(Ellysa's note: My second (and final) conference blog from the Student-Centered conference)
Dr. George Kuh is an inspiring researcher and speaker. Dr. Kuh researches student engagement at Indiana University Bloomington and directs the Center for Postsecondary Research, the National Survey of Student Engagement, and the College Student Experiences Questionnaire Research Program. (Lots of reading and food for thought on all three sites.)
Much of his research centers on the idea that a range of campus activities encouraging student involvement (both curricular and co-curricular) increases overall student retention. Dr. Kuh even has a Facebook Group devoted to him (initated by his students, no less). Just imagine how thrilled Loanne and I were when we heard he was speaking at this conference. We cited his work frequently in the book chapter I mentioned in the previous post.
Dr. Kuh began his lunch presentation by referencing this report as a must-read: College Learning for the New Global Century.
Pre-college characteristics associated with Student Success:
--Academic preparation in college-level skills
--Financing
--Family Education and Support
He discussed Helicopter Parents briefly, noting that there are two prevalent characteristics within these families:
--Students are "very often" in contact with parent(s).
--Parents "frequently contact" college officials.
Dr. Kuh noted that 10% of first-year students fit this definition. Wow.
Early College Indicators of Success:
--Realizing goals
--College is a psycho-social fit with student
--Academic & social support is accessible
--Involvement in the 'right' kind of activities
--The more credit hours completed early on, the more likely the student is to successfully complete college.
Dr. Kuh defined student engagement as "time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities."
How do we reach our least-engaged students?
--Student/faculty contact
--Active learning
--Prompt instructor feedback
--High expectations of student
--Respect for diverse learning styles
--Students' development of cooperative, team-based skills
Dr. Kuh identified proven Pathways to Student Success:
--Early socialization activities (orientation and more)
--Redundant early (first two weeks of school) warning systems and safety nets
--The more engaged campus students become, the more academically successful they will be.
Kuh reinforced several times the importance and positive effect of a librarian's involvement in academic courses. :)
He advocated making it possible for students to participate in one "high-impact" activity in the first year and again during the course of their major. (In his second session, Kuh expanded on this as a specific recommendation for Penn State, identifying high-impact activities as study-abroad, writing-intensive courses, internships, campus work opportunities, etc...)
He closed by asking the audience how we can lay a greater claim on our students' discretionary time (noting that they have more of this time than we think).
Several ideas that Dr. Kuh shared which resonated with me:
--He stressed the importance of tying the goals of co-curricular (outside of class) activities with students' curricular goals. An example of this in practice would be discussing with work study students or interns how their on-the-job experiences inform their overall experiences and goals relevant to their major and career of choice. I am going to implement this practice with my PR/Marketing interns.
--He noted that at IU, they created orientation videos that were entirely student-directed. They gave students cameras, and directed them to make short films highlighting what they thought new students needed to know about IU. The results he said were often raw, but resonated with new students. I am anxious to try this methodology out with a short "5 Things Students Need to Know About the Library" here.
In short, (and this after a long post) Dr. Kuh shared many terrific ideas (all backed up with research) for connecting with and engaging students at many points throughout campus. If you're interested in reading more on his research findings, I recommend his book, Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter.
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