Katie and Shawn presented about the use of different
resources on campus and whether they were personal, academic, or career
focused, or all three. This presentation really reminded me of how I used resources to help
myself through my freshman year as well as different parts of my sophomore year
so far. After realizing what different resources I used I decided to choose to
write about the last given situation which was the one concerning William
wanting to change his major. I chose this situation because it was never a
problem for me but seems to be a problem for many students so I should
definitely be ready for this problem. To start off I would inform him that many
students come to college having no idea what major to go with. To address this
problem you must first figure out what area of study you are interested in. I
would ask him what his background is and what college he is most interested in:
Business, Agriculture, Life Sciences, Design, etc. Once I found this out I would
be able to further help him by setting up an appointment with career services
to make sure this is a good choice for him. I would tell William that I had
never changed my major before and have not had much experience when it comes to
knowing about different majors so I am not the best help to solve the problem
and that is why I am referring him to the career services building. To me this
is a more urgent situation so it should be taken care of quickly. By me
attending this meeting with my student I feel as if they will be more prompted
to go to the resource again and to build the student’s confidence in the
resource. After this referral I would make sure to ask if William thought this
resource was helpful or not and then give him time to think about all of the
different things that were discussed during the referral. About a week later I would
check back in with him to make sure the problem is getting fixed or else I would
find another resource to use to fix this problem.
I'm also among the few who still have the same major that I started with so I also would have no idea how to really go about the process of finding a new major. Like you stated, I think it's important that you're up front with the student in telling them that you aren't an expert in the matter, but are still willing to help. I agree that Career Services is the best place to refer William to; I would also remind him that being open option during the first semester of freshman year isn't the worst thing in the world, to ensure that he doesn't rush into another major. Finally adding to that, I like how you said that you would give him some time to think over the situation after the meeting with Career Services. Big decisions like that shouldn't be made within hours!
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteChanging majors is a complicated and stressful process...I've changes 3 time and have even switched colleges once! I think it is good that you would make him aware that you have never switched majors before. If you told him you have and tried to relate to the situation he could become bitter if he eventually finds out that you were'nt telling the truth. I think it's awesome that you would be honest with him! Being honest with him would strengthen your relationship and create trust, which would better help him in solving his problem.
See you in class,
Makayla
Matt,
ReplyDeleteI definitely have to agree with you and Makayla here, in the fact that being honest with him about you never being through the process before as the reason why you are referring him. This allows your student to feel as though you really do care about doing what is best for them. Also, I think incorporating yourself into the process of it will also help give you an idea of what the switches all consist of that way you will have a little background knowledge on the topic if it is ever needed again.
Nicole :)