1. Promising Questions and Just in Time Answers: Insights on Teaching and Advising First Year Students Lee Anne Thompson, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Psychological Sciences lat@case.edu

2. In your role as a ______, what is the most important take-away you wish to provide for the first-year students you work with?

3. Why did you select your answer? Provide a piece of evidence in support of your answer Share your evidence

4. Write down at least one additional question inspired by the discussion so far.

5. Big picture questions about our goals How will we prepare our students to determine which questions should be asked? How will we prepare our students to address these questions?

6. Students’ Approaches to Learning and Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching in Higher Education (Richardson, 2005) In this review paper, Richardson summarizes work on students’ approaches: Learning is: 1.Increase in knowledge 2.Memorization 3.Acquisition of facts and procedures 4.Abstraction of meaning 5.Interpretation 6.Conscious process driven by intrinsic interests and goals

7. Students’ Approaches to Learning and Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching in Higher Education (Richardson, 2005) In this review paper, Richardson summarizes work on teachers’ approaches: Teaching is: 1.Providing information 2.Transmitting structured knowledge 3.An interaction between the teacher and the student 4.Facilitating student understanding 5.Creating change in students’ intellectual development

8. Unifying common principles used by the best college teachers (Bain, 2004, pp. 99-117) : 1.Create a natural critical learning environment 2. Getting their attention and keeping it 3. Start with the students rather than the discipline 4. Seek commitments 5. Help students learn outside of class 6. Engage students in disciplinary thinking 7. Create diverse learning experiences

9. Create a Natural Critical Learning Environment ( Bain, 2004, pp. 99-109 ) 1. Start with an intriguing question or problem 2.Provide guidance in helping students understand the significance of the question 3.Engages students in higher-order intellectual activity (compare, apply, evaluate, analyze and synthesize) and establish these “habits of mind” 4. Helps students to answer the question 5. Leaves students with a question: “What’s the next question?”

10. A few additions: 1.Just in time information/answers 2.Infuse advising 3.Appreciative advising (Bloom, Hutson, & He, 2008) h ttp://www.appreciativeadvising.net/

11. Is the Mind What the Brain Does?

12. Case Western Reserve University Private research university Urban campus 97% live on campus Undergraduate students:4,661 Graduate and Professional students: 5,664 Athletics: NCAA Division III

13. Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship or SAGES: Required courses for ALL undergraduates First of a series of 5 interdisciplinary seminars 17 students Instructor is also the first year advisor Writing intensive and required oral presentation Emphasis on critical thinking and ethical reasoning Required capstone experience

14. Bain (2010) – The Promising Syllabus In addition to the important nuts and bolts of a well-constructed syllabus, A Promising Syllabus has three essential elements: 1.Promises (Content in the form of questions to be discussed throughout the semester) 2.A description of how the promises will be kept across the semester (Assignments and requirements) 3.An agreement between teacher and student about how they will each arrive at an understanding of the development of the student’s learning and thinking. How has the student progressed across the semester? (assessments and grading policies)

15. Appreciative Advising “Institutions are searching for positive ways to increase student retention and success rates. Appreciative Advising harnesses the power of the organizational development theory of Appreciative Inquiry and the positive psychology literature to provide a framework for increasing adviser and student success.” “Appreciative Advising is the intentional collaborative practice of asking positive, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals, and potentials. It is perhaps the best example of a fully student-centered approach to student development.” Bloom, Hutson & He, 2008; http://www.appreciativeadvising.net/

16. The Six Phases of Appreciative Advising http://www.appreciativeadvising.net/ Disarm: Make a positive first impression with the student, build rapport, and create a safe, welcoming space. Discover: Ask positive open-ended questions that help advisers learn about students' strengths, skills, and abilities. Dream: Inquire about students' hopes and dreams for their futures. Design: Co-create a plan for making their dreams a reality. Deliver: The student delivers on the plan created during the Design phase and the adviser is available to encourage and support students. Don't Settle: Advisers and students alike need to set their own internal bars of expectations high

17. The World Café Design Principles: Set the Context Create Hospitable Space Explore Questions that Matter Encourage Everyone’s Contribution Connect Diverse Perspectives Listen together for Patterns and Insights Share Collective Discoveries http://www.theworldcafe.com/principles.html

18. References Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Bain K. (2010). The Promising Syllabus. The Center for Teaching Excellence at New York University. PDF can be found here: http://www.bestteachersinstitute.org/promisingsyllabus.pdf\ http://www.bestteachersinstitute.org/promisingsyllabus.pdf\ Bain K. (2012). What the Best College Students Do. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Bloom, J., Hutson, B., & He, Y. (2008). The Appreciative Advising Revolution. http://www.appreciativeadvising.net/ Richardson, J. T. E. (2005). Students’ approaches to learning and teachers’ approaches to teaching in higher education. Educational Psychology, 25(6), 673-680.