Category: Reflecting

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Humor, Innovation Plan, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Research

Academic Writing & Mindset

The Advisor That Cares

I greatly appreciate Dr. Meeuwse holding office hours. This has rejuvenized the collaborative aspect of learning that I enjoy (and miss) so very much. I love that we have a facilitator who genuinely wants to help us be successful in our writing. I have picked up some great tips for approaching this literature review. I already feel more comfortable and familiar with the content of my research. I still really struggle to articulate how I believe my innovation plans are innovative and are the first of many steps toward a better experience for students and advisors.

Last week, Dr. Meeuwse shared a tip on her research approach during her doctoral experience.

She gave a beautiful nugget of knowledge when she suggested we approach paraphrasing by making bullet points of no more than two words (citing the source as we go) while reviewing relevant literature.

Tonight she gave additional details.

Read the article through, read it aloud, making bullet points with in-text citations, then put it away (the source material). Go and write sentences from memory (trying not to return to the source material so you aren’t tempted to reuse the authors’ words or meanings instead of expressing your learning).

This program’s craftsmanship never ceases to amaze me. I have a very specific visual image in my head of Dr. Harapnuik telling us how sneakily he manipulates us into learning.

Embarking on this course, I really had to give myself a pep talk. I dreaded whichever class had another one of those dang lit reviews. I forced myself to reflect as those old patterns of panic tried to creep in. Almost immediately, I recognized that I had to own whether or not I had embraced and accepted a learner’s mindset. Would I let research and academic writing scare me away from the authentic work I have been doing throughout this program to bring flipped advising to life?

Looking at the work I have completed up to this point in the program made me recognize that I am very familiar with my innovation plan. I am approaching my research efforts with much more specificity than my first attempt at a literature review. I definitely have a better understanding of the point of the darn thing. I am still struggling to explain what I hope to do with flipped advising and how students accurately identifying coursework for registration is the first significant step forward for our advisors and students.

Nonetheless, by standing on multiple means of support found in the literature, I will have a clearer picture of exactly how action research will guide the process toward revolutionizing advising.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Research

Professional Learning Plans

The Advisor That Cares

In my quest for research for my action research literature review, I came across an article that immediately made me think of my professional learning plans. Specifically when looking to the future of professional learning and how an innovation to advising could transform advising interactions.

Screenshot of "Looking to the Future" section of linked webpage.

Academic Tutors/Advisors and Students Working in Partnership: Negotiating and Co-creating in “The Third Space”

I did not even realize it, but this is an exciting “perspective piece” to find as a wonderful confirmation of what I envisioned throughout my professional learning plans that include this type of peer partnership.

Reference

McIntosh, E. A., Steele, G. E., & Grey, D. (2020). Academic tutors/advisors and students working in partnership: Negotiating and co-creating in “The third space.” Frontiers in Education, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.528683

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Humor, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Reflecting, Research

Am I a researcher?

The Advisor That Cares
Image of authors workspace. A pair of reading glasses is resting on a spiral notebook with a background of a full box of pens, a highlighter, John Dewey's book, and a cup of cream topped coffee sits on a coffee warmer.

The strangest thing is beginning to happen. As I read literature, I recognize authors I have previously read, cited, and studied. This recognition of source material is a very entertaining phenomenon as I am reviewing and searching for new resources and information on my innovation topic.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Influencer, Innovation Plan, Leadership, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Research

Relevant Research

The Advisor That Cares

So I really feel like I have been on a quest for precisely the type of information I just found.

Transformations in academic advising as a profession

For the first time, I have found a recent piece of literature that connects directly to the goals of my innovation plan. Let me see if I can explain this connection and my excitement at finding it.  

I struggle to accurately explain why an innovation involving blended learning (Horn & Staker, 2017) could revolutionize advising. An advising innovation will impact students and advisors at my institution for all reasons cited in this body of work.

My innovation plan seeks to create more time and comfortable space within advising appointments for meaningful interactions (Troxel et al., 2021). Until we find an effective way to get the course registration and degree plan requirements out of the way, advising will continually miss potentially life-altering opportunities. 

My action research study will utilize a quantitative design to narrowly focus on any correlation between study agency over accurate course registration and a blended learning advising module on the same topic. 

  • Variable one:
    • A blended learning advising module covering how and where to find degree plan requirements, degree progression plans, course registration procedures, and other registration-related tasks such as holds, balances, or action items needed for course registrations. 
  • Variable two: 
    • Student agency, as evidenced by the ability to outline course plans accurately and effectively before the advising session for the upcoming registration period. 

Methods:

  • Student pre-advising Likert and Likert-like questions regarding upcoming course registration, advising module information, and overall perceptions of readiness for next semester’s course registration
  • Advisor post-advising Likert and Likert-like questions regarding the accuracy of course selections made by the student, the quality of questions students ask during advising sessions and the advisor’s perceptions of the student’s preparedness for course registration. Advisors will rank the accuracy of registration plans and relevance to the student’s degree program. Finally, advisors will rate the overall advising interaction and depth of conversation. 

References

Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2017). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. John Wiley & Sons.

Troxel, W. M., Bridgen, S., Hutt, C., & Sullivan‐Vance, K. A. (2021). Transformations in academic advising as a profession. New Directions for Higher Education, 2021(195–196), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20406

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, Evolution, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Reflecting

Research Rabbit Hole

The Advisor That Cares

I am embarking on my second literature review ever in my forty-six years of life, and I am actually excited about it. We have been challenged and encouraged throughout the ADL Program to make our projects authentic. There is just something amazing that happens when your passion and your practice align.

(I reserve the right to panic and freak out at any moment)

The most significant benefit of making this learning journey authentic is the genuine excitement to learn more about what we are passionate about in life. I am incredibly passionate about empowering college students to take the wheel of their academic journey. I want them to ask informed questions and know where to verify information accuracy. Humans are flawed and inevitably make errors and assumptions or give inaccurate information. My passion is showing people the path and letting them set the pace.

My action research proposal is a big step away from this passion project in many ways. Instead of understanding the heart of students or advisors, I am focusing on how a flipped advising approach could create space in advising interactions for the truly impactful conversations that keep students engaged in the learning opportunities and face any challenges life throws at them through that process.

Deep conversations about life changes, evolving interests, overcoming mindsets, and setting goals for the future are life-affirming for advisors and students. The only way to get to this deeper level of conversation is to move the time-consuming registration conversations to a blended learning environment. If students can research their degree audits and know how to sequence their coursework to meet prerequisite requirements, advising appointments become spaces for forming trusted relationships.

Deeper and deeper down the research rabbit hole, I am thankful that I get to research two topics near and dear to my heart: advisors and students.

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting

Topics for AR

The Advisor That Cares

Here we are on the due date of the first assignment for the Action Research course, and I am still refining and finessing my action research question. The book and my literature review have made it clear that pinpointing the action research topic is critical. Failure to do so effectively will make me evaluate the wrong data or jump to faulty conclusions. I am doing my best to remove bias from my topic question (which is difficult to do when considering your passion project). I am really narrowing in on the topic to isolate specific variables. The vital behaviors process keeps coming to mind as I identify precisely who, what, when, and how this action research process will unfold.

In reflection, as I finalize my action research question, I thought I would share some of my questions:

What might I be able to do differently with my advisees that could facilitate agency and preparedness for advising appointments/course registration?

What might I be able to do differently with my advisors that could facilitate their knowledge, accuracy, and confidence?

Is there a difference in advising effectiveness between traditional and flipped advising for freshman and sophomore university students?

To what degree does the use flipped advising tools and strategies impact student readiness for advising.

Does a flipped advising module on how to read your degree audit increase student agency in course selections?

To what degree do advising ePortfolio resources impact students’ progress through their degree plan requirements?

What are the attitudes of students toward the use of advising ePortfolios/Flipped advising tools/strategies? (Qualitative study option)

What is the nature of the relationship between college students’ academic course selections toward degree completion and their advising experience?

What is the effect of flipped advising techniques on incoming cohorts of college students on the development of student agency?

What advising practices are most closely associated with effective advising? (too broad)

How does a personally curated advising ePortfolio improve student preparation for course selections made during advising appointments? (rejected for bias)

How does using advising ePortfolios increase student agency over course selections during course registration advising sessions? (rejected since we don’t know if it will increase agency)

How will using an advising ePortfolio stimulate student agency for/over/in first-year course selections?

How does the use of flipped advising (blended learning) increase student agency in course selections made by first-year college students?

In what ways is student agency impacted by a flipped advising module on degree requirements as evidenced by accurate curricular choices?

In what ways does a flipped advising module on degree planning impact student agency in making curricular choices?

In what ways does a flipped advising module on degree planning facilitate student agency in making curricular choices during the first year of college?

Action Research, ADL Program, Advising, ePortfolios, Goals, Growth, Growth Mindset, Humor, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Personal, Professional, Reflecting

ADL and AR

The Advisor That Cares

Reading Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators by Craig Mertler has me reflecting upon the ADL program up to this point. We have poured blood, sweat, and tears into our innovation project. Now we are asked to research the validity of some aspect of our innovation or the innovation itself. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am freaking out at the possibility that I could determine my innovation is garbage!

I am wrapping my head around evaluative validity concerning qualitative research and am honest enough to acknowledge that remaining “unbiased” while reporting data is a tall order (Mertler, 2019, p. 142). I will keep reading in hopes that through this process, I will learn to be objective and see the greater good of refining my innovation, but in the middle of this book, I will honestly report that I am a little freaked out.

Reference

Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Action Research, ADL Program, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Reflecting

Personal Empowerment

The Advisor That Cares

Working my way through Craig Mertler’s book Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators, I decided to jump online and see what I could find to better wrap my mind around the concept. A few of my favorite quotes, as related to the ADL program, are found below.

“Gathering evidence of the effectiveness with which this new strategy works for us also empowers us to make our lives better. We’re not waiting for someone else to tell us if the learning that they imposed on us works. We’re in charge of that part of the process, as well” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 3:45).

“Finally, I think reflecting on this entire process of identifying something that we want to change, finding a different way of doing it, and then trying it out. Gathering evidence of the effectiveness but then making a plan for where we go next. is this the solution, or do we need to keep looking. All of this empowers us to make our lives better” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 4:08).

“Using this idea of personal empowerment in a continuous improvement manner, the idea that we use this every day as a mechanism to find little ways to improve our lives and make us better people” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 8:38).

“Empower ourselves to take control over our own learning” (TEDx Talks, 2019, 9:28).

Reference

TEDx Talks. (2019, March 20). Personal empowerment through reflection and learning | Dr. Craig Mertler | TEDxLakelandUniversity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzDsT-25w14

ADL Program, Contributions, Growth, Growth Mindset, Innovation Plan, Learner's Mindset, Learning, Learning Community, Professional Learning, Reflecting

Contributions, 5389

The Advisor That Cares

Professional Learning Course

  • Spring 2023
  • Course Number: EDLD 5389
  • Course Title: Developing Effective Professional Learning

Contributions to learning and learning community.

I am giving myself a score of 96 out of 100

Crediting Core Group Members: Adrianne Ortiz, Annababette Diemecke, Ashleigh Carter, Kristin Winzer, Patrick Rodriguez, and Valary Patterson

Crediting Collective Members: https://advising.blog/collaborations/

Key and Supporting Contributions

Key Contributions

This, my sixth ADL program course marks over the halfway point in my graduate school journey. Several of us have been taking classes together for the last few semesters by this point in the program. We have maintained our collaborative group through a Google Drive and a GroupMe chat.

Our learning community members are always ready and willing to support one another. The ADL Collective GroupMe chat allows members to reach out for feed-forward almost anytime, day or night. I, too, always ensure that I provide helpful feedback to my core collaboration group and all the members of that collective.

As I progress through the program and my professional role continues to evolve, I am revisiting and revising all assignments throughout this course and this program. The more I live and work with my innovation, the more it grows and gains momentum for success.

I always complete all assigned course readings and follow links from those materials to enhance and deepen my learning. The ADL program is structured, so I wonder how someone can be successful without embracing the self-directed learning opportunity we are given here. Our experience as learners is meant to shape the learning experience we create for our learners.

I always met the course activity deadlines outlined in the course content and syllabus. As well as posting discussions promptly so that my classmates and I could engage in a dialog about the professional learning opportunities we have been creating in this course.

Supporting Contributions

I have taken an active role in my and my classmates’ learning by participating in every opportunity to learn.

When the session began, I again created a course calendar I shared with the ADL Collective. This was a format I adopted from Dr. Grogan in 5313 that I modified slightly for 5304. It kept me accountable for those reading-intensive classes, so I continue to utilize a modified class calendar for accountability.

I contribute to class call discussions, add commentary on all discussion prompts, and provide feedback to my classmates and groupmates near critical deadlines.

I cite source material in my blog postings and class discussions whenever possible and relevant. Additionally, I seek additional sources of information to further my understanding.

I constantly reflect on my learning process and embrace the learners’ mindset. I accept challenges and try new things readily. For example, this semester is the first time I have utilized Google Classrooms or created a Google Form. However, I embraced the opportunity to teach myself how to do these things as the most effective way to structure my Professional Learning opportunity.

I am so excited to have the extraordinary learning experiences provided by this program. Seeing my innovation plan coming to life as I work through this program is truly unique. I am learning and doing things I never dreamed I could do.

Reflection

What Worked?

The ADL Cohort Collective GroupMe chat is still the thing that is working best regarding my learning. I created this group chat when my learning community from the first course fizzled out, and I was desperately trying to fulfill the learning community part of the program. Once I learned about the New Culture of Learning, I updated the group to reflect the nature of a collective. Not everyone is active all of the time, but there is always someone engaged in the group. It has been a beautiful support system for all of us. When we felt stressed out and overwhelmed, someone in the group was ready to support us. When we have successes to celebrate or professional challenges to overcome, the group is there for each other. I continue to help create a welcoming and supportive environment for others to participate. Many have joined, saying, “finally, an active group!” which makes me happy.

Actively blogging through is another factor that is working. I have seen less blogging participation in my learning cohort when there are no specific requirements for blogging. Still, I have elected to continue the practice based on Dr. Harapnuik’s recommendation that it helps you solidify your thoughts and work through the metacognition we are doing throughout this program.

What could be better?

As learners, we seek and await our instructors’ approval of our work. I waited to begin on some projects hoping to receive instructor feedback. I found myself in fear of moving forward if I was heading in the wrong direction. I had to stop and give myself a pep-talk about halfway through the session because the amount of work needed to create the Professional Learning Outline was not conducive to waiting on final grades for the Call to Action – Alternative PL. Similarly, the workload required for the final PL strategy/plan was not conducive to beginning after receiving feedback on the outline.

It took me a while to remind myself that I am a self-directed learner. While feed-forward from my peers and coach is helpful, my work is my own, and I must be true to that process. I even shared my blog post on the topic with the ADL Collective group chat in case others in our cohort needed that same gentle reminder.

I am recording this as something that could be better because coming to this realization from the get-go would have spared me a lot of stress and worry during those waiting periods.

Goals, Influencer, Leadership, Personal, Professional, Professional Learning, Reflecting, Why

Redefining Leadership

The Advisor That Cares

“Are you a leader” (TEDx Talks, 2010)?

Are you an important person in someone’s life? Maybe you need a new definition of leadership. In the following TED, Drew Dudley illustrates how powerful you might be in another person’s life without knowing it.

“Every time you change one person’s understanding of the world. One person’s understanding of how many people care about them. One person’s understanding of what they are capable of. One person’s understanding of how powerful an agent for change they can be in this world. And more importantly how powerful an agent for change they can be in their own life. Every time you change one person’s understanding of the world, you change the whole world” (Speakers Spotlight, 2019).

Leadership is about “how many [lollipop moments] you empower other people to create for themselves” (Speakers Spotlight, 2019). I plan to carry this definition of leadership with me as I create professional learning opportunities and move forward with my innovation plans.

I want to help create lollipop moments.

References

Speakers Spotlight. (2019, July 19). Recognizing the Power of Lollypop Moments | Drew Dudley [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU06fAhLKvU

TEDx Talks. (2010, October 7). TEDxToronto –  Drew Dudley “Leading with Lollipops” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVCBrkrFrBE