Advice for Advising

"Changing Advising Through Assessment" - Richard Light

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Providing students with advisors is one of the many benefits of learning at a higher education institution. Due to the changes in generations and learning styles, advisors need to evaluate how effective their advising techniques are. Richard Light enlisted a group of Harvard university advisors, faculty, and administration to discuss and implement new initiatives to improve the role of the advisor. 

The committee agreed to allow the faculty and current advisors to decide the projects to pursue and define the assessment projects. I think this is such a smart idea for two reasons: it highlights the strengths of some of the committee members and maximizes the potential for growth and creates stakeholders who are interested in the project and have the desire to see it through.

Engagement. The ideal goal all educators have for their students. But with only 15-20 hours a week in the classroom, it’s hard to ensure that students remain on top of their studies. “How students choose to study and complete their homework assignments outside of class is a far stronger predictor of engagement and learning than were particular details of their instructors’ teaching styles” (Light, 9).

One example of using the time outside of the classroom as opportunity for advancement is creating a living learning community within students’ residential facilities. “By capitalizing on the students’ common experience, leadership can add a more substantive, academic tone to at least one aspect of dorm life” (Light, 12). I see this community of learning put to use each day in my job as a Residence Director for a fraternity; the men have a bond through their brotherhood, which allows for a solid starting point to further their growth as both leaders and learners.

I responded strongly to the idea of having peer-to-peer interviews to conduct the research. Putting things “in layman’s terms” has shown to be very effective in several of my educational experiences. This also allows the assessment results to be more authentic and provide better data for the researchers. 

Assessment provides individuals with feedback on what it is they are doing, what they are hoping to do, and the measures to achieve these aspirations. In Light's assessment as well as the projects our class will be constructed, the focus is on the betterment of the holistic development of students. 

"Look how hard they studied because they had an opportunity"