Running head: CNSA528 PRACTITIONER PAPER 1

Practitioner Use of Theory

Patricia E. Carley

Bridgewater State University

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Practitioner Use of Theory

This paper outlines the results and observations from an interview that the researcher

conducted with a Student Affairs practitioner. The goals of the interview were to find out how

the practitioner uses theory in his dealings with students and obtain additional details on the

practitioners insights, preferences, experiences and successes. The researcher will detail the

outcomes of the interview session and how they relate to the Counseling and Techniques Theory

class.

Setting Up the Interview

The researcher set up the interview with Chad Argotsinger, Director of Tutoring and

Academic Support at Bristol Community College. The researcher works as a graduate assistant

in the Academic Achievement Center at Bridgewater State University and met Argotsinger at a

Quantity Across the Curriculum conference recently. As a graduate student in the Student Affairs

counseling program, the researcher is undecided on her placement following graduation but

currently shows a strong interest in advising and coaching. Argotsinger has been in the field of

Student Affairs for fourteen years. Argotsinger started in Residence Life and then worked in

Student Activities before moving to a role in Tutoring and Academic Support. As additional

background, Argotsinger graduated from Bowling Green University Masters program of College

Student Personnel (C. Argotsinger, personal communication, February 4, 2017).

Interview Content

Professor-directed Questions 1 through 4

To start the interview, the researcher asked Argotsinger what theories have proven to be a

good guide in the work he does. Argotsinger stated that he works most often with William

Perrys Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development. He has found it to be an excellent and
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relevant guide for understanding how students make meaning. Argotsinger stated that he did not

use Perrys Theory as much when he was in his Residence Life and Student Activities roles.

Another theory that Argotsinger likes to refer to in his current role is Chickerings Theory on the

Seven Vectors of Identity Development. At a community college, he sees and talks with students

that are at various stages of identity development and he finds both Perry and Chickerings

theories helpful to him when navigating a conversation or student support session. Argotsinger

mentioned that he is also advisor to the student run GLBT club and in his role as advisor to the

club he finds it more useful to leverage the CASS Identity Model. Argotsinger gave an example

of the importance of recognizing where a student is with their identity by sharing how the

director display excitement and openness about her identity and that of club members.

Argotsinger believes his perspectives have been helpful to the director by sharing with her that

not everyones sexual identity is as developed. Some students may be sorting how they want and

will address their identity, and therefore they may be more subdued and not yet prideful about

their identity. Argotsinger said he successfully explained to the director that her excitement and

pridefulness may need to be tempered with understanding and patience depending on who in the

club she is interacting with and whether that person was dealing with such inner conflict (C.

Argotsinger, personal communication, February 4, 2017).

The way that Argotsinger puts his theory into practice is by assessing where his students

are developmentally as per the specific theory, e.g., Perry, Chickering or CASS. Note that

Argotsinger stated that typically he only uses the CASS theory in his role as advisor to the GLBT

club. Argotsingers assessment may be derived through observation or through a simple

conversation. For example, some students may come to him and say they want him to give them

an answer. What Argotsinger recognizes is that they are probably in the duality phase where
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things are either black or white. While Argotsinger admitted that he may sometimes give them

the answer, he also looks to design appropriately challenging opportunities for the student so that

they learn to find the answer on their own and along the way gain the notion that there can be

other ways to achieve an outcome. Argotsinger said that he also trains his tutors to do the same.

For some students, they come to the Tutor center believing there is only one way to get to the

solution; either because that is where they are developmentally or because the professor taught

them one method and they believe it to be the only way. Even though Argotsinger is not an

advisor per se, he said he finds that students come to him from time to time and ask what classes

they should take. Usually it is because they are not comfortable picking their own classes. What

Argotsinger does is try to get the students to consider their interests and gives them some guided

input based on those interests before they make a selection. (C. Argotsinger, personal

communication, February 4, 2017).

Common issues that he sees students facing in his role as Director of Tutoring relate to

confidence. He sees students most often come to him and his team due to confidence with their

academics, with their ability to succeed or with the academic or career direction they are taking.

With the students in the GLBT club, the biggest issues he sees students facing relates to

acceptance. Many of the students he works with only identify as gay, lesbian etc. on campus and

they are struggling with how to be accepted in the broader community and at home (C.

Argotsinger, personal communication, February 4, 2017).

Argotsinger addressed practitioner competencies next. In Argotsingers area of specialty

he finds that the NASPA competencies of Advising and Support are important in his day to day

functions. Even though he is not technically an advisor, he does play that role with students

quite often. Argotsinger also spoke about being competent in assessment, evaluation and
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research. Every day, these concepts become more and more important. It is not enough to sense

that your services are working. Evidence and data is being required to show your ideas are good

and the results are better. Argotsinger stated that the data and numbers will make the Student

Affairs professional stand out and will be the impetus to obtain program funding (C. Argotsinger,

personal communication, February 4, 2017).

Student-directed Questions 5 through 14

When asked about professional development, Argotsinger replied that when he first

started out in the Student Affairs realm, he was involved in the traditional organizations, e.g.,

NACA and NODA. Now in his Tutoring and Academic Support role, he is involved in

associations like CRLA, College Reading & Learning Association. For Argotsinger, he finds

there is a wide gamut of opportunities regionally. Many conferences are hosted by Bridgewater

State University, and which he attends regularly (C. Argotsinger, personal communication,

February 4, 2017).

As mentioned previously, Argotsinger has had a wide variety of roles in Student Affairs.

In addition to those already mentioned, e.g., Residence Life, Student Activities and Tutoring and

Academic Support, Argotsinger spent 5 years in Alumni Relations and Development. In this

area, student development theory was not applicable. Aside from his role in Alumni Relations,

Argotsinger has found everything from his Masters program still useful for him today and in

fact, he often still refers to notes and textbooks from when he was in the program. Argotsinger

agreed with the notion that the theories he uses will often vary by student and by department. He

explained that he migrates toward a set of theories that have resonated with him. Argotsinger

reflected that almost always he finds he needs to adjust the theory he is using to accommodate

the uniqueness of the student, particularly because the student populations he works with are so
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diverse. When asked if it was difficult to adjust theory and /or technique on the fly, Argotsinger

said that there is always opportunity to reflect on a session and think about ways to change an

approach for the next session. He has never been in a situation where he found it necessary to

get it 100% right the first time (C. Argotsinger, personal communication, February 4, 2017).

We also spoke about Argotsingers experience with peers and professional connections

and how they may have influenced or assisted him in his practice. Argotsinger stated that

initially his strongest connections were his peer graduate students. They were a small, tight knit

cohort and he finds that even 14 years later he still talks to a couple of individuals that were in

his graduate program. More recently, the connections he has developed has been at professional

associations. Argotsinger has found that the roles he has held more recently have been in

institutions where very few people do the same job, so for that reason his best resources have

been peers in professional organizations. It is very different when you first start out and there

can be as many as 3 or 4 people doing the same job at your institution. As you get to the director

level, peers with the same functions at your institution become rarer (C. Argotsinger, personal

communication, February 4, 2017).

Interviewer Observations on Counseling Theory

Not having taken the Student Development Theory class yet and because the researcher

had only just started the Counseling Theories and Techniques class, it was not evident during the

interview that Argotsinger was describing Student Development Theory and not Counseling

Theory. Using some basic knowledge of counseling theory which was gleaned from the current

text, and from concepts studied in Multicultural Counseling and Career Counseling classes, the

researcher extrapolated from the information that Argotsinger shared and surmised that

Argotsinger may use a more person-centered approach. Argotsinger seems to focus on helping
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his students achieve greater independence and integration so they can cope. He also uses some

techniques common to a person-centered approach, e.g., using assessment, being completely

present for the client and being an astute listener who is grounded, genuine, centered, caring and

accepting (Corey, 2013). It also seemed possible that he may use some forms of behavior

therapy in his work inasmuch as he aims to increase students skills so that they have more

options for responding. He helps them to overcome the behaviors that tend to restrict their

ability to make choices. Though Argotsinger use of behavior therapy likely differs from the

traditional behavior therapy in that he does not seem to jointly define goals with the student,

instead he indicated that he typically encourages them to define their own.

Summary

The interview with Argotsinger was extremely beneficial to the researcher as it covered a

broad number of student affairs specialties and showed how theory can and will change

depending on the individual and the situation. As a student in the program, it was encouraging to

hear that there is not a one size fits all approach and in fact there are many ways to assist students

using theory, and still be successful. The researcher learned that the theory that resonates with

you often times is the one that will fit the bill.
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References

Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Cengage

Learning.