Faculty and Staff Stories
Managing Director Sarah Gordon received the Academic Affairs Division Staff Professional Development Grant, which allowed the SJSU Online Student Success Center advisors to participate in the Appreciative Advising Online Course. One of the projects created from this course is the development of the Spartan Lifelong Learners Workshop. The workshop aims to assist students in integrating knowledge gained from life and work experiences, reflecting on their college journey, and setting goals for successful degree completion.
The SJSU Online Student Success Center hosted their first Spartan Lifelong Learners workshop in Spring 2024. Appreciative advising provides a framework for advisors that can maximize their interactions with students (Bloom J., Hutson B.L., & He, Y., 2008). According to Bloom, Hutson, and He (2008), the six phases of the appreciative advising framework are: Disarm, Discover, Dream, Design, Deliver, and Don’t Settle. A key feature of the Don’t Settle phase is for advisors to “challenge and support” students. This translates to advisors promoting continuous growth and progress for students, while creating an environment that is supportive and encouraging as obstacles arise.
The goal of the Spartan Lifelong Learners workshop was to create a space for Spring and Summer graduates to recognize their academic accomplishments while also reflecting on what is next for them in efforts to challenge and support them. The workshop included reflection activities that challenged students to focus on their journey to graduation, what they’ve learned about themselves in this process, and how they plan to apply what they learned from their undergraduate experience to their next goal. A focus of the workshop was supporting students with information about the graduation application process, commencement ceremony information, and suggestions for next steps after graduation (including guidance and advice from SJSU Online alumni). The SJSU Online Student Success Center plans to provide this workshop for SJSU Online graduates every semester.
The goal of the Spartan Lifelong Learners workshop was to create a space for Spring
and Summer graduates to recognize their academic accomplishments while also reflecting
on what is next for them in efforts to challenge and support them. The workshop included
reflection activities that challenged students to focus on their journey to graduation,
what they’ve learned about themselves in this process, and how they plan to apply
what they learned from their undergraduate experience to their next goal. A focus
of the workshop was supporting students with information about the graduation application
process, commencement ceremony information, and suggestions for next steps after graduation
(including guidance and advice from SJSU Online alumni). The SJSU Online Student Success
Center plans to provide this workshop for SJSU Online graduates every semester.