Illuminated Leadership Evaluation Plan

Appreciative Sparks

Proposed by the Associate Dean of University Advising at Michigan State University (MSU), the Appreciative Advising framework is being integrated across advising units. A relatively new model for many academic advisors at MSU, Appreciative Advising includes six phases and uses a “collaborative practice of asking generative, open-ended questions to help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals, and potentials” (Appreciative Advising, 2025). This approach builds stronger advisor–student relationships, supports exploration and goal setting, and increases student persistence and success.

Advisors consistently report limited time for training and prefer flexible, virtual, self-paced options aligned with their work. To address this, Appreciative Sparks is a quick 2–3 minute microlearning series designed using 7Taps software. Each module introduces one appreciative advising phase with phrases and strategies advisors can use in daily conversations with students. The program allows advisors to build advising practices efficiently without an extensive time commitment.

Experience Appreciative Sparks

Tap the right side to advance and the left side to go back.

Objectives

To measure project success during development and post-launch, the project team will:

• Launch the program using the 7Taps platform by March 16, 2026, within budget, using scenario-based and reflective learning.

• Achieve at least 50% participation from undergraduate academic advisors.

• Implement a user feedback system to collect insights on the impact of the microlearning and identify additional training needs.

• 80% of advisors will report increased confidence in applying appreciative advising techniques.

• After engaging in scenario-based activities, advisors will describe how positive feedback and acknowledgment can strengthen relationships.

Project evaluation

Evaluation occurs before, during, and after development to align with advisor needs.

Pre-Project

A focus group of 20 advisors from various colleges will share their current understanding, confidence in applying appreciative advising in everyday practice, perceived barriers, and ideal delivery format. Findings will be summarized in a feedback analysis report. The focus group will be used at each stage of evaluation.

Ongoing

Throughout course development, advisors will review and respond to assessments based on Kaufman’s Model of Evaluation. An example of how Kaufman's model is applied is shown below in the Pilot phase.

1. Initial Wireframe (1 month in)

   1. A wireframe will be available for testing by our focus group in storyboard form with panels for each component of the microlearning course. Feedback will be collected and a report shared with the project team for enhancements and next steps.

      
      

2. High fidelity (2 months in)

   1. A high fidelity version of the microlearning course will be provided to the focus group, which is more interactive and will include branding and images that will likely appear in the final course. Participants will interact with the high fidelity model and provide feedback to the assessment team.

      
      

3. Pilot group test of final design

   1. A live session with the focus group will test the final version using polls and open discussion. Feedback will be analyzed using Kaufman’s 5 Levels of Evaluation, examining usability, learning acquisition, application confidence, impact on advising practice, and potential student benefit.

Kaufman Level	Focus During Pilot	Evaluation Methods
1a – Input	Does 7Taps and the content within it support the learning experience?	Poll - Survey advisors on accessibility, navigation, audio/visual quality, usability, and time to complete.
1b – Process	Was the microlearning experience engaging and effective?	Poll - Assess level of engagement, format, examples used, and delivery of content.
2 – Acquisition	Did advisors learn the Discover-phase phrase and understand its application?	Poll - Prompts focus on level of understanding after completing course and ability to apply to advising appointments.
3 – Application	How confident are advisors in using the phrase in advising conversations?	Poll - Evaluates confidence in applying phrase during advising sessions. Identify challenges and barriers.
4 – Organizational Results	Will this microlearning improve advising quality?	Poll - Assess impact course has to advising conversations.
5 – Societal (Student) Impact	How might students benefit as a result of advisors using the phrase?	Poll - Identify how advisors perceive phrases impacting student motivation and overall experience.

Experience the pilot program by clicking on the image below, which will direct you to a presentation in Canva that has a QR code to the 7Taps microlearning course.

Image of the Appreciative Sparks Pilot presentation with a button stating to Click Here to access the slides.

Post-Project

A survey has been integrated into the 7Taps microlearning course at the very end, asking participants to rank their confidence in applying the appreciative advising phase to their work. This will assist the project team in identifying phases that may need more attention and education. Additionally, a link to an optional feedback form is available for users to click on if they wanted to provide additional thoughts or ideas. Finally, a larger survey will be sent out to all MSU academic advisors 1 months after launch to evaluate campus-wide advisor participation and confidence in using appreciative advising phrases.

Responding to Feedback

In each stage, responding to feedback will happen both in real-time through the focus groups, noting areas that need improvements by the group, and through making adjustments to the project from the wireframe stage through the pilot. Responses will be organized into reports and provided to the project team for enhancements, with prioritization of items that need to be addressed first. After the project has launched and feedback is received through the final panel in the microlearning course, major technical issues will be addressed immediately while other feedback will be reviewed monthly to identify overlapping requests.

References

Appreciative Advising. (2025). Appreciative Advising. https://www.appreciativeadvising.net/