Category Archives: Faculty Matter

Faculty Matter Tip #7: Resources to Support Students

This is the time in the semester where you become aware of students who are struggling in your course. Reaching out to students in the middle of the semester is a proven effective way to re-engage them in the class, increase learning of the content, and ultimately increase their academic success. With this Faculty Matter Tip, we lay out several different ways to reach out and support those students. In addition to the material below, we would like to cordially invite you to a coffee break on Tuesday to talk about student success services on campus and strategies to connect students to those resources. The session will be Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in IRC 210. Please RSVP.

Progress Reports:

Last Thursday, Student Academic Success sent out requests to some faculty for progress reports on some students. If you have these students in your class, you would have received an email with the subject header “Fall 2016 Progress Reports”. Please take the time to read and respond to that email.

This is a request for your help in identifying students in your class who may be in jeopardy academically and might benefit from extra support. We realize that your time is valuable and your prompt participation in this request allows us to provide appropriate and effective academic support for the students who might be at academic risk.

In addition, you have the ability to proactively alert us to any students who are struggling in your class. Through Spartan Connect, you can bring these students to the attention of our staff advisors who will reach out to the student.  Directions on how to obtain an account and issue an alert on students are available online.

Connecting Students to University Support:

Below are some places on campuses where students can get tutoring or attend academic success skill workshops. You can highlight these resources to all students by mentioning them at the start of class, posting them on Canvas, or emailing them to the class. You can also pass this information on to particular students who you see struggling. Send them an email or Canvas message with the resources and a note encouraging them to both take advantage of these resources and to come and see you in office hours.

Peer Connections provides one on one appointments for peer mentoring and tutoring. They also offer several workshops a month on academic success skills. The Writing Center offers one on one tutoring for writing, online resources, and workshops. The Communications Center has drop-in and one on one appointments for oral and written communication. There are also numerous tutoring centers in the departments and colleges listed on the Tutoring Hub.

Educational Counseling provides one on one appointments, workshops, and online resources for academic success. The library has technology workshops. In addition, the library offers resources to support students in research, including details online to help the student define the type of resources and help they need and how to connect with a librarian. The library also has laptop and I-pad rentals, meeting rooms that can be reserved for teamwork or collaboration, and online resources on referencing and literature reviews and tutorials on plagiarism. The Spartan Success Portal has a range of online, academic success modules.

While we know this is an incredibly busy time of the semester, the time you spend now reaching out to students and connecting them with support is an investment that will pay off in their improved academic success. You can read all previous Faculty Matter Tips under the “Faculty Matter” category on the blog as well as share your own thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

 

Faculty Matter Tip # 6: Help Students Become Better Self-Regulated Learners

A professor works with a student in class.

A professor works with a student in class.

Last week’s tip described some fairly simple things you can do to help students (and you) monitor what they were learning and where they were having difficulties.  This week’s tip focuses on ways to help students recognize how they learn best so that they can feel (and truly be) more in control of their academic success. As many researchers have demonstrated:

  • In addition to getting better grades and learning more, students who know what they need to do to do well at their academic tasks are more willing to try hard and persevere when the material is challenging, and to really invest themselves in their academic environment
  • Students who are not confident that they know what they need to do to ensure their success are less likely to feel comfortable engaging fully in their course. Instead they are more likely to “phone it in”, to pull back, and as a result, sabotage their own learning. Furthermore, their negative affect and attitude can undermine your efforts to create a vibrant learning environment
  • Reflecting on their own experience and comparing notes with classmates can lead to very powerful – and empowering – insights for students
  • And finally, thinking about your students’ insights can provide you with information to share with future students, as you provide guidance to them about ways to get the most from your courses

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #6

Helping students to become better self-regulated learners. By now you and your students have likely settled into the rhythm of the semester. It’s a perfect time to introduce an activity to help students monitor how they learn best.

Ask them to complete the following inventory (or something similar), sharing their answers with you or with each other in small groups, and then making a specific plan for how they will study for your class for the next three weeks (or up through a particular assignment or exam).  As a follow-up, have them revisit their plan, and reflect (in writing, or in conversation with you or with classmates) about what they have discovered about how they might best manage their own learning. (Note, the learning inventory below is written with respect to reading but you can adapt this to be more relevant to your class such as with a focus on solving problems or writing.)

Think about the studying you do for this class. Can you find a pattern? Begin by thinking about occasions where things go well.

  • Begin by thinking about occasions where things go well?
    • When are you best at truly understanding what you read and remembering what you study: First thing in the morning? In the afternoon? In the evening? Late at night? After a nap or a good night’s sleep? After a meal? After a workout or exercise? Other? How long can you focus on what you are studying before you feel tired, distracted, bored or like you have reached your limit of productivity?
    • Where are you best at truly understanding what you read and remembering what you study: At home or in your room? At a coffee shop? In the library? In silence? With background noise or music? Alone? With one study partner? With a group of people? Sitting in a comfortable seat?  Lying down?  At a table? Other?
    • How are you best at truly understanding what you read and remembering what you study: Underlining or highlighting passages while you read? Taking notes while you read?  Answering study guide questions while you read? Creating pictures, maps, charts or other kinds of “graphic organizers”? Reading out loud? Other? How do you make use of your class notes? What do you do when you encounter a reading passage that is hard to understand or a place where your notes are unclear or incomplete?
  • Now think about a time or two where you didn’t do as well as you usually do at understanding or remembering material you were trying to learn.  Look back at your answers to the questions above, and think about how your approach in those positive situations was different from your approach when things didn’t go as well.
  • Commitment to self: Now that you have identified a “pattern for success”, list one to three specific changes you will make to the way you study, implement those changes, and check back in a few weeks to see how your efforts have made a difference in how much you are enjoying and learning in your classes.

Additional information and resources about Self-Regulated Learning:

Fact-Sheet about Self-Regulated Learning (https://teal.ed.gov/tealguide/selfregulated)

The Secret of Self-Regulated Learning (http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/secret-self-regulated-learning/)

 

Please add your own strategies using the comment link below.

 

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #5

Today’s tip addresses the disconnect between what we teach and what students learn. What may have seemed very comprehensible to us may have seemed less so for some of our students. Providing an opportunity for students to recognize (and let us know about) what wasn’t clear can help in many ways: (1) it encourages students to take a more active role in monitoring how things are going, (2) it encourages us to reflect more systematically and more “constructively critically” on our own teaching and to think about ways we might get our points across more successfully, (3) it allows students to come to feel more comfortable letting us know when they are having trouble following what we are trying to help them understand, and (4), as a result, it can help students engage more fully with you, with their classes, and with their education in general.
Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #5 – Provide regular opportunities to address content that students may find unclear

Muddiest point activity: 

  • Allow a few minutes at the end of class for students to review what you have just covered, and then write a brief note about anything that is unclear. This can be done on index cards, sheets of paper, or uploaded to your course website.
  • Review students’ feedbackbefore the next class period, so that you can identify and address points of confusion.

This technique can provide you with very useful and TIMELY information about where students may be getting lost, or about where you may have been less clear than you thought you were.

Comparing notes activity: 

Once a month or so, or perhaps as part of your planned review for an up-coming exam, allow 15-20 minutes for students to go over their notes in pairs or small groups.  Have them:

  • identify and clarify places where they have gaps or where they are unclear
  • discuss points they have found particularly interesting or surprising
  • summarize briefly, in writing, what they discussed

This technique is beneficial in many ways:  It provides an opportunity to students to identify and repair holes in their understanding of class material, it engages them actively with each other and with the material, and it gives you a window into how they are doing and what they are making of the course content.

Please add your own strategies using the comment button below.

 

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #4: Reading Support

 

By now, you and your students are most likely settling in to the routine of the new semester. This week’s tip includes two quick and fairly easy-to-implement activities that can make an enormous difference for you and for your students:

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #4 – Reading Support

One of the greatest challenges for faculty is that students often come to class not having completed assigned readings. This makes it difficult for them to participate in discussion, and it may also make it difficult for them to follow the material you have planned for the day. Here are two things you can do to greatly increase the likelihood that your students will complete – and understand the essence of – the readings you assign:

  • Spend 5 minutes at the end of class going over key points in the readings you are asking students to do for the next class period, and, as appropriate, how the readings relate to what you have done or plan to do in class. This type of advance organizer will enable them to place what they read in a more meaningful and comprehensible context.
  • Spend 5-10 minutes at the beginning of class having students discuss (in pairs or in small groups) two or three quick questions about the readings. Students can assist one another in clarifying the readings, or bring their collective confusion, if any, to you. You may want to have students turn in notes from their discussions, or something similar, as evidence that they had something to contribute to the conversation.
Feel free to use the comment tool on the blog posts to share your own suggestions and tips.

Faculty Matter Tip #3: Make Good Use of the First Day of Class

Allow students to engage in pairs or small groups on the first day of class.

Allow students to engage in pairs or small groups on the first day of class.

Faculty Matter Teaching Tip #3 – Making Good Use of the First Day of Class

You will likely need to devote time to various administrative tasks on the first day.  You may also want to dive right in and begin covering course content. But don’t miss out on this important opportunity to begin to create community and to engage students. Consider also devoting some time to “ice-breakers” and to other stage-setting activities.

  • Greet students as they walk in.  Arrive at your classroom early, stand at the door, and welcome students as they enter.
  • Have students interview each other, in pairs or small groups of 3-4. Sample questions: Name, major, where they are from, something that would surprise you about them, something they are looking forward to this year, something they are apprehensive about.
  • Create a list of class rules and expectations.  Start by listing your “must haves” – expectations about cell phones and computers in class, tardiness, civility, how you want to be addressed, how students should approach you if they have concerns, etc.. Invite students to talk in pairs or small groups, and suggest other items for the list.  You may be surprised by how many students have strong feelings about the importance of maintaining a respectful learning environment!  Devote a few minutes to a whole group conversation.  This way, if problems arise later, you can refer students to the rules everyone agreed upon.
  • Identify students’ starting points.  Have students complete a no-points quiz, where they indicate their level of familiarity with a dozen or so foundational concepts for the class.  For example:
    • Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development:

      • I’ve never heard of it

      • It sounds familiar, but I don’t quite remember what it is.

      • I sort of know it.

      • I know it well and could explain it to someone else.

This will allow you to get a sense of where students have a firm grasp of material and where they will need refreshers.

To get a better sense of the range of their interests, consider adding two additional questions:

  • What is one of the most interesting things you remember from a prior course you took in your major?
  • What is one of the most interesting things you remember from a prior course you took outside of your major?
  • Have students fill out a personal profile.  In addition to basic information (name, preferred way to be addresses, best way to contact, major/minor), you may want to ask them about other commitments this semester (academic load, work, family responsibilities, community responsibilities, etc..), learning styles or needs, and anything else they would like to share with you, to help you help them be successful.
  • Share something about yourself. Convey your enthusiasm for teaching and for the subject matter.  Consider telling students a bit about your professional background. Don’t feel compelled to share details about your personal life.