If faculty members hope to model the behaviors that they are expecting from their students, and to mentor students to become self-growers, they must themselves aspire to become better at their own self-growth, and must consciously work at such development in a disciplined fashion. This module reviews the long-standing need for instructors to take on this particular modeling mentor role due to the importance being given to self-growth/actualization. It presents foundational information useful in formulating a deliberate plan for self-growth and provides the steps to be followed in such formulation and assessment.

The Importance of Self-Actualization

One must learn to be self-directed; otherwise one’s destiny is likely to be determined by others. The importance of facilitating self-directedness has been prominent in the literature for approximately forty years; still, education has fallen short in its task of helping learners achieve it. Carl Rogers, well-known for his theory of personality (1959), maintains that the human organism has an underlying actualizing tendency which aims to develop all capacities in ways that maintain or enhance the organism and move it toward autonomy. This tendency is directional, constructive, and present in all living things. The actualizing tendency can be suppressed but can never be destroyed without the destruction of the organism (Rogers, 1977).

Abraham Maslow holds a similar belief that growth is an innate tendency. He describes self-actualization as a person’s need to be and do what he or she was “born to do.” He believes that the only impediments to a person’s tendencies towards self-actualization are those placed in his or her way by society. He argues that education is one of these hindrances. He recommends ways that education can switch from its usual person-stunting tactics to person-growing approaches and offers ten points to help educators achieve this end (Simons, 1987).

Facilitating Self-Growth Critical New Role

It is a central principle of Process Education that mentorship is one of the five key roles of a quality faculty member. Instructors mentor students as well as coworkers, and the mentorship role extends beyond modeling effective work practices; it includes the importance of modeling a conscious, deliberate practice of self-growth. Before one can do such mentoring, it is imperative to have a vision of the desired end state and to have personal comfort with that state. In 1.4.5 Performance Levels for Learners and Self-Growers, Eric Myrvaagnes articulates this vision. “Self-growers have defining characteristics which include an enduring interest in assessment and self-assessment in order to maximize performance in every aspect of life. They have a well-thought-out personal and professional vision that they use to guide their lives. They also have a high degree of self-confidence and emotional maturity that allows them to take risks and put themselves in challenging situations that require increased levels of performance. They have an ability to define motivating and meaningful outcomes for every learning experience, eagerly seeking these experiences. Self-growers are adept at clarifying critical issues and critical assumptions associated with problems that are important to themselves and others. They can be counted on to apply themselves and produce high-quality results; thus, they are role models for others.”

This new role for faculty, implied by Barr and Tagg (1995), requires a paradigm shift within education. Learners must shift from seeing knowledge as “out there” to discovering and constructing it for themselves. Faculty roles need to change so that instructors facilitate learning rather than act as the source of knowledge. Robert Kegan reinforces this need, advocating that educators raise learners’ level of consciousness, since “it will become increasingly necessary in the modern work as adults face demands to be self-responsible initiators at work and in their personal lives rather than simply doing what they are told or following tradition. One of the dilemmas we face in society is that, according to developmental research, fewer than 50% of adults ever reach this fourth order of consciousness” (Putnam, 2007). See 1.1.2 Changing Expectations for Higher Education.

Acquiring Skills as a Self-Grower

One has to ask why there has not been greater emphasis in the past in helping students to become self-growers when the need has been clearly articulated for some time. The answer may be that educators have not understood this to be their responsibility; it is also possible that they have never become self-growers themselves or have never consciously or deliberately planned for or executed the process. The following methodology (Table 1) is offered as a means to assist faculty in such personal development and offers the resources available in the Faculty Guidebook for achieving that end.

Concluding Thoughts

In work environments in which time seems to be a limited resource, the energy and discipline required for deliberate self-growth may cause many faculty members to decide that this kind of work is extraneous. However, if we are serious about having the credibility and skill sets to mentor students to become self-growers, it is work worthy of an individual’s attention. There are certainly those who have achieved the developmental level of self-grower. For them the resources identified within the Faculty Guidebook may be sufficient for gaining greater effectiveness in this work.

References

Barr, R. B., & Tagg, J. (1995). From teaching to learning: A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, 27, (6), 13-25.

Pescitelli, D. (1996). An analysis of Carl Roger’s theory of personality. Retrieved May 5, 2007 from
<http://pandc.ca/?cat=carl_rogers&page=rogerian_theory>

Putnam, B. (2007). Robert Kegan’s developmental perspective. Retrieved May 5, 2007 from
<http://www.actiondesign.com/resources/theory/kegan.htm>

Simons, J. A., Irwin, D. B., & Drinnin, B. A. (1987). Psychology: The search for understanding. New York: West.

Table 1

Steps for Self-Growth	FGB Modules that are Resources for Questions
Recognize the difference between your knowledge and your personal growth To establish a baseline, write a reflective assessment of your own personal development	Differentiating Knowledge from Growth What have been key contributors to my growth? How would I objectively describe my development if I were on the outside looking in? What have been (continue to be) key challenges to my development?
Describe your personal vision To what qualities do you aspire? What qualities do you want others to see? Imagine how others would describe your character or your legacy if you achieved your vision	Becoming a Self-Grower Are the qualities of a self-grower something to which I aspire? Is my vision of what I want to become clear to me and evident to significant others? Do I consciously and frequently assess my own development? Do I have the skill sets for processing significant life experiences? What are they? Do I have benchmarks to track my growth? What might they be? Am I motivated by a need to serve others and make the world a better place? How do I currently express that?
Note: Document this for yourself as a way of describing a desired state of being. Keep it readily available to use as a reminder.
Find a mentor What are the qualities you want in a mentor? Who do you admire with those qualities? Determine whether this person is willing to commit to such a relationship	Overview of Mentoring Do my mentor and I agree on the time commitment for this relationship? Have we clarified the purpose of the relationship? What do I admire about the mentor that I want to learn to integrate into my own being? Am I prepared to challenge and discipline myself to work on this between mentoring sessions?
Note: Consider a person with whom you are not seeking a friendship.
Formulate a plan of action Together with your mentor, determine the desired levels of performance Mutually assess your current performance and establish outcomes to close the gap Determine action steps needed to build performance to the desired level Prioritize the steps Establish measures of performance Develop a plan for assessing performance and monitoring progress	Personal Development Methodology Does the ten-step methodology offer a process that can guide our interactions and my growth? Performance Levels for Learners and Self-Growers Within the four domains, which of the five levels best describe my current performance? What are the levels to which I can realistically aspire during the time committed to this relationship? Affective Domain Which of the affective domain competencies have I currently mastered? What objective evidence do I have for this? On which of these do I want/need to work? Which affective domain learning skills do I employ competently? Which of these need to be improved? How can I work on them?
Write the self-growth paper by reviewing your plan, identifying beginning performance levels, documenting progress, and offering reflections about current levels of performance.