Help for the non-theorist in you

Academic advising theory is usually something that sends many advisors running for the hills (unfortunately so). I don't know if that is due to long suppressed memories from graduate school or the fact that the material can be quite dense (seriously, have you seen how thik some of those books are?). Have no fear, however because Hilleary (who herself has proclaimed "I'm not a theory head") is here to help. Advisors who want to brush up on their theory for practice should definitely consider giving this session a look.

If I tweeted you, “I see you’re doing a session at #nacadaR2. Cool! What’s it about?”, how would you reply via Twitter?

Examining how theories have changed through time and how we can use that information to move forward with advising theory.

Why did you decide to do a presentation on this topic?

Theory is something that I've been interested in since I became an advisor. There's been an explosion in theoretical literature in the past several years and I think it's important to understand how those theories have come to academic advising. In keeping with the conference theme, we're looking back at theory to move our understanding forward and to see how that understanding is critical to our practice and scholarship.

Why do you think this is important for NACADA Region 2?

If you look at the theory explosion, NACADA Region 2 has had some important contributors. Peter Hagen (our conference keynote) and Marc Lowenstein are a couple that come to mind. I think our region has been on the forefront of the movement so what better place to look at the historical context of these theories than at our regional conference.

What’s the most important idea you hope attendees leave your session with?

My ultimate goal is that each person walks away having learned something new that might help them to think about the bigger picture in a different way. The more people we have doing that, the better off we will be.

What are you most looking forward to about the conference?

I'm excited to hear about what other people are doing. I always come back from a conference feeling energized and invigorated by what others are doing. I'm also excited to reconnect with old friends and meet new colleagues to expand my circle of resources.

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Session Title: Historical Foundations of current theoretical paradigms within advising
Day & Time: Thursday, April 7 @ 9:45 AM
Abstract: Academic advising has traditionally been dominated by the developmental paradigm first introduced by Crookston in 1972. More recently, the number of theoretical paradigms has exploded within academic advising scholarship and practice to include learning-centered, postmodern, hermeneutics, and self-authorship. To understand and appreciate this theoretical diversity within advising, it is important to examine the historical foundations of each theory and the connections between seemingly opposing views. This presentation will include a survey of theorists (Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget, Kegan, and Aristotle) who have been integral to the development of popular theories applied to advising and outline how our theoretical history can influence the future of advising theory.

Hilleary Himes is the Senior Undergraduate Studies Adviser, Coordinator of FTCAP Operations and Undergraduate Studies Programs Coordinator for College of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University. She’s been an active member of the advising community for 3 years. You can reach her at hxs220@psu.edu.