Tag Archives: student success

Faculty Matter Tip #11: Encouraging Students to Engage in Each Others’ Presentations

In many courses, considerable portions of class sessions during the final weeks of the semester are devoted to student presentations. These assignments – and the preparation that goes into them – provide valuable opportunities for students to delve into topics of particular interest, to develop important public speaking skills as they plan and execute a formal presentation, and to collaborate with fellow students when they need to work as a team. Most students become fairly enthusiastic about the material they get to explore so deeply. One of the challenges for faculty, however, is to ensure that students be as engaged in (and reap benefits from) their classmates’ presentations.

A common strategy is to simply hold students accountable for the information contained in the presentations on the final exam. Below, are a few additional suggestions that are designed to prompt students to more intentionally make connections between the content of the presentations and ideas that have been of interest to them throughout the course.

BEFORE the presentations

Have each student create and share a brief summary of their upcoming presentation (one paragraph in length or so). Have students then formulate one or two questions about several other students’ topics, based on the summaries. This can be done online (using the discussion features of Canvas) or in class (as a gallery walk where each student prints out their summary and the class then circulates, reads the summaries, and writes their questions on sticky notes which are placed adjacent to the summaries). If it is feasible, presenters can address some of these questions in their actual presentations.

If time permits, facilitate opportunities for students to work in groups of three to four to rehearse their presentations with each other. Once students serve as “audiences” for each other have them probe linkages among their topics, or between topics and issues raised in the course more generally.

THE DAY OF the presentations

Allow time after each presentation for brief question and answer session to clarify any points of confusion. Encourage students to note how what they have just heard aligns with something they have discovered, as a result of the research they did for their own presentation.

Allocate a few minutes near the end of class periods for small-group discussion of the day’s presentations. Have one student in each group record the essence of the conversation. Provide prompts, as you deem useful (what was interesting/surprising; link to their own topics or to course themes; etc…)

Have students create worksheets or quizzes for other students to complete during their presentation. Students can compare and discuss answers after the presentation.

AFTER the presentations

Have students post comments about several of their classmates’ presentations (using the discussion features of Canvas). Provide prompts as you deem useful (what was interesting/surprising; link to their own topics or to course themes; etc…)

If students will be submitting a paper based on their presentation, have them include a section where they explicitly address a connection between what they have studied in depth and one or more of their classmates’ presentations.

Please add your own strategies using the comment link below.

November 2016: African American College Readiness Summit

 

On Nov. 18, San Jose State University hosted nearly 500 high school students from 34 high schools in Santa Clara County at the African American College Readiness Summit. The high school students gathered at SJSU early Friday morning for a welcome and keynote speech from Dr. Anthony T. Browder, an author and cultural historian whose research is focused on the excavation and restoration of two 25th dynasty tombs of Kushite noblemen in Egypt. Throughout the day, the high school students heard from current Spartans about their educational journey, SJSU alumni, faculty and community members. All volunteers imparted tips for preparing to apply for college as well as advice on how to be successful once accepted to a university.

November 2016 Newsletter: SJSU Adds Advisors, New Online Tools

Photo: David Schmitz San Jose State University Spartan Scholars students attended classes and study sessions during summer 2015. The program is one of dozens of initiatives in SJSU's Four Pillars of Student Success plan.

Photo: David Schmitz
San Jose State University Spartan Scholars students attended classes and study sessions during summer 2015. The program is one of dozens of initiatives in SJSU’s Four Pillars of Student Success plan.

As San Jose State University works to enhance advising on campus, efforts have been made in both increasing the number of professional advisors available to students as well as expanding online advising tools. The university is recruiting and hiring 20 additional professional advisors with plans to add advising staff in each of the college’s student success centers. The colleges have determined common goals for the success centers and responsibilities for the new advisors to ensure all students get the support they need.

“The need for the university to improve access to advisors was a strong and recurring theme from the campus community as the Four Pillars of Student Success plan was being created,” said Stacy Gleixner, AVP for the Office of Faculty and Student Success. “This showed up in all the focus groups, the Campus Climate survey and the National Survey for Student Engagement results. These new advisors will ensure students have the opportunity to connect face to face with a professional to help them make sense of the curriculum, sort through their own personal issues, and stay on track for graduation.”

The university launched a suite of online tools to support students in planning out their graduation pathways in spring 2016. Called MyGPS (Graduation Pathway to Success), the suite of tools includes:

  • MyRoadmap – allows students to see the required classes for their major and provides a four-year pathway for freshmen and a two-year pathway for transfer students to complete a 120-unit degree.
  • MyProgress – allows students to see their own progress toward completing GE and major requirements as well as courses they still need to complete for graduation.
  • MyScheduler – a scheduling tool that allows students to create and compare multiple class schedules as well as other commitments such as work, sports or family obligations.
  • MyGradApp (pilots of online graduation application in three colleges) – creates a more efficient way for students to apply for graduation compared to the current hardcopy paperwork they are required to file.

Academic Affairs and Information Technology staff members are working together to add another tool to MyGPS in fall 2017 that will be piloted in select majors. The MyPlanner tool will allow students to plan out a personalized plan for their entire SJSU career. It will be especially helpful in allowing students to see the impact that each course they select will have on pre-requisites and course sequences and their intended graduation date. It will further familiarize students with the need to take at least 15 units each semester for first-year students to complete a degree in four years or for transfer students to complete a degree in two years.

Through awareness efforts this summer with #FinishInFour, the number of first-year students taking at least 15 units doubled from last year. The average unit load has increased by 0.5 units for new students and is up 0.2 units for continuing undergraduates.

“Together the combination of the MyGPS tools and the additional advisors will help students connect the degree requirements with their own personal situations to create a clear path to graduation that works for them,” Gleixner said. “Advisors will be able to monitor and work with students throughout their SJSU career to help them stay on this path.”

November 2016 Newsletter: SJSU Faculty Eligible for Grant to Redesign Courses

Course RedesignThe California State University Chancellor’s Office will be offering grants to faculty members who are interested in redesigning bottleneck courses with proposals due Feb. 15. Formerly known as the Proven Course Redesign and Promising Practices Grant, the grant has been renamed to Course Redesign 2025.

CSU Chancellor’s Office team members Kathy Fernandes, director for Learning Design and Technologies in Academic Technology Services, and Jean-Pierre Bayard, director of Systemwide Learning Technologies and Services, hosted an informational session at SJSU on Nov. 3 for faculty members interested in applying for a grant.

“We are focused on student success and graduation, and we are teaching 21st-century learners,” Fernandes said. “Student surveys say the option to have a learning community is important, but the pedagogy needs to drive the curriculum redesign.”

The grant is open to lecturers, tenure-track or tenured faculty who can apply for up to $15,000. Those who receive awards will participate in a summer institute that brings together faculty from throughout the CSU system and will participate in regular online meetings with their discipline cohort throughout the year. At the end of the grant year, professors have the option to create an e-portfolio to showcase their practices so that other faculty can adopt proven techniques.

“We are hiring a lot of new faculty so it’s a perfect time to transform teaching and learning,” Bayard noted.

Katherine Chilton, a lecturer in the College of Social Sciences Department of History, worked with colleagues Laura Guardino and Rob Cirivillieri in her department to redesign a general education course, “Essentials of U.S. History.” During the informational session, she shared their experience and e-portfolio with colleagues.

“We realized we were not just part of a department, but part of a campus,” she said. “We came together to learn – to see what works and what doesn’t.”

The professors focused on incorporating active learning while emphasizing skills such as reading, writing and analysis in teaching content to students. The courses incorporated active learning, online textbooks, iPads and in-class polling.

“It’s not just a matter of memorizing facts, but the curriculum is more relevant to student’s personal identity,” Chilton said. “We used the same techniques as we would in an upper division seminar, but found ways to do it in lower division (courses.)”

In spring 2016, the team saw an increase in the number of students with passing grades between the redesigned and non-redesigned courses, with 77 percent of students receiving an A or B grade in the redesigned course, compared to 64 percent in the non-redesigned course.

November 2016 Newsletter: Provost Update – Making Progress on Student Success

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, I am especially grateful for the dedication of San Jose State University staff, faculty, and administrators to our students and their success. Academic Affairs and Student Affairs collaboratively launched the Four Pillars of Student Success plan last year. Reggie and I are very encouraged by how many of you have immersed yourself in the plan and are engaged in supporting our students through one or more of the Pillars’ initiatives.

I am happy to share that we have already made progress in increasing our graduation rates. Preliminary data released last month shows that our four-year graduation rate is now at 14 percent, up from 10 percent a year ago. Our six-year graduation rate is up as well, 62 percent this year as compared to 57 percent in 2015. It is especially encouraging that we are moving closer toward eliminating the graduation gap between our underrepresented minority students and their non-URM peers. This year we have narrowed the gap significantly from 17 percent in 2015 to 11 percent this year.

We still have a long way to go to reach our 2025 graduation goals:

  • 71 percent first-time incoming student six-year graduation rate
  • 35 percent first-time incoming student four-year graduation rate
  • 80 percent transfer student four-year graduation rate
  • 36 percent transfer student two-year graduation rate
  • 0 percent gap for URM students and Pell-eligible students and their peers

We are pleased with the progress we are making on graduation rates, but student success is about much more than just these numbers. Our work is integral to providing students with the valuable skills they need to thrive in Silicon Valley and beyond in many sectors including in high-tech and business firms; government and public service; arts, literature and entertainment; health professions; education and many other fields and industries. We also committed to creating an informed citizenry that will be engaged in our community, on local and global scales. The resources in our Four Pillars Plan benefit first-time students as well as transfer, mid-career, international, graduate and certificate students through enhanced support services and expanded opportunities for meaningful engagement.

By working together and taking a holistic approach to serving students, we will be able to achieve our ambitious goals. This effort will be aided by broad collaboration across campus between all divisions and a multi-faceted approach to supporting our students. We are engaged in a variety of initiatives, from additional staff and technological solutions that support advising to redesigning classes to enhance student engagement to ensuring our students are free from food insecurity so that they can concentrate on classes.

I am thankful for all of you who play a role in supporting our students, and I look forward to continuing our work together. You are essential to making our Four Pillars plan successful.