TENN TLC addresses retentionthrough student engagement UT SIFE

students

13 May 2010

The Persistence-Engagement Connection

• Engagement is shown to occur in high-impact practices (HIPs) and deep learning, as shown by a wealth of studies (Kuh 2009).

• Students with high levels of academic course engagement [through good use of academic skills such as taking notes, studying, going to class] are 1.5 times more likely to graduate—and graduate a semester early (Svanum & Bigatti 2009).

Student Engagement Defined

Student Engagement has taken on broader and deeper meanings. It refers to…

the time and energy that students devote to activities linked to desired student learning outcomes (those promoting success and persistence),

ANDwhat institutions do to get students to engage in

these activities. (Astin 1984, Kuh 2009)

HIPs: High Impact Activities that Engage Students

• First-Year Seminars and Experiences

• Common Intellectual Experiences

• Writing-Intensive Courses • Collaborative Assignments and

Projects • Undergraduate Research• Diversity/Global Learning• Service Learning, Community-

Based Learning • Internships• Capstone Courses and Projects

(Kuh 2008; AAC&U HIP)

What Can Institutions do?

Chickering and Gamson (1987): The Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education assert that good practice:

1.Encourages student-faculty contact 2.Encourages cooperation among students 3.Encourages active learning 4.Gives prompt feedback 5.Emphasizes time on task 6.Communicates high expectations 7.Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#1. Encourages student-faculty contact (quality and amount)

• Workshop on Ph.D. Mentoring and Advising

• “Shadow a Student” pilot program

• Faculty Inquiry Groups on Acting Principles Applied to Teaching and Reflective Practice

• Workshop content includes:▫ Millennial student

characteristics▫ Millennial motivations▫ Millennial learning styles

The Tenn TLC is deeply grateful to interns and GTAs Chutney Walton, Ferlin McGaskey, Kelly Ellenburg, Dori Stiefel, and Thelma Woodard, consultant Michelle Anderson, and community fellow Dorothy Stulberg for their hard work at the center.

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#2. Encourage cooperation among students

• Introductory science workshop on engaging students

• Multiple tutoring and peer mentoring workshops

• TENN TLC presentations include: ▫ Peer instruction▫ Minimal encouragement to

talk• Upcoming workshop on

Students Taking Responsibility (w/ITC-OIT)

• Individual consultation focused on pedagogies related to peer instruction and team approaches

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#3. Active Learning• CASNR Workshop on engaging students• Custom workshops on group learning

and other active learning strategies• Multiple GTA 0rientations and graduate

seminar presentations• First year studies instructors training• Faculty Fellows inquiry group on Service

Learning and Reflective Practice• Upcoming service learning workshops• Night at the Museum• Upcoming service learning workshops• Upcoming TENN TLC/OIT-ITC workshops

on encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning process

• Individual Consultation – focus on course design that includes active engaged pedagogies

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#4. Focus on Prompt Feedback

#5. Focus on Time on Task.

• Time management workshop for assistant professors

• TENN TLC presentations on classroom management and assessment issues

• Upcoming CASNR workshop on Assessment of Learning

• Individual consultations have focused classroom management, student-faculty communication, and assessment procedures including rubric development

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#6. Communication high expectations

• Upcoming TENN TLC/OIT-ITC workshops on encouraging students to take responsibility for their learning process

• Individual consultation reinforces rigorous requirements and how to state and reinforce expectations

• Interactive online UT Faculty Teaching Guide

What the TENN TLC is Doing…Principle Response

#7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning

• Workshops on learning styles and millenials emphasize how students learn

• Shadowing A Student pilot also emphasizes understanding of student learning

• Workshops on interculturalism include faculty identifying and employing the student diversity in class.

• First year studies instructors

Future EndeavorsIn Progress In Planning and Piloting Stages

• Teaching Certification program for Graduate Students (with the Graduate School)

• Development of TENN TLC website resources for faculty development (workshop materials posted)

• TENN TLC library to become part of the library catalog

• Library Resources Page• Pedagogy Series (“How

To” pages on active learning pedagogies for distribution at workshops and online)

• Video Tutorials on how to develop a course

• Development of a Tenn TLC blog for “tips,” teaching news, and announcements.

Units that TENN TLC has directly touchedCustom Workshops/Sessions

1. Math faculty and graduate students

2. Physics faculty3. Biology faculty 4. Chemistry faculty5. Anthropology faculty6. Modern Language faculty and

graduate students7. English lecturers8. Geography and Geology faculty

and graduate students9. Communications lecturers10. First year studies instructors11. New assistant professors12. CASNER faculty and graduate

students13. Educational Psychology graduate

students14. CBA graduate students

Individual/Group Consultation

1. Statistics2. Speech and Hearing3. Psychology (2)4. Communications (2)5. Marketing and Logistics6. Management7. Math (2)8. Art Education9. Earth and Planetary Science10.Engineering

Units that TENN TLC has directly touchedCreative Teaching

Grants:1. Math (2) 2. English3. Sociology 4. Physics5. Communications6. Art7. Statistics

What Faculty Members Value Impacts Student Rates of Engagement

UT students abroad

For each engagement practice, the amount of students participating increases with the amount of faculty who place importance on the activity—about a 20% increase in student participation in the educationally effective practice valued by faculty.

(Kuh, Chen Nelson, and Laird 2007; Kuh 2009)

The mission of the TENN TLC is to work with faculty to enhance professional teaching skills and knowledge, and support the application of effective learning strategies in student-oriented environments. Through this process, students are given means to engage actively in the pursuit of learning at deeper levels of process, application, interpretation, critical evaluation, and creative thought.