Exemplar #4 Analysis

Research Assistant
College and Career Readiness
Standard Met:
Standard 19
Standard 20
Standard 23
Standard 28
Standard 30

Academic Development
Career Development
Advocacy
Organizational and System Development
Research, Program Evaluation and Technology

Introduction
Beginning in Fall 2014, I was hired as a research assistant for Dr. Laura Owen.
Dr. Owen is the current Director of SDSUs School Counseling Program. As a
research assistant for Dr. Owen, the projects I worked on focused on understanding
the causes of summer melt and identifying efficient methods of communication to
better assist students with the transition from high school to college. Our work also
focused on evaluating online platforms meant to assist students with successfully
making the transfer from high school to college and simplifying the application
process for students and counselors.

Overall, my experience as a research

assistant focused on interviewing, transcribing and analyzing feedback provided by

school counselors, students, administrators and district personnel.
Standards of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program
STANDARD 19: Academic Development
As school counselors, we often dont know what truly happens with our students
academic careers beyond high school graduation. The transition from high school
to college can be a scary and complicated process and our students are often left to
navigate the process alone. In our research, we evaluated the use of a texting
platform as a means of bridging the gap that occurs between high school and
college. The platform allowed for supportive text messaging to occur between the
student and a school counselor. As a future school counselor, tools like this will

change the way we counsel and support our students in the college-going process.
Implementing the use of bridging tools will not only support our students through
the process but it will allow us as school counselors to provide data beyond high
school graduation. We typically know whether or not students are graduating but
with tools like this we can now track what happens after graduation which I find to
be just as important if we are really focused on preparing students for
postsecondary options.
STANDARD 20: Career Development
One of the online platforms that we evaluated provided students with an
opportunity to research a variety of career options. Counselors worked with
students to implement lessons which included the students taking career inventory
surveys which generated a list of careers fit for that particular student. Based on
interviews we facilitated with students, it was apparent that several of the students
found the career inventories to be a useful too. It allowed them an opportunity to
further research careers they were previously interested in and several students
discovered new careers they hadnt previously thought about. My familiarity with
tools such as this will enhance the level of service that I will be able to provide to
my students. I look forward to implementing similar platforms and the use of
technology into my future work as a school counselor.
STANDARD 23: Advocacy
School counselors serve as important advocates for students. As part of our
advocacy, we ensure students have access to opportunity. Our research has
focused on providing more opportunity and additional services to students via new
forms of technology. However, the use of technology also comes with another form
of advocacy which is to ensure that students are able to access the technological

supports we are using to aid in their future success. As a future school counselor,
my role as an advocate will be crucial to the success of all of my students. From my
time as a research assistant, Ive seen how advocacy can be used to create more
opportunity especially when implementing tools that catering to our technologydriven world. However, I have also been exposed to the barriers that can be
created when a new tool is introduced that doesnt allow every student to access it
due to a lack of resources, etc.
STANDARD 28: Organizational and System Development
As a research assistant, I have had the opportunity to interview a variety of district
personnel in regards to the implementation of new programs, specifically online
platforms. For these interviews, I have learned about some of the barriers that can
occur within a district when a new program is being introduced and implemented
with the staff. Some of the barriers included things like a lack of communication
when implementing a new program and blurred or differing visions for how the
program should be used in schools and with the students. This experience and
knowledge has proven to be an invaluable tool when working within the school
system. As a result, I have been able to identify barriers at my fieldwork site and
through collaboration with teachers, I better understand how to break down barriers
related to communication and sharing of information, specifically.
STANDARD 30: Research, Program Evaluation and Technology
One of the main purposes of our research is program evaluation and understanding
how the use of technology can be used to support students. As a research
assistant, I have become more and more familiar with a wide-range of qualitative
and quantitative research focused on college and career readiness as well as should
counselor leadership. As part of the research process, we transcribed and analyzed

the interviews to find common themes in the evaluation. We learned how to

analyze the nformation by hand as well as with the use of powerful research
programs that assist in finding themes within the transcription. As a future school
counselor, the skills I have learned from this experience will help me to better
evaluate school counseling programs. Analyzing the data we gathered in our
research projects has provided me with a better understanding of how to gather
data and using it to inform change.
Conclusion
My experiences as a research assistant have been essential to my growth as
a school counselor. The opportunity to interview counselors, students,
administrators and district personnel from across the country has provided me with
a greater sense of perspective in the profession. This experience has not only
taught me more about the field of research but it has also taught me about what it
takes to create systemic change and implement new programs into the education
system. My work as a research assistant will forever inform my work as a future
school counselor.