraging students to raise their own expectations of themselves (Bloom et al, 2008). Group advising settings will provide more people to support and challenge each student, and this phase will emphasize the importance of refusing to settle for mediocrity. Advisers can show their students that it is possible for them to meet all of their goals if they continue to work hard and believe in themselves.
Conclusion
Group advising is a unique process. It is not just about helping students figure out what they want to do with their lives; it is also about teaching them how to be respectful of others, their stories, their viewpoints, and their dreams. Group advising sessions give advisers the opportunity to teach students how to positively interact with their peers and support each other. It allows students to learn from each other's creativity and apply these lessons in their own lives. Infusing Appreciative Advising into group advising sessions can be an innovative way for academic advisers to deal with growing enrollments and advising loads.