Helping High Achievers Find the Magic Within

Helping High Achievers Find the Magic Within

• 1.
  Dr. Emmanuel Garciaand Rebekah Chojnacki, M.A. University of Texas at Arlington October 21, 2016
• 2.
  Beyond Retention, HelpingBuild Resilience  A focus on retention leads to a focus on students in academic peril  Students who are “in good standing” may need support, but don’t get it because it’s not a high need  We want to fill in gap
• 3.
  High Achievers andthe Storms They Face  Not having to study much/at all before college  Little experience with failure/academic obstacles  Different standards—if a student has never had a “B” or “C” before, it can be traumatizing
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  Perfectionism  Help studentsfind balance—there’s a fine line between burnout and engagement  Seen in the US and in other countries—all high achievers deal with this worldwide  Sources of pressure  External (family, peers, etc.)  Internal (wanting to compete)
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  Invisible Challengers  Acommon challenge – invisible disabilities  High achievers may have invisible disabilities – e.g. General Anxiety Disorder, etc.
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  How Can theAdvisor Help?  Literature is really lacking for advisor role—mostly student based.  Help us start the conversation and generate ideas!  All students need our help—some just need us to listen more than anything else.
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  Setback vs. Failure What did you learn from this experience?  Show that bumps in the road are okay, you can still get to your destination  Look at the overall picture—one bad grade will not bar you from all future opportunities
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  Sometimes Life DoesNot Go as Expected  Calm down with math – show them they will still graduate  Show what they have accomplished so far – AP, dual credit, etc.  High-achievers like to see a plan written down  Re-assure plans can change
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  College is aWhole New World AP/Dual/IB Is Not the Same as College Level  AP – to claim or not to claim  Discuss the cost/benefits of not claiming AP credit to be more prepared for other classes  Dealing with stress when realization hits…
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  “We” instead of“You”  Use collaborative language  Use empathy
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  Discussion  What haveyou seen when working with high- achievers?  Discuss…
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  Dealing with FamilyPressure  Family Pressure  Planning to confront parents  Give major some more effort/mentors/research/tutoring  Let parents know that you’ve tried—show them  Don’t jump ship right away  Send student to career center (strengths quest & career planning)  Knowing what they are good at vs. passion  Hobbies vs. career
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  How to beSupportive  Be supportive and listen  What makes it important to the student  Let the student talk it through to help guide them to a solution  Help the student see the bigger picture  Let them have support to have venting time  Know when to send them to counseling  Help students build strategies for success
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  “I want more…” Achievers have internal drive…  Introducing: University College Scholars
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  References  Salanova, M.,Schaufeli, W., Martínez, I., & Bresó, E. (2010). How obstacles and facilitators predict academic performance: The mediating role of study burnout and engagement. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 23(1), 53-70.  Dickinson, M. J., & Dickinson, D. A. (2014). Practically perfect in every way: can reframing perfectionism for high-achieving undergraduates impact academic resilience?. Studies in Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-15.  Rice, K. G., Leever, B. A., Christopher, J., & Porter, J. D. (2006). Perfectionism, stress, and social (dis) connection: A short-term study of hopelessness, depression, and academic adjustment among honors students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(4), 524.  Siegle, D., Rubenstein, L. D., Pollard, E., & Romey, E. (2009). Exploring the relationship of college freshmen honors students’ effort and ability attribution, interest, and implicit theory of intelligence with perceived ability. Gifted Child Quarterly.  Neumeister, K. L. S. (2004). Understanding the relationship between perfectionism and achievement motivation in gifted college students. Gifted child quarterly, 48(3), 219-231.