Teaching to Retain Students

Only 69% of first year students return for the second year (MSU 72%-2009 data) 47% of first year students graduate in five years (MSU 39%-2009 data) American College Testing, Inc National Collegiate Retention and Persistence to Degree Rates. Teaching to Retain Students

Vincent Tinto Guru of retention Author of Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Retention “Taking Student Retention Seriously” Tinto, V. (2005, November 11). Building campus communities for student success. Symposium sponsored by New Mexico State University, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Office of the Provost, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Teaching to Retain Students

1.Set high expectations. 2.Advise effectively. 3.Provide academic, social and personal support. 4.Engage in frequent and high quality contact with students. 5.Involve students with their learning. 5 Ways to Teach for Retention

1.Set high expectations Maintaining standards does not lead to low retention. Learning is highly correlated with retention.

“Unfortunately, too many institutions do not expect enough of their students, demand too little as regards student learning.” Tinto 2005 Students report studying 24 minutes per class per day (Hutchins, P., T. Marchese, and B. Wright Using Assessment to Strengthen General Education. American Association for Higher Education.) Hold students accountable daily

Never fail… to Hold Students Accountable Daily Menges, 1988 Doubles learning

Quiz daily. Use “clickers” or “colored cards” Call on a student every 2-3 minutes. Never fail… to Hold Students Accountable Daily

Quiz daily Quiz One ? Problem/ Short answer Changes tone of class

Use “clickers” or “colored cards” “Clickers” Wireless response technology Classroom performance system (CPS) Like TV remote controls except students are tested on M.C. questions Graphs show answers If disagreement Discuss in pairs Test again No grading!

“Colored cards” Anonymous Simultaneous Use “clickers” or “colored cards” ATAT BFBF CD

“Deck of Cards” Call on 20 students per fifty minute period Call on 2-3 students per question Frequently shuffle the cards Modern Languages A story Student Name Major? Pic? Call on a student every 2–3 minutes

2.Advise effectively Provide effective advising programs of study and future career goals. institutional requirements. Richard Light, Making the Most Out of College Time Logs Revise a professor’s paper together Get to know a different professor each term

25% of the undergraduates surveyed said no professors took an interest in their academic lives 40% said no professors took an interest in their personal lives. 50% said they felt most students at their college are treated like “numbers in a book.” (Boyer, Ernest College: The Undergraduate Experience in America. New York: Harper & Row.) 3.Provide academic, social, and personal support

Intrusive advising Early warning systems Summer bridge programs Mentoring programs Student clubs 3.Provide academic, social, and personal support

Learn names Take attendance—it makes a statistically significant difference in learning Stanca, Luca. (2006). The effects of attendance on academic performance: Panel data evidence for introductory microeconomics. Journal of Economic Education, 37(16), p Require students to visit you Come to class early and stay late 4. Engage in frequent and high quality contact with students

5. Involve Students

(Bligh, D. A. [2000]. What’s the use of lectures? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.) Your Heart’s Reaction to Lectures Involve Students

Medical Students Retention from Lectures (Stuart, J. & Rutherford, R.J. (1978.) Medical student concentration during medical lectures. Lancet 2: )

Banker-Teacher Model How much do teachers talk? 85% of class time When teachers are challenged… Fischer & Grant, 1983; Lewis, 1982; Nunn, 1996; Smith, 1983 Involve students

The fable of the pitcher and the glass Involve students

What’s the moral of the story for learning? Involve students

It’s not what’s poured from the pitcher, but what lands in the glass. What is learning? Involve students

Pause procedure One-minute papers Think-Pair-Share Involve students

Pause for 2 minutes, three times in a 50-minute period Allow students to work in pairs to rework notes with no interaction with teacher Experimentals did better by up to 17 percent on tests Use the pause procedure Ruhl, Hughes & Schloss, 1987, Teacher Education and Special Education, 10(1): 14–18

Asks students to write for one minute on questions such as: What was the most important thing you learned during this class? What important question remains unanswered? What was the muddiest point? Usually done at the end of the hour. Assign one-minute papers

Next class period (or immediately afterwards), close the feedback loop: Respond to the papers Tell how your class was changed as a result Daily use increases knowledge significantly (Chizmar and Ostrosky 1998). Assign one-minute papers

Ask a question or make a statement THINK:Students think (or write) PAIR:Discuss in pairs SHARE:Discuss with teacher Use Think-Pair-Share

Let’s try it: What’s one thing you could do differently to better engage students in class? THINK:Students think (or write) PAIR:Discuss in pairs SHARE:Discuss with teacher Use Think-Pair-Share

Engaging Students 12:05-1:20 today, SUB 235 Build it and They Will Come: What Worked at NMSU’s Teaching Academy 4-5 today, Procrastinator Theatre 9-10:30 tomorrow, SUB 120 Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar 1:30-2:30 tomorrow, SUB 235 Other Events

Teaching to Retain Students