George D. KuhGeorge D. Kuh

Fall Faculty Conference

Arkansas State UniversityArkansas State University

August 18, 2010August 18, 2010

What Matters to What Matters to Student Success:Student Success:Lessons for ASULessons for ASU

We all want the same thing—an We all want the same thing—an 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.

Know Your StudentsKnow Your Students

“Part of being a good teacher (not all) is knowing that you always have something new to learn about … these particular students at this particular time and their particular set of aspirations, confusions, misconceptions, and ignorance” (Bain, 2004, p.174)

What If…What If…

We imagined what our work would be like using what we know about how students learn…?

And we created optimum learning And we created optimum learning conditions for all students…?conditions for all students…?

Then, how would we re-design our Then, how would we re-design our programs and practices? programs and practices?

What kinds of teaching and What kinds of teaching and assessment approaches would we assessment approaches would we use?use?

OverviewOverview

What the world needs now Why engagement and high-

impact practices matter Implications for ASU

““It’s the Learning, It’s the Learning, Stupid”Stupid”

Association of American Colleges and Universities

Narrow Learning is Not Enough:The Essential Learning Outcomes

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World

Intellectual and Practical Skills

Personal and Social Responsibility

““Deep” Integrative LearningDeep” Integrative Learning

Deep, Integrative LearningDeep, Integrative Learning

Attend to the underlying meaning of Attend to the underlying meaning of information as well as contentinformation as well as content

Integrate and synthesize different Integrate and synthesize different ideas, sources of informationideas, sources of information

Discern patterns in evidence or Discern patterns in evidence or phenomenaphenomena

Apply knowledge in different Apply knowledge in different situationssituations

View issues from multiple View issues from multiple perspectivesperspectives

HARTRESEARCH

P e t e r D

A S S O T E SC I A

Raising The Bar

Employers’ Views On College Learning In The Wake Of The Economic Downturn

Key findings from survey among 302 employersConducted October 27 – November 17, 2009

for

Raising The Bar – October/November 2009 – Hart Research for12

Employer expectations of employees have increased

88%

88%

90%

91%

% who agree with each statement

Our company is asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past

Employees are expected to work harder to coordinate with other departments than in the past

The challenges employees face within our company are more complex today than they were in the past

To succeed in our company, employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge today than they did in the past

Raising The Bar – October/November 2009 – Hart Research for13

70%

70%

71%

75%

75%

79%

81%

89%

% saying two- and four-year colleges should place MORE emphasis on helping students develop these skills, qualities, capabilities, knowledge

Employers’ Top Priorities for Student Learning In College

Effective oral/written communication

Critical thinking/ analytical reasoning

Knowledge/skills applied to real world

settingsAnalyze/solve

complex problemsConnect choices and

actions to ethical decisions

Teamwork skills/ ability to collaborate

Ability to innovate and be creative

Developments in science/technology

What Really Matters in College: Student EngagementStudent Engagement

Because iBecause individual effort and ndividual effort and involvement are the critical involvement are the critical determinants of college impact, determinants of college impact, institutions should focus on the institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to extracurricular offerings to encourage encourage student engagementstudent engagement. .

Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 602Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, p. 602

Foundations of Student EngagementFoundations of Student Engagement

Time on task Time on task (Tyler, 1930s)(Tyler, 1930s)

Quality of effort Quality of effort (Pace, 1960-70s)(Pace, 1960-70s)

Student involvement Student involvement (Astin, 1984)(Astin, 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 College impact (Pascarella, 1985)(Pascarella, 1985)

Student engagement Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, (Kuh, 1991, 2005)2005)

Student Engagement TrifectaStudent Engagement Trifecta

What students What students dodo -- time and energy -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful devoted to educationally purposeful activitiesactivities

What institutions What institutions dodo -- using -- using effective educational practices to effective educational practices to induce students to do the right induce students to do the right thingsthings

Educationally effective institutions Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward channel student energy toward the the right activitiesright activities

Good Practices in Good Practices in Undergraduate EducationUndergraduate Education

(Chickering & Gamson, 1987; (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)

Student-faculty contactStudent-faculty contact Active learningActive learning Prompt feedbackPrompt feedback Time on taskTime on task High expectationsHigh expectations Respect for diverse learning stylesRespect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among studentsCooperation among students

National Survey of National Survey of Student EngagementStudent Engagement(pronounced “nessie”)

Community College Community College Survey of Student Survey of Student EngagementEngagement(pronounced “cessie”)

College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

NSSE & CCSSE QuestionnairesNSSE & CCSSE Questionnaires

Student Behaviors

Institutional Actions & Requirements

Reactions to College

Student BackgroundInformation

Student Learning & Development

Effective Educational PracticesEffective Educational Practices

Level of Level of Academic Academic ChallengeChallenge

Active & Active & Collaborative Collaborative

LearningLearning

EnrichingEnrichingEducational Educational ExperiencesExperiences

SupportiveSupportiveCampusCampus

EnvironmentEnvironment

Student-Student-Faculty Faculty

InteractionInteraction

Key findingsKey findings

Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, gains across a range of desired outcomes, and engagement go hand in hand

It’s more complicated than this…It’s more complicated than this…

Many of the effects of college Many of the effects of college are “conditional”are “conditional”

Some are compensatorySome are compensatorySome have unusually positive Some have unusually positive

effectseffects

Who’s Who’s (on average) more engaged?more engaged?

WomenWomen Full-time studentsFull-time students Students who live on campusStudents who live on campus Students with diversity Students with diversity

experiencesexperiences Students who start and stay at Students who start and stay at

same schoolsame school

Who’s more engaged?Who’s more engaged?

Women Full-time students Students who live on campus Students with diversity

experiences Students who start and stay at

same school Students who have done “Students who have done “high- high-

impactimpact” practices” practices

www.aacu.org

Integrating ideas or information from various sources

Included diverse perspectives in class discussions/writing

Put together ideas from different courses

Discussed ideas with faculty members outside of class

Discussed ideas with others outside of class

Analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory

Essential Learning Outcome: NSSE Deep/Integrative Learning

Synthesizing & organizing ideas, info., or experiences

Making judgments about the value of information

Applying theories to practical problems or in new situations

Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views

Tried to better understand someone else's views

Learned something that changed how you understand an issue

Effects of Participating in High-Impact ActivitiesEffects of Participating in High-Impact Activitieson Deep/Integrative Learning and Gainson Deep/Integrative Learning and Gains

Deep

Learning Gains

General Gains

Personal Gains

Practical

First-Year

Learning Communities +++ ++ ++ ++ Service Learning +++ ++ +++ ++

Senior

Study Abroad ++ + ++ Student-Faculty Research +++ ++ ++ ++ Internship ++ ++ ++ ++

Service Learning +++ ++ +++ ++ Culminating Experience ++ ++ ++ ++ + p < .001, ++ p < .001 & Unstd B > .10, +++ p < .001 & Unstd B > .30

Effects of Participating in High-Impact ActivitiesEffects of Participating in High-Impact Activitieson Student Engagementon Student Engagement

Level of Academic Challenge

Active and Collab.

Learning

Student-Faculty

Interaction

Supportive Campus

Env.

First-Year Learning Communities ++ +++ +++ ++ Service Learning ++ +++ +++ ++

Senior Study Abroad ++ ++ ++ + Student-Faculty Research +++ +++ +++ ++ Internship ++ +++ +++ ++

Service Learning ++ +++ +++ ++ Culminating Experience ++ ++ +++ ++ + p < .001, ++ p < .001 & Unstd B > .10, +++ p < .001 & Unstd B > .30

High Impact Activities High Impact Activities Increase Odds Students Will:Increase Odds Students Will:

Invest time and effort Invest time and effort Interact with faculty and peers Interact with faculty and peers

about substantive mattersabout substantive matters Experience diversityExperience diversity Get more frequent feedbackGet more frequent feedback Reflect & integrate learningReflect & integrate learning Discover relevance of learning Discover relevance of learning

through real-world applicationsthrough real-world applications

National Survey of Student Engagement

Participation in High-Impact ActivitiesParticipation in High-Impact Activities

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Somewhat Important Important Very Important

Average Importance Faculty Placed on the Experience

Perc

en

tag

e o

f S

en

iors

Wh

o

Did

th

e E

xp

eri

en

ce Learning community

Research with a faculty member

Service learning

Ponder ThisPonder This

““If all you ever do is all you’ve If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got”get is all you ever got”Texan quoted in T. Friedman, Texan quoted in T. Friedman, Hot, Flat and Hot, Flat and CrowdedCrowded (2008, p. 6)p. 6)

Four Step AgendaFour Step Agenda

1.1. Make the classroom the locus of Make the classroom the locus of community buildingcommunity building

2.2. Use engaging pedagogies Use engaging pedagogies campuswidecampuswide

Engaging Pedagogies and PracticesEngaging Pedagogies and Practices

Classroom organization Classroom organization Early and continuing assignments Early and continuing assignments

requiring reflection and integration requiring reflection and integration coupled with feedbackcoupled with feedback

Use of peer preceptors/mentorsUse of peer preceptors/mentors One minute papers (variations)One minute papers (variations) Case studiesCase studies DebatesDebates SimulationsSimulations Small group problem setsSmall group problem sets Others…Others…

3. Put money where it will make a difference to student

success

“…in professional baseball it still matters less how much you have than how well you spend it”

3. Put money where it will make a difference to student success

a.a. It’s not It’s not how much how much you spend but you spend but wherewhere (DEEP study, Delta Cost Project)

Occasional Paper #3

Connecting the Dots Between Learning and Resources

Jane V. WellmanWith all the talk about the need for more accountability, surprisingly little is known about what kind of resources an institution needs in order to produce a given level of student attainment.  

www.learningoutcomeassessment.org/OccasionalPapers.htmwww.learningoutcomeassessment.org/OccasionalPapers.htm

Wellman’s Conclusions Wellman’s Conclusions

Intentionality matters as much or more than money alone

Spending on instruction and student services pays off in learning, retention and graduation

Excess units cost institutions money, cost students in time and money, and do not get students to the finish line

3. Put money where it will make a difference to student success

a.a. It’s not how much you spend but It’s not how much you spend but where where (DEEP study, Delta Cost Project)

b.b. Sunset redundant and ineffective Sunset redundant and ineffective programsprograms

c.c. Invest in Invest in “high-impact”“high-impact” and other activities that contribute to student activities that contribute to student success success

d.d. Make Make workwork a high-impact activity a high-impact activitye.e. If something works, consider If something works, consider

requiring it.requiring it.

Worth PonderingWorth Pondering

How do we reach How do we reach our least engaged our least engaged students?students?

4. Cultivate a campus culture that fosters student success

unshakeable focus on student learning (“teach the students we have, not the students we wish we had”)

“get the right people on the bus” high performance expectations for all human-scale settings “positive restlessness”

Positive restlessnessPositive restlessness

““We know who we are and what We know who we are and what we aspire to.”we aspire to.”

Confident, responsive, but Confident, responsive, but never quite satisfied… never quite satisfied…

Self-correcting orientationSelf-correcting orientation

Continually question, “are we Continually question, “are we performing as well as we can?” performing as well as we can?”

What If…What If…

All ASU faculty and staff effectively used what is known about how students learn to create optimum create optimum learning conditions for all learning conditions for all students…students…

Then, how would our instructional Then, how would our instructional approaches, programs and approaches, programs and practices change? practices change?

What would be the impact on What would be the impact on student learning and success?student learning and success?

Last WordLast Word

We must embrace the lineage of We must embrace the lineage of our students. our students.

Campus cultures do not change Campus cultures do not change easily or willingly. easily or willingly.

To foster more student success we To foster more student success we must use promising policies and must use promising policies and practices more consistently practices more consistently throughout the institution.throughout the institution.

Do we have the Do we have the willwill to do so? to do so?

Questions Questions & & DiscussionDiscussion