How can you select the right advising model for a student?

Prescriptive advising is a conventional approach that centers on furnishing students with explicit and precise information, counsel, and input. In the role of a prescriptive advisor, one assumes the position of an authoritative figure equipped with the knowledge to guide students, and there is an expectation for them to adhere to provided instructions and recommendations. This advising model proves beneficial in tackling uncomplicated or time-sensitive matters like course selection, graduation requirements, or academic policies. However, it comes with the potential drawback of limiting students' autonomy, responsibility, and critical thinking skills.

The biggest advantage for the prescriptive advice style is when there is a knowledge gap between you and who you advise. Part of the aim of it should, in turn, be to reduce that knowledge gap as much as possible so you do not need to do it again.

For me it’s akin to the age old question, … … should you teach someone to fish, … or just give them a fish you caught. So for me the greater goal & impact is to pass on skills, mindsets & tools that develop and grow our students to be better versions of themselves. With the skills and abilities to solve their own problems and build their own solutions. It has always felt arrogant to me to think that as educators we have all the answers. The destination and answer is best created by the learner, as a customised unique solution for them. So being in the development game is far better than just teaching, for me.

The heart of education is to encourage evolution. In the end it isn't about you. You're not the one who emerges. They are. The paradox is that's how you encourage them to do even more. Use this whenever you can.

When wearing the coach hat, our job is to … … reconnect our coachees with their passions, and what makes them special … help guide them back towards meaning and satisfaction in their lives … while providing confidence and direction that they can achieve their goals! This is a virtuous and rewarding path, and one which every coachee benefits from deeply. … But I love that all the magic comes from, and happens inside, the coachee themselves. They do it themselves, and this makes it all the more powerful and deep!

Appreciative is a style that works most when the self esteem of your students still bears the scars of past educational experiences. You cannot solely go with it, because there needs to be some amount of criticism, but you guide people who's sense of self was snuffed out to acquire it again.

This is a little bit like the biopsychosocial model in psychology and what I lean to most but you need to be aware of all the other elements of the model before you bring them all together.

How do you select the right model? Data. Qualitative and quantitative. That's the only valid choice to base the decision on. What else would you use?