10 Questions With… Cass Dykeman, professor of counseling with the College of Education. He holds the record for the highest number of dissertations (70) supervised as the major professor at Oregon State University.
What originally brought you to Oregon State and how long have you been here?
I was a tenured counselor educator at Eastern Washington University and quite happy. However, I felt a deep calling to educate the next generation of the professorship for my field. So, when the opportunity came up in 1998 to move to OSU and teach in their doctoral program I jumped at it. Thus far I have been able to graduate 70 of my PhD students and still counting.
What makes you passionate about higher education?
It is the same thing that made me passionate about working in the K-12 system as a school counselor in Seattle. To be standing in front of a class and seeing that a-ha experience on the faces of your students is a thrill beyond belief. Pure magic.
How does the work you put in helping these students attain a dissertation help you as a teacher?
Advising doctoral students through the dissertation process has made me a better classroom teacher for sure. The key to advising students through the dissertation process is to make sure you lay out a clear workflow and chunk the work into manageable pieces that advisees can accomplish to maintain adequate levels of confidence and motivation. Early in my career, I sometimes tried to take too big of a learning leap in class. Dissertation advising taught me to slow down, be more intentional and realistic about how much knowledge students can meaningfully acquire at any one time.
What advice would you give the younger version of yourself who was just starting college?
My feeling is that it’s hard to get motivated as a student in college if you don’t have some specific career goals in mind. The famous career theorist Donald Super stated that a career choice is “putting into action a self-concept.” I don’t think I really understood who I was when I entered college and thus floundered initially as a student. It took me a while to find a field of study that was organic to who I was as a person. The advice I would give is that if you don’t have a clear understanding of yourself, put in the time and build that first. After that is built, selecting a major and a career that are motivating will naturally follow.
What tips do you share with students about to work on their dissertation?
- Wear blinders that keep you focused on the writing step right in front of you. Thinking about the dissertation project in toto just creates anxiety and writing avoidant behaviors.
- Once you start writing, don’t stop. Restarting is incredibly hard, both cognitively and emotionally. You would be amazed how much can be accomplished even writing just one sentence a week.
- Try to avoid thinking of your dissertation being your life’s academic masterpiece. You are early in your career as a researcher with lots to learn. Trying to reach research perfection out of the gate will create anxiety and writing avoidant behaviors.
- Learn who you are as a writer. Figure out the times of day and locations where you write most effectively. No two writers are the same and comparing yourself to another writer is a recipe for disaster.
- In terms of developing your research questions, gap-spotting the literature of your profession is necessary but not sufficient for the development of good research questions. Your research questions also need the potential to disrupt current practice in your profession. If not, why bother putting in the effort to do the research?
What was your favorite course in college?
My favorite course occurred during my freshman year at Georgetown University. I had political philosophy with Father James Schall. By reading original sources he taught us how to recognize totalitarianism in both its far left and far right forms. No professor ever demonstrated the use of the Socratic method in class better than Fr. Schall.
What are some of the positions your former students have landed after graduation?
My advisees, who all are mid-career counseling professionals, come to Oregon State University with one of two goals. The first is to be a tenure track professor of counseling. The other is to continue as a professional counselor, as well as teaching counseling and conducting clinical supervision. Whichever track they pursue, my advisees report back that they’re very happy with both their career path and their OSU experience. One of my favorite things is to get emails from them sharing their latest publication in a peer-reviewed journal. It’s a joy to celebrate with them that external affirmation of them as scientists.
Considering how much time and effort it takes to be the major professor for a PhD student, why have you chosen to take on so many students over the years?
Helping someone move from being a consumer of knowledge to a producer of knowledge is a rare privilege. Being present when that identity shift happens is amazing and I never get tired of it.
How does AI currently play a role in school counseling, and how do you see that changing?
I tell my students that I see AI as the greatest pedagogical innovation since the introduction of chalk. When I was a school counselor, I had a position where I was 0.5 FTE at a high school and 0.5 FTE at an elementary school. I was responsible for 250 kids at the high school and 650 kids at the elementary school. Sadly, 37 years later, these ratios are not any better. With such numbers, I had no ability to serve more than a tiny segment of the students I was responsible for. AI can help school counselors provide academic, social-emotional and career development services in a more personalized way and to all students regardless of where they live or their current ability level. I see AI as the great equalizer in education. In the short time I have remaining in my career, I am devoted in my own research to forwarding the integration of AI into both K-12 and higher education.
What is your favorite non-academic pursuit or passion?
I have three non-academic pursuits that I do every week: indoor soccer, CrossFit and pickleball. I can’t get enough of all three of them!
