The document discusses engaging adult learners through the practical application of narrative theory in academic advising. It analyzes how narrative theory can help advisors better understand adult students' experiences and challenges. Specifically, it examines how one university engages non-traditional students through events like Non-Traditional Student Week that encourage storytelling and building community. It also explores how narrative theory is applied in one of the university's courses for adult students through reflective journaling and sharing personal stories of change. The document concludes that narrative theory is a useful tool for advisors to help adult learners feel more engaged, supported, and likely to persist in their education.
2. “…But I'm dying to tell my story
For all my friends to read.”
-Warren Zevon
3. • Analyze Adult Learner engagement and its role in student
persistence
• Consider the role Narrative Theory has in Advising Adult Learners
• Explore Villanova CPS and its practical application of Narrative
Theory via Non-Traditional Students Week
• Discuss how Narrative Theory can be sustained as a practical tool
for advisors through consideration of the Villanova CPS course “CPS
1000”
Audience members will
4. Snapshot Report. (2014). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-
content/uploads/SnapshotReport14-PersistenceRetention-.pdf
5. “Nontraditional students are more than
twice
as likely as traditional ones to drop out in the first year.”
(Rob Jenkins, "The New 'Traditional Student'")
6. in gaining a place,
Adult learners, “face challenges
a position, a voice
in the cultural worlds of higher education”
and a related sense of valued self
(Kasworm, 2008 qtd. In Peck & Varney)
7. Engaging Adult Learners:
• Creates a sense of community and belonging
• Prevents attrition
• Nurtures a strong alumni base
Adult learners
Influence all parts of
the university
(Peck, L.G. & Varney, J. 2009)
8. Research into Non-Traditional Students
in online programs shows that
students engaged both in and out of the
classroom
are more likely to persist
(Betts, K., & Lanza-Gladney, M. 2010)
9. • Encourage adult learners to self-advocate
• Empathize with and champion the need for institutional
support
• Share ideas about creating a
“place” and a “voice” on
campus
• Assist with brain-storming and problem-solving
• Direct students to administrators who can affect their
cause
(Peck, L.G. & Varney, J. 2009)
10. “examines the ways that narrative structures our perception of both cultural artifacts
and the world around us.”
[Narrative Theory]
(Purdue, CLAS)
12. we need to pay attention to the stories we tell and receive, especially in three situations:
Advisor to Advisor
Student to Advisor
Advisor to Student (Hagen, 2007)
22. engagement was measurable via
6 510
2 0 1 2 4 2
26
6 2 2 5 5 4 0 0 0 2
105108
0 1
9
20
12
6 6
0 1
18
35
105
72
19
9
3
96
72
1012
19
1211
2524
8 8
47
14
0 2
24
9
3 2 1 1
10/1/14 10/9/14 10/17/14 10/25/14 11/2/14 11/10/14 11/18/14 11/26/14
social media
The number of people who engaged with your Page.
Engagement includes any click or story created.
(Unique Users)
23. engagement was measurable via
social media
10/1/14 10/9/14 10/17/14 10/25/14 11/2/14 11/10/14 11/18/14 11/26/14
The number of people who visited your
Page, or saw your Page or one of its
posts in news feed or ticker.
24. engagement was measurable via
social media
0
20
40
60
80
The number of people sharing stories
about your page. These stories include
liking your Page, posting to your Page's
timeline, liking, commenting on or sharing
one of your Page posts, answering a
question you posted, responding to one
of your events, mentioning your Page,
tagging your Page in a photo or checking
in at your location. (Unique Users)
25. engagement was measurable via
social media
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
September October November December January
Twitter Impressions
29. The New-Traditional Student”
CPS 1000:
An introductory course for adult students in the
College of Professional Studies. Foundational
adult education theory, and skills-based success
strategies facilitate the transition back to the
classroom. An emphasis on self-examination and
change through personal storytelling.
30. The New-Traditional Student”
CPS 1000:
Create and share personal stories of change
via journaling that synthesize the theoretical
and practical aspects of Adult Education
Course Objective:
31. The New-Traditional Student”
CPS 1000:
After reading the Foster-Wallace piece, look into the future towards your own graduation day. Imagine that you have been
invited to give the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony. If your graduation ceremony was held today, and
you were the honored speaker, what would you tell the graduating class? How would you express what you learned on your
own journeys?
This is Water
32. The New-Traditional Student”
CPS 1000:
Self-Directed Learning
Once you have completed the SDL, please use your personal journal
space to write 3-5 paragraphs summarizing your answers.
Remember, a good paragraph is at least 5-7 sentences, preferably
more. Your assessment should be an open and honest reflection of
your answers. Were you surprised by your answers? Did you already
know these things about yourself?
When writing, consider this the “prologue” to your story. Talk about
your previous academic experiences. How will things change now?
33. The New-Traditional Student”
CPS 1000:
Final Presentation
You will create a presentation, no longer than ten minutes that highlights the best parts of each journal
assignment. To begin, you should develop an introduction that gives an overview of your personal
journal, or journey, throughout the course. Which assignments really moved you? How have these
writing assignments affected your overall journey throughout the course, and throughout your college
career?
34. In Conclusion
•Adult Student Engagement and persistence
•Narrative Theory in Advising: Student –to-Student
•Practical Applications
35. National Student Clearinghouse Snapshot Report. (2014). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from http://nscresearchcenter.org/wp-
content/uploads/SnapshotReport14-PersistenceRetention-.pdf
Jenkins, Rob. "The New Traditional on Campuses." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., 15 Oct. 2012. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.
<http://chronicle.com/article/The-New-Traditional-on/135012>.
Peck, L.G. & Varney, J. (2009).Advising IS teaching: Providing adult learners with strategies for self- advocation. Retrieved from
NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources Web site: http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-
Articles/Providing-adult-learners-with-strategies-for-self-advocation.aspx - See more at:
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Providing-adult-learners-with-strategies-for-self-
advocation.aspx#sthash.s3xSmrvN.dpuf
Betts, K., & Lanza-Gladney, M. (2010, March). Academic advising: Strategies to increase student engagement and retention by
personalizing the online education experience. Academic Advising Today, 33(1). Retrieved from
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Academic-Advising-Strategies-to-Increase-
Student-Engagement-and-Retention-by-Personalizing-the-Online-Education-Experience.aspx#sthash.zUhHtHEj.dpuf
General Introduction to Narratology. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2015.
Hagen, P.L. (2007, Sept). Narrative theory and academic advising. Academic Advising Today, 36(2). Retrieved
http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Narrative-Theory-and-Academic-
Advising.aspx#sthash.Qz951Pja.dpuf
Goedde, B. (2009). Narrative and the Art of Advising. The Mentor.
Editor's Notes
Welcome
“But I’m dying to tell my story, for all my friends to read”. Hopefully, we’ll see how prescient this Warren Zevon quote is this afternoon.
By the end of today’s session you will successfully, Analyze Adult Learner engagement and its role in student persistence, Consider the role Narrative Theory has in Advising Adult Learners, Explore Villanova CPS and its practical application of Narrative Theory via Non-Traditional Students Week, and Discuss how Narrative Theory can be sustained as a practical tool for advisors through consideration of the Villanova CPS course “CPS 1000”.
The National Student Research Clearinghouse puts adult student persistence and retention rates at just below 60% and 40% respectively, with persistence defined as continued enrollment in multiple universities and retention defined as continued enrollment in one institution. Those of us who work with adults also understand this is a difficult metric, as adult students typically stop out for a variety of personal and professional reasons.
Non-traditional students are twice as likely to drop out within the first year, according to National Center for education Statistics, numbers cited by Jenkins in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Furthermore, Jenkins notes that these students, “now constitute a large and growing percentage of those attending college in the United States. In fact, they are fast becoming the new traditional.”
Now, there are numerous factors as to why adult students stop out, and variables such as program, age, and institution play into these trends as well. In a NACADA piece by Peck & Varney quote Kasworm’s New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education - adult learners “face challenges in gaining a place, a position, a voice and a related sense of valued self in the cultural worlds of higher education” Peck and Varney go on to note that , “this population tends to feel invisible on traditional college and university campuses where most everything is geared towards the traditional student” All of us can probably think of examples where this is true.
Peck and Varney explain why engagement is important. Engaging Adult Learners, Creates a sense of community and belonging, helps to Prevents attrition, and Nurtures a strong alumni base. The last item being of eat importance because it demonstrates how Adult learners Influence all parts of the university. Happy students become happy alumni.
Betts and Lanza Galdney go so far as to state, in the case of adult online programs, students engaged both in and out of the classroom are more likely to persist. Engagement activities here included personal phone calls, and out-of-classroom events.
Amongst the strategies promoted by Peck and Varney, we find Share ideas about creating a “place” and a “voice” on campus. Perhaps most importantly, they conclude what we all know… if our institution is not doing it, another one will. Student engagement, defined for our purposes as bringing the student into the university community, or, at a minimum, making the student feel welcome, has a role to play in adult student persistence. Now, don’t expect your adult student population to start joining clubs and throwing parties on campus, but don’t discount their desire to join and its consequences for persistence.
Which brings us to Narratology, or Narrative Theory. As per the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue, Narrative Theory examines the ways that narrative structures our perception of both cultural artifacts and the world around us. It is typically applied to film, literature, theater, etc. It’s used to analyze popular culture.
In 2007 Hagen incorporated Narrative Theory into academic advising. “We listen to and tell stories everyday” he tells us. He goes on to tell us how, in storytelling, both authors and their counterparts – the reader, are implied. So, for example, we read Shakespeare, but we do not know Shakespeare, Shakespeare the man. As readers we infer who he is through his writing – he is implied. Hagen goes on to tell us applying Chatman’s work to advising is that we and the students with whom we meet are both “implied authors” and “implied readers” simultaneously. We can’t know our students and vice-versa; they can’t know us. We only know these stories, and what they imply about each party…which gives these narratives heavy value when it comes to advising.
Hagen continues by giving us three specific situations where this applies:
Advisor to Advisor. While we all have our catalogs and our policy manuals, the main modality by which we train one another is through narratives, case studies. We store our most important advising principles—the unwritten ones—in stories.
Student to Advisor. They tell us their stories. We listen and use that most vital faculty we possess as advisors—our imagination—to imagine what it must be like to be that student. We only have the implied author available to us as we try to understand and influence the real author underneath.
Advisor to Student. Our hope is to influence the real reader, but all they have to go on is the “implied author” (us) in the narrative we are creating for them. We have a conception of what that student is really like, so we tailor our anecdote to connect with the reader that we imagine is sitting before us.
Goedde, in the mentor advising journal, continued Hagan’s ideas. He tells us the most trusted stories are from one student to another, through an intermediary – the academic advisor. Students tell advisors stories, we, as advisors relay these to other students.
My argument is that Hagans Narrative Theory model needs an additional component – student to student. Not simply one student talking to another, but a larger conversation with the advisor as facilitator that allows students to here each other’s voices unfiltered. If we do this, we can give an immediacy to student engagement, create a voice, and a community.
As found in Goedde’s Mentor article, Students relate more to information that came from their peer group.
So now where does that leave us from a practical standpoint? But first, a bit of history. (Brief CPS History)
Explanation of 2014 NTSW celebration
Explanation of distinguished student award
Honestly, knowing the levels of adult student engagement we have seen in the past, we had, not low, but small expectations. And yet, we had some nominations (click through)
As part of the award we noted that stories would be shared via social media. So here we can see this student to student narrative. It’s the student’s story, told by students, to students. And this meets our criteria – it is facilitated by the advisor, not filtered, it gives an immediacy to student engagement, creates a voice, and a community.
Here’s how it was done…
And, as you can see, the results were measureable. From facebook, these numbers are between Oct. 1 and November 30. You see the peak for engaged users during NTSW.
And visitors
And shares
Even on twitter, we had the highest number of impressions seen in 5 months.
More twitter stats
(describe award event and attendance)
Going back to Hagan, we are reminded of the primacy of stories in advising. Narrative does play a central role. So, the question became, how we can sustain this engagement. After all, NTSW is one week.
(Describe CPS 1000) An introductory course for adult students in the College of Professional Studies. Foundational adult education theory, and skills-based success strategies facilitate the transition back to the classroom. An emphasis on self-examination and change through personal storytelling.
One of the central course objectives Create and share personal stories of change via journaling that synthesize the theoretical and practical aspects of Adult Education
Explain assignment
After reading the Foster-Wallace piece, look into the future towards your own graduation day. Imagine that you have been invited to give the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony. If your graduation ceremony was held today, and you were the honored speaker, what would you tell the graduating class? How would you express what you learned on your own journeys?
Explain assignment
Once you have completed the SDL, please use your personal journal space to write 3-5 paragraphs summarizing your answers. Remember, a good paragraph is at least 5-7 sentences, preferably more. Your assessment should be an open and honest reflection of your answers. Were you surprised by your answers? Did you already know these things about yourself?
When writing, consider this the “prologue” to your story. Talk about your previous academic experiences. How will things change now?
Explain Final Presentation
You will create a presentation, no longer than ten minutes that highlights the best parts of each journal assignment. To begin, you should develop an introduction that gives an overview of your personal journal, or journey, throughout the course. Which assignments really moved you? How have these writing assignments affected your overall journey throughout the course, and throughout your college career?
Adult student engagement, in this case, making the adult student feel welcome and involved in the university community, does have, a relationship to student persistence. If we expand upon the previous research on Narrative theory in advising, particularly by creating a student-student model we can, in a tangible and measurable way, engage our adult students.
