Running head: SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
Connecting the Science of Learning to Academic Advising
Veronica Vazquez
EDU510
Dr. Mary Mills
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SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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Part one: Analysis & Application
Mental Representations
Example
Instructional Event/Strategies
Logic: Logic is our way of
reasoning, the thought process that
occurs in efforts to arrive at
particular conclusion and it could be
deductive or inductive (Cognitive
Science, 2014). In a sense, logic
works similarly to the way building
blocks do in efforts to construct a
whole picture. In deductive
reasoning individuals are given a
“premise” or a statement indicating
some sort of fact or truth. Then the
individual makes an inquiry based
on that premise and finally the
individual arrives at a conclusion
that is in line and supported by the
initial statement. Inductive
reasoning works by examining
several outcomes that follow a
similar train of thought where there
is a clear interconnection amongst
them and based on this connection
the individual arrives at a
conclusion.
An example of logic involves nontraditional college students deciding
on how many courses to take per
Module. Students need to use
logical reasoning to decide on the
level of academic load they wish to
commit to at any given time
throughout their academic career
(where). Students who asses their
academic load will have a greater
chance at successfully completing
the courses they enroll in (why).
Prior to the beginning of the Module
students must decide how many
courses they wish to enroll in and it
is at this time that their desire to
graduate sooner can cloud their
judgment when making course
selections (when). Scheduling a
meeting with the Academic Advisor
will give students the opportunity to
consult their plans with an
educational professional who can
help them assess their academic
load, analyze the outcomes of other
students in similar situations and
evaluate the length of time it would
take to complete their program if
they increase or decrease their academic
load (how).
Deciding on how many courses to
take per Module: Strategy 1:
Meaningful Interaction with
Academic Advisor. Scheduling
meeting with their academic advisor
gives the student an opportunity to
discuss their educational goals,
evaluate the demands of the
academic load they wish to take and
reflect on the demands of their daily
life and work schedule to get a
realistic view of the expectations
(Hughey, 2011). The academic
advisor can share their expertise
with the student on various
outcomes from other students in
similar situations in efforts to help
them arrive at their own conclusion.
The academic advisor can also
provide students with an overview
of degree completion based on the
premise of being a full time versus
part-time student to give them an
idea of how this particular decision
will impact their expected
graduation date. Strategy 2:
Offering regular Workshops
designed to address strategies and
tips to achieve life-school balance
while working towards timely
graduation. Students will learn in a
group setting how to achieve
balance between their course work
and life demands in addition to how
to determine their expected
graduation date considering various
scenarios in relation to academic
load. This is a type of setting that
not only offers students an
opportunity for knowledge
acquisition, but it also helps them
feel connected to one another as
well as to the institution (Boretz,
2012).
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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Mental Representations
Example
Instructional Event/Strategies
Rules: Rules are used to maintain
some sort of order in our world and
they are what make structure,
processes and procedures possible.
An easy way to recognize them is by
their “if”/“then” nature, similar to a
cause-and-effect relationship
(Cognitive Science, 2014). The
context they represent is as broad
as the rules themselves for example
they can be used to construct
language and effective
communication and well as to define
acceptable societal behavior
(Cognitive Science, 2014).
An example involving rules in a
higher education setting can be
college students learning APA Style
Guidelines. Students at a college
level must develop mastery of the
APA Style guidelines so they can
successfully complete their courses
and eventually graduate from the
University (where). It is essential
for college students to become
knowledgeable about APA Style
format in order to effectively write
papers at the expected caliber of a
college student and earn good
grades to successfully complete the
required courses within their
program (why). By accessing
University and external resources on
APA Style, seeking teacher support
and practicing writing papers
students will be able to master the
APA Style guidelines (how).
Mastering APA Style: Strategy 1:
Students are encouraged by their
professors as well as their academic
advisor to invest time in reviewing
the APA Style resources made
available to them within each
course. These resources include
videos, links, as well as samples of
APA Style papers. Becoming
familiar with the APA Style
guidelines and format is the best
way for students to learn this
information (McDonald, 2011).
Academic advisors should reach out
to new students to make sure they
are aware of additional University
resources that can help them
improve on their writing skills such
as The Writing Center. They can
also refer students to proper
external sites such as Purdue Owl
for additional assistance 24/7.
Strategy 2: The academic advisor
encourages students to attend
writing workshops being held at the
University to take advantage of oneon-one assistance with an English
professor to improve and further
develop their writing skills. The
academic advisor keeps students
informed on the frequency of these
workshops, as well as the time, date
and location of the events.
Workshops are great way to meet
the needs of the students despite
the different levels of writing skills
they possess (Farrell & TigheMooney (2013).
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
Mental Representations
Concepts: Concepts are our
impression of things but they can
also signify incidents (Cognitive
Science, 2014) and it is the way in
which we interpret the world around
us. They help us understand and
make sense of the world we live in
and can also serve as a vehicle to
help us connect and relate to one
another. Concepts are also
universal (Cognitive Science, 2014)
so even if our background is
different or a language barrier is
encountered people can still manage
to understand each other.
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Example
Instructional Event/Strategies
A good example of concepts in
higher education can be promoting a
sense of community in online
classroom. Instructors teaching an
online class may be faced with the
challenge of developing a sense of
community within their classroom in
efforts to foster an environment of
comradery and support to promote
academic achievement (where). It
is important for online instructors to
create a teaching and learning
environment where students feel
that they are part of a community,
by doing this students will become
more active and therefore more
prone to learn by interacting with
peers, the instructor and the course
materials (why). When a new
online class starts the instructor will
make use of various strategies and
activities to increase the student
interaction with each other as well
as provide individualized feedback to
each of the students (When).
Instructors can help students
increase their sense of community
within their online class by
implementing a learner –centered
approach (how).
Fostering a Sense of Community in
an Online Classroom. Strategy 1:
Activities to Break the Ice- At the
start of every online class
instructors will moderate a series of
activities to get the students to
interact with one another in a more
informal basis. Students have an
opportunity to share their personal
stories, talk about their hobbies and
make connections with other online
learners who share similar interests
or backgrounds promoting a sense
of community and belonging within
the class (Shackelford & Maxwell,
2012). Strategy 2: Small Group
Discussion. Via small group
discussions students are able to
focus on discussing a topic and this
stimulates them to learn from one
another which minimize the feeling
that they are learning by
themselves. It is a way to
invigorate the class by having a
close group of students working
together towards a common goal
helping and supporting each other
along the way (Shackelford &
Maxwell, 2012).
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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Mental Representations
Example
Instructional Event/Strategies
Analogies/Cases: Analogies are
key components in human reasoning
and they are present whenever we
are resolving problems, making
decisions and communicating as well
as recalling information or when
adding new information into the mix
(Cognitive Science, 2014).
Analogies are very useful in
understanding the human mind
because they bring a correlation
between two things, particularly
when we are dealing with complex
concepts. Using analogies can help
us understand complex concepts by
using something that we already
know and applying it to this new
context in a way that this new
relationship makes sense to us.
Example: Analogies can be used in
an academic advising setting to
uncover hidden feelings from the
student. Students sometimes can
be reserved, an advisor can use
analogies to associate feelings to a
situation in order to assess the level
of intensity in student emotions in
relation to that particular situation
(where). Identifying the
appropriate level of intensity in
student emotions is important for an
academic advisor to better guide
their students as in many occasions
students themselves are not aware
of how strongly the feel towards a
particular incident or situation
(why). During an advising meeting
the academic advisor asks openended questions, interprets body
language and engages in active
listening (when). By using
analogies the academic advisor can
uncover intense feelings without
having the student express it in
words which leads to a better
understanding of who the student is,
their goals and aspirations, their
skills and limitations, all in effort to
connect them with appropriate
resources to enhance the areas
where they may be lacking (how).
Uncovering Hidden Feelings:
Strategy: Asking insightful questions
incorporating the use of analogies.
Asking insightful questions can
provide the academic advisor with
much needed information about a
student’s goal and aspirations and
areas where they feel they may
need improvement ( Hughey, 2011).
When trying to uncover for example
the student level of frustration with
a Math course an advisor could ask
the student something along the
lines of: “So when you worked hard
on your math assignment all week
and received a lower grade than
expected, did you feel like
somebody pulled the rug under your
feet? Strategy 2: Active listening:
Engaging in active listening is
necessary to make appropriate short
responses that let students know
that they are being heard and that
you are following what they are
saying. Implementing the use of
analogies throughout the
conversation can help the advisor
decipher the emotions behind what
the student is trying to say in efforts
to view the situation from their
perspective (Hughey, 2011).
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
Mental Representations
Images: Images are basically
mental pictures and they are
considered to be very effective in
learning process as a greater
amount of information and detail
can be accessed when retrieving a
mental picture than when trying to
remember a conversation or lecture
(Cognitive Science, 2014). Mental
pictures can be very useful during
problem-solving activities.
Individuals can close their eyes and
retrieve a mental picture of
something that they learned a while
ago in efforts to apply that
knowledge in a current setting.
They can also be used as great
motivators like when people say ”go
to your happy place”. This is a way
of escaping reality for a second and
imagining yourself at a different
setting as a way to relieve some
stress.
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Example
Instructional Event/Strategies
Example: Images can be used in
academic advising as a way to
motivate students during advising
meetings with at risk students
(where). Academic advisors can
use images to help students recall
the feelings of excitement they
experienced when they decided to
attend college (where). By doing
this, the academic advisor can get
students invigorated once more with
the learning process which is
essential to academic achievement
and student success (why).
Through meaningful interactions
with their academic advisor the
advisee has an opportunity reflect
on stresses of daily life and accepts
that his/her current motivation state
needs uplifting, at this time the use
of mental images associated with
personal success can be used
(how).
Using Images to Promote Student
Motivation. Strategy 1. Positive
Self-Image: During advising
meetings with students who show
poor levels of academic performance
and motivation, the academic
advisor can take this opportunity to
promote positive self-image (Ensign
& Woods, 2014). A way to
accomplish this is by having the
students picture themselves walking
through the stage on graduation day
and grabbing that diploma. This
mental image can spark a sense of
excitement as accomplished
individuals in efforts to help them
persist throughout their educational
journey. Strategy 2. Getting
students to think back on how they
felt when they decided to go college,
how big where they smiling, how
proud they felt when they told their
friends and family members that
they were embarking in this
academic journey can help revive
the student motivation in setting
goals (Ensign & Woods, 2014).
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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Part Two: Connections/Reflections
Exploring the science of how the brain learns new information and connecting to teaching and
learning has been a fascinating and arduous experience. Currently working in an academic
advising setting for undergraduate students enroll in an online program, I can see how these
concepts can also be applied to my current setting. The field of Academic Advising is one that
deals heavily with student emotions, learning processes and learning styles, student motivation as
well as academic achievement. By better understanding how the brain works Academic Advisors
can implement intervention strategies that are more effective and conducive to student academic
success, student retention and persistence.
Becoming aware on the roles that logic, rules, concepts, analogies and images play in the student
learning experience was an eye-opening experience. At the beginning, I associated logic with
conventional knowledge. Now, understanding how individuals engage in logical reasoning to
arrive at a certain conclusion is a knowledge that I can utilize when guiding my students at the
moment of making academic decisions. Rules to me were always guidelines and regulations, but
I failed to see them as I do now in a cause-and-effect- type of light (Cognitive Science, 2014).
Concepts I was pretty much familiar with, however, I was surprised to learn during my research
how many online students feel isolated as a result of the asynchronous learning (Shackelford &
Maxwell, 2012). Analogies have commonly being used as an effective tool in understanding
complex concepts but I was not aware of how useful they can be in uncovering student level of
emotions in relation to a particular event or situation (Hughey, 2011). I consider myself to be a
very visual individual, I believe that the feeling you get when imagining a desire outcome can be
an instant motivational technique. When students are able to visualize themselves achieving a
desired goal it enhances their self-image and it will no longer be as unattainable as they once
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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thought (Ensign & Woods, 2014).
The Academic Advising field can benefit from a more in-depth understanding of the brain
functionalities not only so that they can share a common ground with educators who are wellversed in these topics but also so they can have more meaningful interactions with their students
in efforts to foster academic achievement.
SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING
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References
Boretz, E. (2012). Midsemester Academic Interventions in a Student-Centered Research
University. Journal Of College Reading And Learning, 42(2), 90-108.
Cognitive Science (2014). In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/
Ensign, J., & Woods, A. (2014). Strategies for Increasing Academic Achievement in Higher
Education. JOPERD: The Journal Of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 85(6), 1722
Farrell, A., & Tighe-Mooney, S. (2013). Process and Product: Supporting Academic Writing in
Higher Education. Aishe-J: The All Ireland Journal Of Teaching & Learning In Higher
Education, 5(1), 1101-11018.
Hughey, J. K. (2011). Strategies to Enhance Interpersonal Relations in Academic Advising.
NACADA Journal, 31(2), 22-32
McDonald, K. (2011). Teaching the 6th Edition of APA Style of Writing in Counselor Education.
Journal Of Counselor Preparation & Supervision, 3(2), 123-144.
Shackelford, J. L., & Maxwell, M. (2012). Sense of Community in Graduate Online Education:
Contribution of Learner to Learner Interaction. International Review Of Research In
Open And Distance Learning, 13(4), 228-249.