Advising by Coaching, a 2009 NACADA National Conference Workshop Summary

by Catherine Coe

At the NACADA national conference in San Antonio I attended a very interesting workshop that modeled academic advising as coaching and found, while the relationship is obvious, it is a fresh take on how to engage students in advising. Jeffrey McClellan's and Clint Moser’s presentation outlined the theory-to-practice model of Advising as Coaching. Their presentation explained how the model of academic coaching starts with the traditional business coaching process of assessing strengths and weakness, identifying goals, developing a plan, implementing the plan, assessing progress, and making plan revisions. The anticipated results of the process include self-awareness, confidence, improved performance, and self-authorship.

If advising is an interactive relationship that helps to identify, plan for, and achieve short- and long-term educational and career goals, then advisors are coaches. Advisors empower students to make appropriate decisions with regard to interests, goals, and abilities. During the workshop, McClellan and Moser emphasized the development of self-authorship as one of the main goals of utilizing a coaching methodology with students. By requiring students to respond to questions and ultimately formulate their own plan, the student is encouraged to think deeper and more proactively about the problem. The coaching model presented also demonstrated that when the right questions are asked the advising session becomes more efficient and effective because the student is more directed and stays focused on the task.

From the presentation, I learned that using a coaching approach in advising sessions can increase the self-authorship of students by encouraging them to create their own plan. It is sometimes difficult to let students do most of the talking. But by taking on the coach's inquisitor role and prompting with appropriate questions, we allow students to learn the critical thinking skills necessary to problem solve and plan on their own in the future. As an advisor, I work with students to create plans. Utilizing the coaching methodology enhances the process and encourages students to take ownership of the results.