Marsha MillerNACADA Assistant DirectorKansas State University miller@ksu.edu

With thanks to Jennifer Joslin, Becky Ryan, Maura Reynolds, Casey Self, and Kathy Stockwell

Focusing the lens:

Crafting successful advisor training and development sessions

Session Learning Objectives

• Delineate advisor training & development (AT&D) topics appropriate for your advisors

• Review steps to a successful AT&D program • Create and share a sample AT&D inservice

workshop session• Explore resources that support effective advisor

workshop sessions

Note: For our purposes “advisor training and development “ is shortened to “AT&D”

Write down three topics you would like to see addressed in advisor training and

development on your campus

Share the topic you most want to address in a future AT&D activity for your advisors.

What components should be included in a comprehensive advisor training

and development program?

Three components of quality advisingInformational

What advisors need to know; includes internal and external environment, student needs, & advisor self knowledge.

RelationalThe skills advisors need to possess in order to do their

jobs effectively

ConceptualWhat advisors must understand

Let’s Review -AT&D Components

Let’s Review! Definitions

Training: activities undertaken per-service through advisors’ first year.

Development: ongoing education and learning that academic advisors receive after the first year and throughout their careers.

Givans Voller, Miller, and Neste, 2010

Comprehensive advisor training and development: Practices that deliver

For our purposes “advisor training and development “ is shortened to “AT&D”

Let’s try it out!

Look at your list of AT&D needs

• How do you know these are needs? • Who needs it? Who wants this information?• Why is this information important?• Who will provide the training? Where? How?• Who will assess the effectiveness of AT&D? • Will there be follow-up to AT&D?

» B Borns (2002)

Is there an “easy button”?

At the MACRO level

Steps to creating a comprehensive advisor training and development PROGRAM in Tuesday’s Foundations session

NACADA Certification Task Force, 2003

Program Examples at the Macro (Program) Level

Informational, Relational & Conceptual Examples

• Higginson’s framework for training program content• University of Iowa Growth Chart• Fox Valley Tech• M21 Comprehensive advisor training and development: Practices that deliver

Building an AT&D program beyond policy manuals for faculty advisors

• Consider topics that are “out of the box” • Recruit presenters with a passion• Faculty present to faculty• Start small (no more than an eight session series) and build• Don’t “train” faculty (Master Advisor)• Don’t “box in” faculty; encourage them to cultivate and grow

• “capacity building” is the new NSF term

Alexander, R.A. (March, 2012). Building Advising Workshops with

Native Materials. Academic Advising Today 35 (1).

From Macro (Program level) to Micro (session)

Teaching is less about what the teacher does and more about what the teacher gets the students to do.

David Perkins, 1993

From Macro (program) to Micro (session)

Craft an AT&D session

Advising as Teaching Workshop “lesson plan”

Based upon the work of Madeline Hunter

• Clear objectives• Standards of performance• Materials/resources needed • Anticipatory set• Input• Modeling• Check for Understanding (assessment strategies)• Guided practice• Closure• Independent Practice

Alexander’s Building Advising Workshops with Native Materials

Craft an AT&D session

Example

Beyond FERPA: Understanding legal issues in advising

Craft an AT&D session

• Each table assigned one topic from the list • 20 minutes to craft an AT&D opportunity to address your topic• Place group’s topic and activity on poster paper • One member of your group share with the room

Delivery Venues

AT&D is not an isolated eventLunch ‘n Learns / Brown Bag lunches (Maura Reynolds’ list of

articles to use for training and development)

NewslettersWeb pagesBook clubsWeekly advising tips posted on electronic bulletin board1-2 hour workshops during staff development days

AT&D Resources

Articles to use for training & development list

Scenes for Learning and Reflection: An Academic Advising Professional Development DVD

Scene 1: Adult learner returning to college Scene 2: Lack of progress Scene 3: Upset transfer student Scene 4: Advisor error Scene 5: First-generation student Scene 6: Student complaint Scene 7: Student with personal issues Scene 8: Advising a student athlete Scene 9: Faculty advisor & FERPA privacy issues Scene 10:  Proactive parenting

•Scene 1:  Peer advising •Scene 2:  Advising the high achieving student •Scene 3:  Student in search of the ideal major •Scene 4:  Difficult student shopping for an answer •Scene 5:  Probation student academic priorities •Scene 6:  Student athlete returning after academic dismissal •Scene 7:  Group advising using an advising syllabus •Scene 8:  Returning veteran facing adjustment issues •Scene 9:  Privacy issues in phone advising •Scene 10: Student discloses depression

Resources to help craft AT&D

Curriculum: What we teach advisorsPedagogy: How we teach the material to advisorsLearning Outcomes: What advisors learn

Final Thoughts Focusing the lens: Crafting successful

advisor training and development sessions