Help Growing Trees Grow Stronger After a Storm
- 1. Dr. Emmanuel Garcia and Rebekah Chojnacki, University of Texas at Arlington February 16, 2016
- 2. You’ve Been Uprooted!  Find a seat next to someone you don’t know—just like your students have to do on the first day of class.
- 3. Beyond Retention, Helping Build Resilience  A focus on retention leads to a focus on students in academic peril  Students who are “in good standing” may need support, but don’t get it because it’s not a high need
- 4. Perfectionism  Help students find balance—there’s a fine line between burnout and engagement  Seen in the US and in other countries—all high achievers deal with this worldwide  Sources of pressure  External (family, peers, etc.)  Internal (wanting to compete)
- 5. High Achievers and the Storms They Face  Not having to study much/at all before college  Little experience with failure/academic obstacles  Different standards—if a student has never had a “B” or “C” before, it can be traumatizing
- 6. How Can the Advisor Help?  Literature is really lacking for advisor role—mostly student based.  Help us start the conversation and generate ideas!  All students need our help—some just need us to listen more than anything else.
- 7. Scenario 1  Your family has a background of being successful in college and careers.  They are helpful—and help support you financially.  Major exploration—want to do something that your parents don’t approve of/say they won’t help fund.
- 8. Scenario 1 Ideas  Family Pressure  Planning to confront parents  Give major some more effort/mentors/research/tutoring  Let parents know that you’ve tried—show them  Don’t jump ship right away  Send student to career center (strengths quest & career planning)  Knowing what they are good at vs. passion  Hobbies vs. career
- 9. Scenario 1 Ideas ď‚— Quantify student aptitude with parents ď‚— Have parent interact in the process ď‚— Does the parent want the student to be happy? ď‚— Direct the questions back to the student ď‚— Creative solutions/compromise ď‚— Have parental pressure become a positive ď‚— wh
- 10. Scenario 2  First generation college student.  Family are proud of you, but don’t understand college  Pressure to finish quickly to help earn money.  Want to change major, but worried to disappoint family.  Superman complex
- 11. Scenario 2  Familial expectations of financial support  Student can’t handle supporting everyone else—they need to focus on building their own life/career  Building student confidence/support  Help student find community resources for support  Who is going to take care of you when you fall?  Differentiation of student from family unit  Encouragement/resources  Cultural differences
- 12. ď‚— Help student think about future/goals ď‚— Academic bridge programs ď‚— Give students opportunities to work/volunteer/meet students who are also first generation (get students into things like SSS/Trio) ď‚— Terry Scholars ď‚— Need to create mentoring program (match students to upperclassmen)
- 13. Scenario 3 ď‚— Always been a top student ď‚— Receives first low grade ever ď‚— Feelings of impostor syndrome ď‚— Devastation/loss of identity (as a good student)
- 14. Scenario 3 Ideas  Reassure of what they have done well  Plan for the future—how can they recover  Show what it will take to reach future goals  GPA calculations  Let them know that they are doing well  Let them know that they can recover and get back up  You are not alone in this experience  Look at the overall picture—one bad grade will not bar you from all future opportunities
- 15. Scenario 3 Ideas ď‚— Be supportive and listen ď‚— What makes it important to the student ď‚— Let the student talk it through to help guide them to a solution ď‚— Help the student see the bigger picture ď‚— Let them have support to have venting time ď‚— Know when to send them to counseling ď‚— Help students build strategies for success
- 16. Scenario 3 Ideas
- 18. References ď‚— Salanova, M., Schaufeli, W., MartĂnez, I., & BresĂł, E. (2010). How obstacles and facilitators predict academic performance: The mediating role of study burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 23(1), 53-70. ď‚— Dickinson, M. J., & Dickinson, D. A. (2014). Practically perfect in every way: can reframing perfectionism for high-achieving undergraduates impact academic resilience?. Studies in Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-15. ď‚— Rice, K. G., Leever, B. A., Christopher, J., & Porter, J. D. (2006). Perfectionism, stress, and social (dis) connection: A short-term study of hopelessness, depression, and academic adjustment among honors students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(4), 524. ď‚— Siegle, D., Rubenstein, L. D., Pollard, E., & Romey, E. (2009). Exploring the relationship of college freshmen honors students’ effort and ability attribution, interest, and implicit theory of intelligence with perceived ability. Gifted Child Quarterly. ď‚— Neumeister, K. L. S. (2004). Understanding the relationship between perfectionism and achievement motivation in gifted college students. Gifted child quarterly, 48(3), 219-231.