* Advising doesn’t have a lot of philosophy, but requires a lot of personal touch. 

Let students explain themselves to us. Sometimes students think we aren’t on the same level, that we don’t share the same stories. As long as they can tell us their real stories, when we reach that level, that is when effective dev advising will appear. We should become friends, we can share personal things, what are your dream jobs, realistic jobs, etc.

 

Kirk:

* We advise different groups in biology. Pre-Dents, Pre-pharms, pre-meds. I tend to advise biology majors who haven’t yet chosen a path. Their academic records tend to be a bit lower than the other groups. We are interested in self-efficacy, overcome perceptions that they can’t study STEM. By helping them dev self efficacy over the 4 years, they are ready to choose a path.

One ex – my students tend to fear chemistry. They have low scores and that instills a perception that they can’t do this major. We have a research project looking at this to see if we can help students over time strengthen their perception that they can do it. 

 

Madhu:

* Getting to know the students personally. The other side is important too – for them to get to know us. Then they share the difficult questions. More of the things that hinder the process of figuring out what they want to do. Telling them about my own failures also brings down their anxiety and allows them to feel like can be successful.

 

Carolynn

* I ask students about what they’ve liked AND disliked about X volunteer position/job/internship. Start keeping a list, notice patterns.  Also, what are your priorities and start to consider how to balance your priorities with your likes and dislikes. This will help you formulate ideas about possible career paths. Keep an open mind, try new things, even if you don’t think you’ll like them. Embrace new experiences and learn from all of them.