IN PRODUCTION: A PRIMER ON
DEVELOPMENTAL ADVISING
Patrick Cate
Director of University Studies
Plymouth State University
Overview
 A bit of history and definitions
 A bit of theory and concepts
 A bit of practice
Introductions
 Find someone who you know the least in the
room.
 Introduce yourself to them and get to know
each other.
 Ask about their experience as an advisee or
advisor
A Brief History
 English Model - Colonial Times
 In Loco Parentis
 1820s – Kenyon College
 Faculty as advisors
 1870 – Harvard College
 Ephraim Gurney, Dean of Student Conduct
 Early 1900’s – Specialization
 Personal
 Mental Hygiene Movement
 Vocational
 Vocational Guidance
 Academic Advising
 Curriculum Guidance
A Brief History – Post WWII
 Post WWII – Curriculum Issues/ GI Issues
 Many new and diverse curricular changes.
 Specialist needed to provide guidance.
 Today?
First Era of Advising
 Colonial to 1870
 Close knit community, somewhat elitist
 Focus on “Sharpening the mind.”
 Set Curriculum.
Second Era of Advising
 With changes in curriculum came the need
for specialists.
 Advisors were unclear in role
 “Student Personnel Point of View” A.C.E 1949
Third Era of Advising
 1970 to present
 Burlington VT – 1977 – NACADA
 Advising as an “examined activity.”
 Styles or delivery models introduced.
(Habley)
 Crookston and O’Banion. (1972)
Traditional (Prescriptive) Vs.
Developmental Advising
Prescriptive Advising:
 Authoritarian in Nature
 Knowledge is one-sided.
 There is a “right” answer.
Traditional (Prescriptive) Vs.
Developmental Advising
Developmental Advising:
 Is more dialogue than monologue.
 Student driven.
 There are “good” answers.
It Always Has Been About
Advising…
 The ten generations of Higher Education
 Sharpening the mind vs. vocational training
 Public good vs. private control
 Political vs. apolitical
Altbach, P., Berdahl, R.& Gumport, P. (Eds.).
(1999). American higher education in the twenty-
first century: Social, political, and economic
challenges. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Future of Advising
 What do we see as trends in our students?
 What do we see as qualifications for advisors?
 Who shapes the decisions on your campus?
ADVISING AND DEVELOPMENTAL
THEORIES
Why Theory Matters
AAP must be:
 integrated into the life of the institution
 intentional and coherent
 guided by theories and knowledge of
learning and development
 reflective to needs of individuals, diverse
and special populations, and relevant
constituencies
Crookston 1972
 Advising is “concerned with not only the
specific personal or vocational decision but
with facilitating the student’s rational
processes, environmental and interpersonal
interactions, behavioral awareness, and
problem-solving, decision-making and
evaluation skills.”
Terry O’Banion’s Model
(1972)
 Exploration of Life Goals
 Exploration of Career/Educational Goals
 Selection of Educational Programs
 Selection of Courses
 Scheduling of Classes
O'Banion, T. (1972). An academic advising model.
Junior College Journal, 42, 62-69.
Exploration of Life Goals
What you may need:
 Knowledge of student
characteristics and
development.
 Understanding of the
student’s decision-making
process.
 Knowledge of Socioeconomic history.
 Skills in counseling
techniques.
 Appreciation of individual
differences
 Belief in worth and
dignity of all
 Belief that all have
potential
What you could do:
 Goals Setting activities
 Life Story
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Obituary
Speakers Introduction
 “Big” questions in life.
Schedule
Coursework
Program Choice
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
Exploration of Career/Educational Goals
What you may need:
 Knowledge of vocational
fields.
 Skill in interpretation of
tests or knowledge of
resources that can.
What you could do:
 Career Assessment tests
 Choices or similar
program
 Keep life goals in mind.
 Understanding of
changing nature of work
in society.
 Acceptance of all fields of
work as having worth.
Schedule
Coursework
Program Choice
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
Selection of Educational Programs
(Choosing a Major)
What you may need:
 Knowledge of programs
available.
 Knowledge of
requirements of programs
(special entrance
requirements, fees, time
commitments)
 Knowledge of university
requirements for transfer
programs
 Knowledge of how others
have performed in the
program
 knowledge of successes of
those who have completed
the program
What you could do:
 Go over academic catalog
 Discuss academic history
 Use Monster.com
Careerbuilder.com or
similar.
 Keep in mind life and
career goals.
Schedule
Coursework
Program Choice
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
Coursework Choice
(Choosing electives, minors and/or general education courses)
What you may need:
What you could do:

knowledge of courses available

knowledge of any special
information regarding courses

rules and regulations of the
college regarding probation
and suspension, limit on course
load (academic and work
limitations)

knowledge of honors courses
or remedial courses
Schedule

knowledge of course content
Coursework
Program Choice
•Know your students
enough to help them
understand their academic
prowess.
•Discuss how hard they
want to work… do they
want to take the amount
of classes it takes to
graduate in four years?
•Help them connect these
decisions with previous
goals.
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
Scheduling Courses
What You Need:
 Knowledge of schedule
 Knowledge of the systems
of scheduling and
changing the schedule
 Knowledge of employment
and commuting
requirements
Schedule
Coursework
Program Choice
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
What you do:
 Explain the technological
requirements for
scheduling
 Assist student with time
management skills
 Have them write out all
requirements of time;
classes, work, commuting,
co-curriculars.
 Keep in mind all stages.
Building Blocks of Developmental
Advising
Schedule
Coursework
Program Choice
Exploration of
Career/Educational Goals
Exploration of Life Goals
James Marcia (based on Erikson’s work )
 Identity Diffusion – No identity crisis and no
real decisions have been made.
 Identity Foreclosure - No identity crisis and
have accepted whatever has been told to
them. “My mother is a doctor…”
 Identity Moratorium – Currently in crisis and
may avoid the decision out of sheer
confusion.
 Identity Achievement – Successful
completion of a crisis. Identity established
Marcia, J. E., (1966), Development and validation of ego identity status, Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 3, pp. 551-558
Chickering
 Developing Competence
 Managing Emotions
 Moving through Autonomy toward
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Interdependence
Developing Mature Interpersonal
Relationships
Establishing Identity
Developing Purpose
Developing Integrity
Vygotsky
 Russian – more popular after death.
 Proximal Development
 the distance between the actual developmental
level as determined by independent problem
solving and the level of potential development as
determined through problem solving under adult
guidance, or in collaboration with more capable
peers
 Video about Proximal Development
Kohlberg
 Level 1. Preconventional Morality
 Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment
Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange
 Level 2. Conventional Morality
 Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships
Stage 4 - Maintaining Social Order
 Level 3. Postconventional Morality
 Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights
Stage 6 - Universal Principles
Perry
 Dualism (either/or thinking). Students in this stage believe
there is a single right answer to all questions. They believe
that learning involves taking notes, memorizing facts, and
later depositing facts on exams.
 Multiplicity (subjective knowledge). Students in this stage
believe that knowledge is just an opinion, and students and
faculty are equally entitled to believe in the veracity of their
own opinions. They may rebel at faculty criticism of their
work, attributing it to capricious whim and faculty inability
to recognize the value in alternative perspectives.
 Relativism (constructed knowledge). Students at this level
recognize that opinions are based on values, experiences,
and knowledge. They can argue their perspective and
consider the relative merit of alternative arguments by
evaluating the quality of the evidence.
Holland
 Realistic - practical, physical, hands-on, tool
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oriented
Investigative - analytical, intellectual, scientific,
explorative
Artistic - creative, original, independent, chaotic
Social - cooperative, supporting, helping,
healing/nurturing
Enterprising - competitive environments,
leadership, persuading
Conventional - detail-oriented, organizing,
clerical
Lots More!
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V. Tinto
Wes Habley
V. Gordon
P. Terrenzini
Gardner
Kuh
D. Super
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/Advis
ingIssues/documents/Suggested-Readings-inAcademic-Advising.pdf
So What?
 There are many more….who did you like?
 Do these all fit together?
 If so, how?
Practice
 Case studies in handout
 Video
Good Luck!