Advising as teaching is yet another approach to advisement. Advising as teaching shares many virtues with developmental advising and yet takes developmental advisement one step farther. While developmental advising has the broad goal of personal growth, teaching as advising specifically focuses on enhancing student learning (Lowenstein, 2005).
Effective teachers and effective advisors exhibit many of the same characteristics, knowledge and skills. The table below taken from the works of C.C. Ryan (1992) and Drew Appleby (2001) compares the two.
|
Effective Teachers |
Effective Advisors |
|
Master their subject matter |
Possess accurate information about policies, resources and programs |
|
Plan, organize and prepare materials for the classroom |
Prepare well for advising sessions |
|
Engage students actively in the learning process |
Engage advisees in the advising process through challenges involving alternative choices and encouragement to question and explore |
|
Provide regular feedback, reinforcement and encouragement |
Provide timely feedback, reinforce learning that has taken place and applaud student successes |
|
Help students learn independently |
Encourage advisees to be self-directed learners |
|
Teach students how to evaluate information |
Help advisees evaluate their progress toward personal, educational and career goals |
|
Serve as a resource to students |
Provide materials to advisees and make referrals when appropriate |
|
Provide problem-solving tasks to students |
Provide tasks to be completed before the next advising meeting that will require the advisee to use information-gathering, decision-making and problem-solving skills |
|
Deliver information clearly and understandably |
Communicate in a clear and unambiguous manner with advisees |
|
Exhibit good questioning skills |
Ask questions and initiate discussions |
|
Exhibit positive regard, concern and respect for students |
Provide a caring, personal relationship by exhibiting a positive attitude toward students, their goals and their ability to learn |
|
Promote a climate of learning that supports diversity |
Respect diverse points of view by demonstrating sensitively to differences in culture and gender |
|
Stimulate higher level thinking |
Help student learn concepts, test validity, and confront attitudes and beliefs |
While instructors are responsible for individual courses, an advisor’s domain is the overall curriculum from general education and degree requirements to major/minor coursework (Lowenstein, 2005). In the paradigm of advising as teaching the advisor is responsible for an important part of student learning. In effect, the advisor teaches
- how to find/create the logic of one’s education;
- how to view the seemingly disconnected pieces of curriculum as parts of a whole that makes sense to the learner, so that she or he learns more from them;
- how to base educational choices on a developing sense of the overall edifice being self-built; and
- how to continually enhance learning experiences by relating them to knowledge that has been previously learned. (Lowenstein, 2005, p. 72)
Just as teaching has learning outcomes, so should advisement. Lifelong skills such as decision-making, critical thinking, responsibility and appreciation for education in addition to learning academic regulations should be learning outcomes of advisement. "Advising is the intersection of the teaching/learning experience" (Miller & Alberts, 1994, p. 44).