The Classroom: The Classroom: The Foundation for The Foundation for Student Success Student Success George D. Kuh George D. Kuh Defining and Promoting Defining and Promoting Student Success Student Success Faculty Resource Network Faculty Resource Network November 21, 2008 November 21, 2008
Sarah Sarah Nicole Nicole Javier Javier
We all want the same thing— —an an We all want the same thing undergraduate experience that undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning results in high levels of learning and personal development for all and personal development for all students. students.
Overview Overview 21 st century knowledge, skills and competencies Today’s students Why engagement matters Implications for institutional and curricular policies and classroom practices
Advance Organizers Advance Organizers To what extent do your students To what extent do your students engage in productive learning engage in productive learning activities, inside and and outside the outside the activities, inside classroom? classroom? How do you know? How do you know? What could we do differently What could we do differently -- -- or or better -- -- to enhance student to enhance student better success? success?
Student Success in College Student Success in College Academic achievement, engagement Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post- - educational objectives, and post college performance college performance
Association of American Colleges and Universities
— Narrow Learning is Not Enough — Narrow Learning is Not Enough The Essential Learning Outcomes The Essential Learning Outcomes Knowledge of Human Cultures Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical Physical & Natural World & Natural World and the Intellectual and Practical Skills Intellectual and Practical Skills Personal and Social Responsibility Personal and Social Responsibility “ “Deep Deep” ”/Integrative Learning /Integrative Learning
Deep/Integrative Learning Deep/Integrative Learning Attend to the underlying meaning of Attend to the underlying meaning of information as well as content information as well as content Integrate and synthesize different Integrate and synthesize different ideas, sources of information ideas, sources of information Discern patterns in evidence or Discern patterns in evidence or phenomena phenomena Apply knowledge in different Apply knowledge in different situations situations View issues from multiple View issues from multiple perspectives perspectives
Most Important Skills Employers Look For In New Hires Recent Grads* Teamwork skills 38% 44% Critical thinking/ 37% reasoning 33% Oral/written 37% 30% communication Ability to assemble/ 10% 21% organize information Innovative/thinking 21% 20% creatively Able to work with 4% 9% numbers/statistics Foreign language 6% 3% proficiency * Skills/abilities recent graduates think are the two most important to employers
Evidence of College Graduates Evidence of College Graduates Skills and Knowledge Skills and Knowledge Very effective Fairly effective Supervised internship/community-based project 83% 69% Senior project (e.g., thesis, project) 79% 46% Essay tests 60% 35% Electronic portfolio & faculty assessments 56% 33% Multiple-choice tests 32% 7% Employers On Accountability Challenge – December 2007 – Hart Research for
Know Your Students Know Your Students “Part of being a good teacher (not all) is knowing that you always have something new to learn – not so much about teaching techniques but about these particular students at this particular time and their particular set of aspirations, confusions, misconceptions, and ignorance” (Bain, 2004, p.174)
Today’ ’s Students s Students Today Who are they? Who are they? What are they telling us? What are they telling us?
Students Today Students Today An entitlement An entitlement mentality mentality
Trends in High School Grades Trends in High School Grades 45 40 35 30 25 A- or better 20 C+ or less 15 10 5 0 1969 1974 1979 1984 1989 1994 2008
Students Today Students Today An entitlement An entitlement mentality mentality Cumulative Cumulative deficit re: deficit re: attitudes, study attitudes, study habits, academic habits, academic skills skills
What to Do?!? What to Do?!? Student success requires that Student success requires that professors explain more things professors explain more things to today’ ’s students that we once s students that we once to today took for granted – – took for granted “You must buy the book, you You must buy the book, you “ must read it and come to class, must read it and come to class, you must observe deadlines or you must observe deadlines or make special arrangements make special arrangements when you miss one” ” when you miss one Prof. Richard Turner (1998, p.4)
Students Today Students Today More diverse than More diverse than previous cohorts previous cohorts Techno Techno- -savvy savvy “NetGens NetGens” ” “ Connected to Connected to family family
Factors That Threaten Persistence and Factors That Threaten Persistence and Graduation from College Graduation from College academically underprepared for academically underprepared for college- -level work level work college first- -generation college student generation college student first gap between high school and college gap between high school and college 30+ hours working per week 30+ hours working per week part- -time enrollment time enrollment part single parent single parent financially independent financially independent children at home children at home
What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement Student Engagement Because individual effort and ndividual effort and Because i involvement are the critical involvement are the critical determinants of college impact, determinants of college impact, institutions should focus on institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their the ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to extracurricular offerings to encourage student student encourage engagement. . engagement Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 602 Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 602
Foundations of Student Engagement Foundations of Student Engagement Time on task (Tyler, 1930s) Time on task (Tyler, 1930s) Quality of effort (Pace, 1960 Quality of effort (Pace, 1960- -70s) 70s) Student involvement (Astin, Student involvement (Astin, 1984) 1984) Social, academic integration Social, academic integration (Tinto,1987, 1993) (Tinto,1987, 1993) Good practices in Good practices in undergraduate education undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) College impact (Pascarella, 1985) College impact (Pascarella, 1985) Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, 2005) 2005)
Student Engagement Trifecta Student Engagement Trifecta What students What students do do -- -- time and energy time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful devoted to educationally purposeful activities activities What institutions What institutions do do -- -- using using effective educational practices to effective educational practices to induce students to do the right induce students to do the right things things Educationally effective institutions Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the the channel student energy toward right activities right activities
Good Practices in Good Practices in Undergraduate Education Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Student- -faculty contact faculty contact Student Active learning Active learning Prompt feedback Prompt feedback Time on task Time on task High expectations High expectations Respect for diverse learning styles Respect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among students Cooperation among students
National Survey of National Survey of Student Engagement Student Engagement (pronounced “nessie”) Community College Community College Survey of Student Survey of Student Engagement Engagement (pronounced “cessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development
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