Navigating Critical Conversations with Students: Practical Approaches for Academic Coaching
Faculty and
staff advisors regularly find themselves engaged in critical conversations with
students who are at a crossroads, seeking out guidance on pivotal decisions
about their future. Academic coaching can give higher ed professionals a
framework to guide these critical conversations and ensure that students feel
heard and connected to the resources at their disposal. A coaching approach to
advising doesn’t mean you have to be the expert on all things; academic
coaching is built on a foundation of assumptions where the students are the
experts in their own lives and the academic coach serves as a catalyst for
progress and goal achievement. The objective of this session is to give faculty
and staff who advise students the tools to help guide them towards
self-efficacy. We can empower students to see choices and possibilities in
response to their challenges rather than barriers. By asking open-ended and
self-reflective questions, we can help students to recognize their own agency
and the role they play in their academic success.
Presentation Materials
Jennifer Tilbury, Associate Professor Developmental Writing;
Director of UAF CTC Learning Center
Amanda Triplett, Academic Advisor, UAS