Engaging and Supporting the Wake Forest Student: ...

ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING THE WAKE FOREST STUDENT:

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES TO SUCCESS

The Office of Multicultural Affairs and The Teaching & Learning Center

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WELCOME

• Introductionso Alta Mauro

Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs

o Tom Benza, Associate Director of Financial Aid

o Nate French, PhD Director of the Magnolia Scholars Program

o Catherine Ross, PhD Director of the Teaching and Learning Center

• Who else is in the room and why?

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AGENDA

• What?o The case for increased awareness and

competence • So what?

o Who are our high-need and first-generation students and what assets do they bring to our classrooms and campus community?

o What challenges do they face?• Now what?

o What can we do to position them for success?

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DISCLAIMERS & LIMITATIONS

• We won’t cover everything.• The information shared will not reflect all

students in all settings / situations.• An intercultural mindset is more effective

than a monocultural one (IDI, LLC, 2012).o But generalizations are still possible.

• Supporting these students benefits all students.

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WHAT?

• “Increased diversity on our campus will enrich the fabric of our own community and offer students even more opportunity to learn from one another-an opportunity that incoming students now eagerly seek” (WFU Strategic Plan, 2006).

• These students, who have little or no family history in college, can enter a university with scarce knowledge of the “jargon, traditions, and patterns of expected behavior” (educationnews.org, 2012 ).

• These factors could prevent first-generation students from fully engaging and could potentially lead to dropout (Education Today, 2012).

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SO WHAT?

• “…students who master course content but fail to develop adequate academic self-confidence, academic goals, institutional commitment, social support and involvement may still be at risk of dropping out” (Chandler, 2008).

• “Students must develop a strong affiliation with the college academic environment both in and out of class” (Chandler, 2008).

A CASE STUDY OF FINANCIAL NEED:UNDERSTANDING THE COST AND

BURDEN OF A WAKE FOREST EDUCATION

Tom Benza, Associate DirectorFinancial Aid

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2012-13 COST OF ATTENDANCE

•Tuition/Fees $43,700•Room 7,800•Board 3,860• Subtotal $54,860•Books 1,100•Transportation 800•Miscellaneous 1,500• Total $58,310

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CASE STUDYPARENTS’ CONTRIBUTION

• Total Income $49,299• Federal Tax 1,390• State & Other Tax (NC) 4,930• FICA 2,761• Income Protection (family size = 4) 29,020• Annual Ed Savings

749• Employment Allowance

4,010• Available Income $6,439

o Contribution from Income (22%) $1,417

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CASE STUDYPARENTS’ CONTRIBUTION

• Cash, savings, checking $1,500• Home equity $45,000• Investment equity 0• Other real estate equity 0• Adjusted business/farm 0

• Total Net Assets $46,500

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CASE STUDYPARENTS’ CONTRIBUTION

• Total Net Assets $46,500

• Emergency Reserve 27,720

• Cum Ed Savings 23,170• Net Worth

$0

• Contribution from Assets $0• + Contribution from Income $1,417

• Total Parent Contribution $1,417

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CASE STUDYSTUDENT’S CONTRIBUTION

• Total Income $3,560

• Federal Tax 0

• State Tax (NC) 89

• FICA 201

• Available Income 3,270• Min. Contribution from Income 2,400

• Total Assets 0

• Contribution from Assets 0

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CASE STUDYFAMILY CONTRIBUTION

• Parent Contribution $ 1,417

• + Student Contribution 2,400

• = Family Contribution $3,817

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CASE STUDYFINANCIAL NEED

• Total Costs $58,310

• - Family Contribution $3,817

• = Need $54,493

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CASE STUDYAWARD

• WF College Scholarships 29,300• Federal Grants

4,800• State Grants

4,300• Federal Work-Study

2,000• Loans

14,000• TOTAL AWARD (70% gift)

$54,400

THE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT AT WAKE FOREST

Dr. Nate French, DirectorThe Magnolia Scholars Program

TEACHING EVERY STUDENT

CATHERINE ROSSTEACHING AND LEARNING CENTER

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY

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How can we foster learning environments in which diversity becomes one of the resources that stimulates learning?

students self

content pedagogy

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How can we foster learning environments in which diversity becomes one of the resources that stimulates learning?

students self

content pedagogy

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Questions to ask yourself

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and stereotypes influence your knowledge and understanding of groups that are different from your own?

– Do I expect that First Gen students will do better?

– Do I assume that all First Gen students are alike?

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and stereotypes inform the way you interact with students whose racial background is different from your own?– Am I afraid of students whose

background differs markedly from mine?– Do I rationalize or tolerate lack of

participation from First Gen students more than I would from other students?

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and stereotypes influence the way you behave in the classroom?– How open am I to multiple modes of

discourse?– Am I impatient with First Gen students if

they don’t know what I expect them to know?

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How can we foster learning environments in which diversity becomes one of the resources that stimulates learning?

students self

content pedagogy

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CLASSROOM BIASES

• Problematic assumptions?

• Raise our awareness of assumptions– about teaching and learning – about the learning capacities of students– about students’ beliefs about learning

capacity!

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CLASSROOM BIASES

• Problematic assumptions?

• For example: – Students will seek help when they are

struggling with a class.What happens when you fail?

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How can we foster learning environments in which diversity becomes one of the resources that stimulates learning?

students self

content pedagogy

MOTIVATION AND METACOGNITION

Learning to Learn

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

“We’ve gotten accustomed to a system in which the very few excel in school (and reap the rewards in the vocational world beyond) and the many stumble along and more or less get by, or get through, or fail.”

Warner, J. 2003. “Clueless in Academe: An Interview with Gerald Graff.” The Morning News, September 16th.

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WHY MOTIVATION AND METACOGNITION?

“Research shows that the more actively engaged students are-with college faculty and staff, with other students, and with the subject matter they study-the more likely they are to learn, to stick with their studies, and to attain their academic goals.” (Community College Survey of Student Engagement, 2006, as cited in McGlynn, p. 106)

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DEFINITION: MOTIVATION

• Motivation refers to the personal investment that an individual has in reaching a desired state or outcome (Maehr &

Meyer, 1997).• In the context of learning, motivation

influences the direction, intensity, persistence, and quality of the learning behaviors in which students engage.(Ambrose, et al, 2010)

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DEFINITION: MOTIVATION

Principle: Students’ motivation generates, directs, and sustains what they do.

o Valueo Expectancyo Environment

(Ambrose et al, 2010)

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MOUnderstanding Motivation: Ambrose et al, p. 80

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AREAS OF CONCERN

• Hopeless– No expectation of

success– Low levels of

motivation– Behave in helpless

fashions

• Fragile– Want to succeed– Dubious about

abilities– Protect self-esteem

• Feigning understanding

• Avoiding performance

• Denying difficulty• Making excuses

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EXPECTANCIES

Positive expectancy• Student achieves/doesn’t

achieve a goal but attributes outcome to:

– Internal causes (ability, innate talent)

– Controllable causes (effort, persistence, preparation)

Expects future success!

Negative expectancy• Student achieves/doesn’t

achieve a goal but attributes outcome to:

– External causes (easy/hard assignment, bad teacher)

– Uncontrollable factors (luck, fixed ability/lack of talent)

Does not expect future success!

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HOW TO ENHANCE EFFICACY

How can we help students with self-efficacy and keep them motivated?

Metacognition!“Metacognitive interventions…may be an especially powerful tool in helping the “academically adrift” student find a way to get into the game, to become more aware of the kind of thinking that supports strong academic performance.” Ottenhoff, Liberal Education (handout)

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INTRO TO METACOGNITION

• Brief intro to metacognition

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DEFINITION: METACOGNITION

Metacognition is “the process of reflecting on and directing one’s own thinking”• Metacognitive processes to monitor and control

learning:(Ambrose et al, pp. 190-193).

o Assess the task at hando Evaluate own skills and knowledge, identify

strengths and weaknesseso Plan approach to tasko Apply strategies and monitor progresso Reflect on whether approach is working/adjustments

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ASSESSING THE TASK

• Be more explicit than you may think necessary.o Clear and explicit goals for assignmentso Articulate what students need to do to

accomplish goals• Guidelines, checklist, rubrics

o Connect with course learning goals

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ASSESSING THE TASK

• Tell students what you do NOT want.o Refer to common misconceptions from

past studentso Share samples of good and bad work and

have students grade using rubric.

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ASSESSING THE TASK

• Check students’ understanding of the task.o Ask them what they think they need to do

to complete tasko Ask them how they will study for exam,

memorize vocabulary, etc. and offer them strategies they may not have thought of

o Have them rewrite the main goal of the assignment in their own words

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ASSESSING THE TASK

• Provide performance criteria with the assignment.o A rubric that represents component parts of

the task along with descriptions of levels of mastery

o Distribute rubric, checklist, etc. at the same time as assignment, NOT just when returning graded work

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EVALUATING ONESELF

• Give early, performance-based assessmentso EARLY in the semester, ample and timely

feedback on strengths and weaknesseso Formative assessments to help students

detect knowledge or skills gaps

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EVALUATING ONESELF

• Provide opportunities for self-assessment.o Practice exams, online quizzes, practice

problems.o Ask them to reflect on performance—what

did you do well, what did you not do well on?Why? What could you do differently in the future?

o Exam wrappers

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PLANNING AN APPROACH

• Have students create their own plan.o Make the first deliverable of a large or

complex assignment/project, a plan of work

• EX: Learning Logs, project proposal, annotated bibliography, timeline, etc.

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PLANNING AN APPROACH

• Make planning the goal of the assignment.o Instead of completing the task, ask students

to plan a solution or recommend strategies for solving problems

o Ask students to ‘think aloud’ while doing an assignment

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APPLYING AND MONITORING

• Provide simple heuristics for self-correction.o Practical guidelines on assignments

• How long should it take? o Teach basic strategies for assessing own

work• Is this a reasonable answer given the problem?• What assumptions am I making and are they

appropriate?

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APPLYING AND MONITORING

• Have students do guided self-assessments as well as peer review.o Have them grade their homework before

turning it ino Have them compare their

answers/solutions/homework in small groups before self-assessing and turning it in

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APPLYING AND MONITORING

• Require students to reflect on and annotate their own worko Annotating videos of their speeches and

marking points of success and areas needing

o Read-aloud protocolso Annotating problem solving steps

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REFLECTING AND ADJUSTING

• Activities that require reflectiono What did you learn form doing this

project? o What skills do you still need to work on?o Before I took this course, I _____, but

now I______.o I used to _____ but now I_____.

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REFLECTING AND ADJUSTING

• Help students analyze effectiveness of study skillso Exam wrappers:

• a brief analysis of their performance and relate that performance to how they studied• What types of errors did you make? • What will you do differently next time?

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REFLECTING AND ADJUSTING

• Create assignments that focus on strategizing rather than implementation.o Students propose a potential strategies

and predict/discuss the advantages or disadvantages of each

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BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING

• Broaden students’ understanding of learningo Declarative, procedural, contextual and

conceptual knowledge o Learning to Learn by Wirth and Perkins

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http://learnercenteredteaching.wordpress.com/teaching-resources/teaching-learning-how-to-learn-strategies/

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BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING

• Help students set realistic expectationso Accomplished people sometimes struggle

to gain masteryo Learning is work and it does not happen

magically

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BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING

• Address student beliefs about intelligence/learning directlyo Talk about learning form a biological,

brain-change perspective o The brain is a muscle, requires exerciseo Analogy with sports, music, dance

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LEARNING TO LEARN LEARNING TO LEARNKARL R. WIRTH DEXTER PERKINSMACALESTER COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTALEARNING TO LEARN LEARNING TO LEARNKarl R. Wirth Dexter PerkinsMacalester College University of North Dakota

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L2 EXAMPLE

• Metacognition in Action: L2 Listening • The metacognitive tasks in Listening in L2

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ENDNOTES

BibliographyAmbrose, S., M. Bridges, M. DiPietro, M. Lovett, & M. Norman. (2010).

How Learning Works. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Branche, J., J. Mullennix & E. Cohn. (2007). Diversity Across the

Curriculum. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing. Cross, K. P. (2005). What Do We Know About Students’ Learning and How

Do We Know It?”. Center for Studies in Higher Education. University of California, Berkeley, CSHE.7.05.

Davis, B.G., (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Ottenhoff, J. (2012). Learning How to Learn: Metacognition in Liberal

Education. Liberal Education, Summer/Fall 2011, Vol. 97, No. 34. AAC&U. reprised in Tomorrow’s Professor, 4/9/2012.

Provitera McGlynn, A. (2007) Teaching Today’s College Students: Widening the Circle of Success. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

Saunders, S. and Kardia, D. Creating Inclusive College Classrooms. Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.