Which will fit?

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As I evaluate learning theories, I have to try and figure out which one will fit with my beliefs and the needs of my learners within the environment I aim to create with them.

Here are some questions I’m asking myself:

• Why is the learning theory that resonates with me better than the other theories for my situation?
•  Why is this learning theory better for my learning environment? For my students?
•  What makes this theory better than the alternatives? More applicable? More valid? More valuable?
•  How do I apply all that to advising?

Do I believe in what we are doing now in the ADL program?

Experiencing the constructivist principles of:

• Learning by doing.
•  Being inquisitive.
•  Seeking answers and examples ourselves.
•  Reflecting on our past experiences and current learning opportunities
•  Looking to the future for innovative ways to address problems/challenges

Actively searching and learning is how I live my life, personally. I’m always watching YouTube videos and performing searches online to learn about whatever interests me or whatever I am experiencing in life. I have become a resource of information on any topic that draws my attention. Isn’t this constructivist approach what resonates with me the most?

Isn’t it exciting that constructivism could impact advising? Hasn’t it been frustrating that “Advising is Teaching,” found on our professional organization’s merchandise, didn’t quite fit your current role of being prescriptive and informative? Isn’t the whole point of innovating advising moving the repetitive and prescriptive parts of the job? Successfully executed, the advising resource will make available online 24/7 so that there are resources to direct students to when questions arise. Isn’t the goal of providing more meaningful interactions to develop deeper advisor-advisee relationships, as the literature indicates, valuable to student success and degree attainment?

What if your desire to guide students and change lives looks like constructivist advising? 

Words that resonate with me are student-centered, personal development, authentic relationships, learning in the collectives, and developing a learner’s mindset and disposition.