The Appreciative Advising Revolution

by Jennifer L. Bloom, Bryant L. Hutson, Ye He

Bloom, Jennifer L., Hutson, Bryant L., He, Ye

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

174 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2008

Reviews

[Ryan Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for anyone who does life-coaching or academic advising. Really focuses on the importance of giving your student a chance to think through and evaluate their academic journey at a deeper level. An alternative to business-like transactional advising. Very thought provoking.

[Tina Romanelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Appreciative inquiry seems to be an oval (feminist’s seminal?) concept in student affairs and success work, and I’ve picked up a few different reads in the last year to wrap my head around that to no avail. As is probably not surprising, I found this super clear guide when I was looking for something else AND it’s written by Wade’s colleagues from UNCG. Everything comes full circle no matter what. This book was infinitely practical and may have solved multiple problems for me in one short read of 170 some pages. I look forward to using it as the basis of our success coach/academic advising collaboration at Meredith.

[Monica Goodell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for training at work. So much of what is written here is just common sense and being a decent human being. There were a few interesting ideas and the research at the end was interesting, but largely, I did not find this book engaging.

[Theo A · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are wanting tools and tips on how to be an effective advisor this is a great resource. It really focuses on a student centered approach and provides a model to help educators reflect and improve their professional practice.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful as an introductory level reading guide for college advisors. If you've had any formal or semi formal counseling or advisor training, much will likely be review and/or common sense. It's more about applying concepts to the advising process more so than educating on advising.

[Emily Emerick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas and insights, not everything applies to what I do, but I'm always willing to listen to other perspectives.

[Joseph Nairn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, easy to read, good use of examples and exercises. I am intending to use this text for professional development with my staff.

[Raelin Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book outlined important concepts that can be beneficial. Especially to someone new to the advising field.

[Stephanie Jobe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know that the like 5 people who read this probably get super excited when I read things for school and work but hey they are in fact things I read and some of them can be interesting. This one ended up being borrowed from someone at work because UNCG’s library for some bizarre reason doesn’t own a copy. I was worried it was going to be way over my head but not too bad actually. My educational psychology course helped with most of the terminology though the counseling was unfamiliar but most of it was explained in context enough that I was left with just my usual curiosity to know more rather than actual confusion. Actually probably one of the most disorienting thing was that I am currently in the office that runs the programs outlined here but a few things have changed so I had to keep them separate in my mind.

Appreciative Advising is a framework for college advising, whether it be faculty advising or recovery programs for students returning from suspension or whatever else you want to apply it to. At the core it is a strengths based approach, focusing on past successes and dreams rather than on focusing on failures which leads to a negative attitude. The system has six phases: Disarm, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, Don’t Settle. I promise not to get more technical than that.

I think one of the most important things that they emphasize is that this is not about hard and fast rules. It’s about providing a skeleton for each advisor to create a unique relationship with each student. You still accomplish things like planning next semesters schedule, but it’s a much more personalized process than prescriptive advising. To me you can see developmental advising in the roots but appreciative advising adds more of a dynamic focused on the students history as well as their future. The inherent flexibility is one of the things that really appeals to me. The idea that you are constantly reflecting and that the plan can change.

Well, here is to me getting my feet wet. I’m thinking about reading Faculty Advising Examined edited by Gary L. Kramer next, but I’m wondering if I need to do some reading in counseling first to broaden my vocabulary…

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years academic advising had been about numbers (who can see the most students) or about graduation rates (which department finished the most) but today we have a different type of student, adults. Therefore, our advising techniques must change. Appreciative advising is a mindset shift that moves you from cookie cutter sessions to personalized empowerment discussions.

In this book you will learn to intentionally use positive, active, and attentive listening and questioning strategies to build trust and rapport with students (Disarm); uncover students' strengths and skills based in their past successes (Discover); encourage and be inspired by students' stories and dreams (Dream); co-construct action plans with students to make their goals a reality (Design); support students as they carry out their plans (Deliver); and challenge both themselves and their students to do and become even better (Deliver). The authors present the theory that will uniquely challenge your practice in this highly entertaining book.

[Mistie's Bones of the Storie · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I only read this for my job and while it may have good suggestions, that all it really is - suggestions and hand holding. Can you really implement these theories when you have one advisor to like 1,000 students? Or are these theories just hearsay and people will pretend it can be done to try and make themselves feel better? Everyone says this is for the students, it is what they want, what they need - please tell me, what students did you ask? Did you really listen to what they thought would work for them or did you just pick and choose, hear only what you wanted and did what worked bested for you-not the student?

This is college, you are an adult. I am not here to tell you how to spell your name or show you how to sign in. I am sorry but reading is essential in college and if you cannot follow written directions, maybe you need to take a step back. Why are we so worried about the people who try and find a reason not to go to school when we have plenty of people who do and get nothing or have to deal with the consequences of those who mess up?

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book from a webinar I attended on Student success. I like its positive approach that focuses on strengths and planning vs. reactionary, deficit-minded discussions. Some good ideas here that I can apply.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am actually cited in this book. WOO HOO!

[Tracy Harrington-Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It applies to so many pieces of life -not just advising.

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, with some applications to all sorts of relationships, but some aspects would be quite difficult to implement in situations where advisors have hundreds of advisees.

[Gary Bodine]

I thought it was pretty neat that my advising style actually had an existing name.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to help advisors be even better. Changed my outlook.