Academic Advising Portfolio - Division of Continuing Education ...

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something that happens to her. The advisor should reinforce the mutual responsibility that
exists within advising and hold Adrienne accountable while emphasizing that she has the same
ability and capacity to learn, develop her skills, and be as successful as her peers. A strong
emphasis on learning theory and strategies can help the advisor provide Adrienne with
concrete steps to build her competence, confidence, and autonomy.
Learning Theory
Newton and Smith (1996) found that several factors contribute to student learning in
college, including having a goal‐orientation, becoming actively engaged in learning, congruence
of learning to self values, having good learning habits, self‐confidence and self‐efficacy, and
having the life in balance, and being in a good environment. Considering these factors, it is no
wonder Adrienne is having difficulties in school. It appears that most if not all of these factors
are underdeveloped in Adrienne. Her goals are not very firmly developed, she engages in
passive learning techniques, she is unsure of her values, she doesn’t have good working habits,
she has low self‐confidence and very little self‐reliance, and on top of all of this she is
experiencing the stress of a radically new environment – thereby throwing off her life balance.
Furthermore, Adrienne’s develop to what she believes about herself as a student;
indeed, Tagg (2004) suggests that a student’s development “reflects stages of development in
students’ realization of themselves as learners” (p. 7). Therefore, it will be helpful for the
advisor to guide Adrienne’s self‐discovery through a learning theory such as Kolb’s Theory of
Experiential Learning. This theory can identify Adrienne’s primary individual learning style and
also help to design specific strategies for Adrienne to learn and adapt her study habits to her
courses (Evans et al., 1998). A paper assessment, such as the Kolb Learning Style Inventory‐IIA