Literature Theoretical Perspective This study centers upon the role academic advising has upon the development of students, as they matriculate through their college experience. Sociocultural theory as first developed by Vygoksky (1978) will be utilized in order to better understand how this social activity is coupled to the growth of the individual. “The most fundamental concept of sociocultural theory is that the human mind is mediated” (Lantolf, 2000, p. 1) as opposed to other views of human cognitive development through passive stimuli of the physical world (Vygotsky, 1986). The goal is to explain how an individual can become empowered towards higher psychological functioning and Tappan (1997) further elaborates upon this idea through a discussion of act of making the necessary internalized connections between the individual and external activities. This act of making internal the external physical world requires that we look at the social context of this transformation. Without taking into account the social environment of the individual, the act of learning cannot be completely understood. This paper seeks to address the act of meaning making the negotiation necessary for the development of a student within the college environment through the interactions of a more capable other (Vygotsky, 1978). As this process unfolds, and the student begins to emerge as a result of these interactions with an advisor this study seeks to understand what is needed in order to facilitate this action. A critical idea advanced by Vygotsky is the need for the learner to be receptive to the personal accumulation of knowledge, to be in a zone of proximal development (ZPD). Regarding ZPD, Vygotsky states It is the distance between t... ... middle of paper ... ...5. doi:10.3102/00346543045001089 Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. (1st ed.). University Of Chicago Press. Tinto, V. (2000). Taking student retention seriously: Rethinking the first year of college. NACADA Journal, 19(2). Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. (A. Kouzlin, Ed.) (Revised.). The MIT Press. Weiss, R. S. (1995). Learning from strangers: The art and method of qualitative interview studies. Free Press. Winston Jr, R. B., & Sandor, J. A. (1984). Academic advising inventory. Athens, GA: Student Development Associates. Student Development Associates, Inc. Winston, R. B. (1984). Developmental Academic Advising: What Do Students Want?. NACADA Journal, 4(1), 5.
Hood, A.B., & Johnson, R.W. (2007). Assessment in Counseling: A guide to the use of psychological assessment procedures (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Stone, G. L., & Archer, J., Jr. (1990). College and university counseling centers in the 1990s:
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: Volume 2, a third
low or no cost. This article discusses the ways the rich cultural meanings of water are used in
In her essay, Sister Water, Margaret Ferris explains what she defines as ‘blue theology’, an intricate belief that the people of this earth and water are both connected spiritually, and physically. She begins by defining blue theology as “a theology of water conservation that teaches that all water is...sacred and precious.”(p. 24) Her theme of water being essential to us as not only religious beings, but humans in general will go on to be repeated throughout the essay. By detailing her thoughts on water’s importance, followed by an account of rapid urbanization causing the decline of safe water in many enviornments, Ferris emphasizes to her readers how water- something she has continously refered to as charished and spiritual- is being abused
Tracy-Mumford, F. et al. Student Retention: Creating Student Success. Washington, DC: National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, 1994. (ED 375 299)
Nathan, R. (2005). My freshman year: what a professor learned by becoming a student. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
First generation students come to college with their unique challenges such as X,Y,Z (CITE). A student group this large and vulnerable deserves special attention if they want to make it to graduation. This paper seeks to review the literature on first generation college students and answer the question: Why do first generation college students leave and how can we get them to persist to graduation?
According to studies, college students are more likely to be successful in their individual subjects if they build connections between their professors. These connections ensure that any misunderstandings during class discussion can be answered by professors even after lecture times. An article by “A Matter of Degrees”, reported by the Center for Community College Students Engagement at the University
Grade retention which is better known as ‘staying back’, ‘repeating’ or ‘being held back’, refers to the practice of having a student return to a particular grade level for a subsequent year after having been at that level a full school year. (Wu et al, 2010). The purpose of this paper will be to answer the research question “What are the effects of grade retention?” based on high schools in the United Sates of America. Statistically, with as many as 15% of all American students held back each year and 30-50% held back at least once before ninth grade, the rate of retention has increased by approximately 40% in the last 20years (Wu et al, 2010). This paper will give the reader an overview of the effects grade retention has on students academic performance, socialization and how it eventually leads them to dropout of school. A number of scholarly articles will be used to accomplish this.
Academic advising plays a huge role in students’ lives and it is a share responsibility between the student and their advisors. There are many ways in which advising benefit students. Advising enhance students’ abilities to utilize the resources that colleges provide for their students. Guiding students to stay in the right track of their academic courses and following up with all the updates and requirements to graduate is also objectives of the advisors. Advisors encourage students to get involved in the college activities, such as clubs, sports, extra courses and so on of the resources that are available for students. They help students to find scholarships and prepare them to transfer to the next step of what they want to do after their college careers. There are many positive effects of having an advisor in your college career. However, many students these days do not take an advantage of this resource due to lack of Advising communication and others. Although the advising office and the advisors lack several skills, such as good communication, not enough time spent with students, and limited knowledge. However, there are many positive effects of having advisors
The world without knowledge is in complete disorder; we don’t realize how empty and ignorant we are without knowledge. The ignorance within ourselves, nonetheless, can be filled with education and bring definite changes which can impact an individual, a community, a generation and eventually our world. Naturally the world, in the long run, is dependent upon the educated. Success is carried throughout the pursuit of obtaining skills and valuing the virtue of education and academics. Education, by far means, is the most important facet of college and well worth the investment.
The book characterizes the human aspects of behavior and questions their role in the human history and in the individual`s lifetime . Vygotsky focuses on the cultural and social role in psychology
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind In Society:the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press.
One of the most essential ingredients to an effective instructional environment is the initiative of the student. For the traditional undergraduate college student, this is one of the areas in which most problems exist [2]. The ‘traditional’ undergraduate college student should be construed as an average male and female between the ages of 18 and 22 who is at a transitional phase in life and learning to deal with independence.