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Student Engagement: Promoting Better Learning. Rick Vaz Associate Dean Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, Massachusetts, USA Polytechnic of Namibia, 3 May 2006. What Really Matters in College?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Student Engagement:Promoting Better Learning
Rick VazAssociate DeanInterdisciplinary and Global StudiesWorcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, Massachusetts, USA
Polytechnic of Namibia, 3 May 2006
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
2
What Really Matters in College?
The research is clear: students who are actively involved in both academic and out-of-class activities gain more from the college experience than those who are not so involved.
Ernest T. Pascarella & Patrick T. Terenzini
How College Affects Students
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
3
Finding Evidence of Educational Quality
• Deep student learning is difficult and expensive to measure directly
• Extensive research has linked certain behaviors and activities to learning
• These behaviors and activities are easier to measure
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Student Engagement
• Educational involvement that leads students toward significant learning outcomes
• “Engaged students are good learners and effective teaching stimulates and sustains student engagement.” —Handelsman et al.
• An indicator of educational effectiveness
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Indicators of EngagementIndicators of Engagement
• Time on task• High expectations• Student-faculty contact• Writing and revision• Prompt feedback• Cooperation among students• Respect for diverse talents
and ways of learning
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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National Survey ofNational Survey ofStudent EngagementStudent Engagement
Started in 1999 with 12 institutions – grown to over 500 in NSSE 2005
Over a half million students (first-year students and seniors) at 850 colleges and universities (2000-2005)
Focus on undergraduate quality and institutional improvement
Research-based and extensively tested to ensure validity and reliability
Assesses the extent to which students are engaged in educational practices related to high levels of learning and development
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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NSSE Benchmarks for Educational Practice
1. Level of academic challenge
2. Active and collaborative learning
3. Student interactions with faculty members
4. Enriching educational experiences
5. Supportive campus environment
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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What percentage of US college students study two hours or more for every hour in class?
(a) 12% (b) 20% (c) 31% (d) 39% (e) 49%
Student Engagement Quiz
(a)(a) 12%12%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Time on TaskTime on TaskTime Spent Preparing for Class (Per Class Per Week)
Faculty expectation of hours/week
Faculty belief of actual
hours/week
Student reported hours/week from NSSE
Subject Area
Lower Div.
Upper Div.
Lower Div.
Upper Div.
First- Year Senior
Arts and Humanities 5.6 5.7 3.0 3.6 3.6 3.8
Biological/life sciences 6.2 6.0 2.8 3.4 4.0 3.8
Business 5.7 5.7 2.8 3.2 3.0 2.9
Education 4.4 5.1 2.6 3.4 3.3 3.4
Engineering 6.3 6.6 4.1 4.9 3.9 4.3
Physical Sciences 6.6 6.7 3.4 4.2 3.8 4.0
Professional 5.2 5.7 2.9 3.4 3.6 3.8
Social Sciences 5.2 5.6 2.5 3.1 3.4 3.3
Other 5.0 5.4 2.7 3.2 3.1 3.0
Totals 5.6 5.7 3.0 3.4 3.4 3.4
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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How Students Spend Their Time
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
In class P reparing forclass
Working onor off
campus
P articipatingin co-
curricularactivities
Relaxing orsocializing
P rovidingcare for
dependents
Commutingto class
Hou
rs
Doctoral GrantingUniversitiesMaster’s Colleges andUniversitiesLiberal Arts Colleges
Urban Universities
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
1130
35
40
45
50
55
60
Lowest Major
Average
Highest Major
Business Engineering Other Education Profes-sional
Arts &Humanities
SocialSciences
BiologicalSciences
Math &PhysicalSciences
Management
ChemicalEngineering
MechanicalEngineering
CriminalJustice
Kinesiology
PhysicalEducation
Elem./MiddleEducation
Pharmacy
Pre-Med
Theater orDrama
Speech
PoliticalScience
Sociology
Biochemistry
EnvironmentalScience
Chemistry
Math
InternationalBusiness
Variations in Student-Faculty Interaction by Discipline
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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First-year students
Lower division faculty
SeniorsUpper
division faculty
Class discussions of assignments with diverse perspectives
57% 40% 57% 43%
Received prompt feedback on academic performance
53% 92% 64% 92%
Course emphasizing memorizations 70% 30% 61% 21%
Institutional emphasis on studying & academic work
83% 58% 80% 61%
Student-Faculty Gap Analysis
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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What WPI Learned from NSSE
• 4th year students highly engaged– Project work and research– Interactions with faculty– Collaboration with peers
• 1st year students unengaged – Not working very hard– Not much writing – Not much thinking
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Pedagogies of Engagement Association of American Colleges and Universities
• Collaborative inquiry• Service learning• Experiential learning• Integrative learning• Project-based learning
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Enhancing WPI’s First Year: Strategies
• Interdisciplinary seminars
• Societal awareness• Peer learning• Faculty development• Connect academic and
social life• More project work in
courses
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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What Constitutes Project Work?
• “Open-ended” problems
• Many possible solutions
• Goal, methods chosen by learners
• Complexity, ambiguity• Real and messy
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Key Learning Outcomes of Projects
• Communication and teamwork
• Research, analysis, synthesis
• Problem solving• Critical thinking• “Real world” skills
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Where Do Project Ideas Come From?
• Faculty—choose project(s) based on experience, challenge, support
• Students—design a project within some parameters
• External sponsors—community organizations, local gov’t and schools, corporations, nonprofits, NGOs
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Case Study: Introduction to Design
• Sophomore level course ( 7 weeks)
• Preparation for senior design projects– Solving open-ended technical problems– Research, experimentation, simulation, synthesis– Human factors: ergonomics, ethics, economics
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Example Project: Solar Lighting
You are to design a solar-powered lighting application.
Your design must be suitable for use in the developing world.
Your completed prototype design must cost US$50 or less.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Faculty and Student Roles (30 Students)
• Students are in teams of “design engineers”– 10 teams of 3 students on each
• Graduate assistant or undergraduate tutor acts as “senior engineer”– Primary source of technical guidance– Coaches students in teamwork
• Faculty act as “engineering managers”– Consult, critique
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Structured Activity• 4 classes per week: process of design
– Market analysis, user requirements– Brainstorming, teamwork– Project management, documentation– Standards, safety, ethics, quality
• 3-hour design review each week– Presentation of interim results– Feedback and critique
• Mandatory team meetings with “senior engineers”– Summary report to faculty
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Assignments and Grading
• Six weekly reports: 30%– Revised for final report
• Final design:– Final report: 15%– Presentation: 10%– Functionality: 15%
• Three exams: 30%– Mostly to make sure they come to class
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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A Different Type of Dialogue• Old scenario:
– Student: “Prof, how do I solve this problem?”– Prof: “Here, watch me do it…”
• New scenario:– Student: “Prof, how do I solve this problem?”– Prof: “I don’t know. What have you tried?”– S: “I think X or Y might work, but I’m not sure…”– P: “How could you test your ideas?”– P: “What are the most important criteria?”– P: “What do your partners think?”
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Student Course Evaluations
Overall, how much did you learn from this course?
– Almost nothing 1%
– A little 10%
– Quite a lot 57%
– More than any course I’ve taken 32%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Impressions from the Faculty
• Worth the effort– Basic knowledge applied and reinforced– The design process learned and applied
• A wake-up call for students– Engagement, commitment– Teamwork, responsibility, pride
• Suggests future work– Improve previous courses– Develop a remediation strategy
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Our Students Are Not Like Us
• Most faculty learn by reading and writing
• Most students learn by doing
• Universities reward academic abilities
• The real world rewards practical abilities
““How the National Survey of How the National Survey of Student Engagement is Used to Student Engagement is Used to Stimulate Effective Educational Stimulate Effective Educational
Practices”Practices”John HayekNational Survey of Student Engagement
Jillian KinzieNSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice
AAC&U Pedagogies of Engagement ConferenceApril 2004
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