Happy Leap Year Day 2016! Leap days keep our calendar in alignment with Earth's revolutions around the Sun and synchronize it with the seasons. Let’s face it. We can all benefit from some occasional realignment to be most effective in our work.
For STEM faculty, that’s where ENGAGE's Faculty-Student Interaction Strategies come in! These time-effective, ready-to-implement quick tips can have positive impacts on student learning, success, and retention. Using these tips can improve your course evaluations too. It's a win-win.
Research shows that faculty approachability and accessibility exert a powerful influence on students’ perception of their ability to succeed in engineering. But because of large classes, scarcity of time, and competing priorities, it can be difficult for faculty to leverage intentionally this key factor in student success.
ENGAGE’s FSI strategies make it easy. Take a look and try some of these resources for improving student participation, attitude, and learning:
- Boost Persistence with Encouragement: Faculty Feedback Influences Student Persistence
- Make Office Hours More Productive with Small Groups
- A “One Minute Message” Engages all Students
- Grading Rubric: Engage Students & Save Time
- Inspire Student Curiosity! Help Students Engage by Inviting Their Questions
- Keep Students Engaged with Small, Casual Interactions that Make Professors Approachable
- Connections Class: Cookies in the Classroom
Effective interaction is by definition a two-way street. Sometimes students need a little coaching on how to make their limited individual or small group time with faculty really count. ENGAGE also provides resources for showing students how to get the most out of their interactions with faculty.
There’s no day like today to consider the powerful impact of well-aligned, effective interaction. Take a leap of faith and improve student engagement and persistence with these FSI resources. Course evaluations improve too!
Tools for increasing student retention through:
Everyday Examples in Engineering
Faculty-Student Interaction
Spatial Visualization Skills