Challenging our Students

We’ve tabulate the results from the ticket out from Fall 2007 Convocation. The following list groups the various "Challenging Students" ideas into trends that Naomi Story & Shelley Rodrigo identified. Please read through and consider responding to this post. Things to consider:

• Which of these suggestions will you do? when? where? how?
• Which of these suggestions have you done in the past? How did they play out?
• What other categories do you see emerging in this list of suggestions?

Pedagogy

• Be the best teacher you’ve ever had!
• Expand assignments to include open-ended, optional, extra work
• Expose students to information about different culture of the world
• Faculty and student services to work together as a team in helping students
• Faculty to incorporate a S-L component in their coursework to enhance learning
• Foster students getting to interest with one another: study groups (online too) conversation groups etc.
• Give them more resources to be successful in class – IE online
• Have high expectations that are clearly communicated throughout the semester
• Have them outline their expectations for class operations on first week of class
• Incorporate critical thinking teaching strategies
• Incorporate fun classroom games to make sure they come prepared and learn
• Incorporate service learning into the courses I teach
• Infuse technology, some faculty are so “old-school”
• Interact student service learning in the area of elementary and HS tutoring. This will increase MCC outreach
• Involve students with identifying problems or challenges in their lives and communities and experiences to focus on those issues
• More service learning and technology incorporated into classroom assignment – makes learning realistic
• Peer guided cooperative learning
• Provide activities and challenges specific to student needs
• Research focus in classroom materials
• Set high standards in assignments, provide examples and rubrics, provide resources
• Set the bar high. Providing ladders to help teach, tools to carry
• Spend one class period every class on Bill Cronnon’s article “Only Connect” discussions why you are in college
• Studies show that students often choose 4 year universities because of more peer/peer activity – we could look at that
• Teach students in each of my classes advanced research strategy, specialized are , active learning component
• Think and bring up new ideas for classes and programs
• To find real world applications of course work – and have students do something “real”
• Utilize the internet and its ability to expand the 4 walls of the classroom

Supplemental Activities

• Ask them to participate on student committees. Become involved in classroom and on activities outside the classroom
• Create a new frontiers for kids – different topic each week
• Develop a mentor program institutional wide (at risk students as pilot). Target and retain African-american students
• Encourage students to register for and take the Amatyc math contest exam
• Spread word across the campus and state about the value of the honors program

Faculty Development

• Do more mentoring of new faculty and make our departments a better team
• Keep up with technology – new advances in classroom teaching
• To give my best by continuing to learn and keeping up to date in my discipline

Responsibilities for the Administration

• Create promotion and advertisements headed by institutional advancement
• Creating the best message that makes an impact on prospective donors
• Cultivating ties with Indian communities, more staff and space
• Finding funds to retain and attract students. Full time advisors and recruiters to assist students in appropriate areas – ie: education
• How to compete against ASU. Make fundraising a responsibility of college presidents
• Someone needs to challenge ASU. Crowe is creating a redundancy in the education system that is harmful students
• We need to hire more who work in the “trenches”

Attitude Change

• Attract students into honors program
• Balance to be successful – work full time, school full time. Person connections – Starbucks factor
• Boomers are a good idea, but the 18-22 is still significant
• Challenge our culture of consumption, challenge our culture of conflict
• Convincing people that the bad [press does not reflect the college as a whole.
• End social promotion, grade inflation etc. return academic credibility to MCC – so universities will have no reason to complain about the quality of our graduates
• For MCC employees to be focused on customer service
• Show quality, consistency, competency, gain respect
• Takes a lot of time/power to do this
• To gain new students and keep them until graduation
• Collaborations with early childhood programs
• Connect with one high school student and help them get to MCC
• Make connections with community
• Make connections with community businesses (esp. biotech) for internship opportunities for students
• Reach out to diverse population, age, culture, socio-economics, single parents

Systemic Change

• Challenge budget, time, and personnel. Offering classes at the right time (schedule)
• Find your (40-50 yr old) adjunct instructors who are interested in teaching night classes at MCC
• Give faculty time to innovate – lower load
• Return on investment. Examine/analyze course and sections to maximize enrollment
• Time/size of MCC – cant find answers

Curriculum

• Connections from classroom to college community and beyond
• Model syllabi on Ivy League syllabi – sell the class as first rate education for bargain price
• Move beyond single recognition on assignments
• New course offerings (non-credit) to attract boomers
• Offering classes that fit students needs
• Projects in all classes
• Provide real world projects that require problem solving skill development that challenge them. Take a look at course competencies as well
• Rigorous, stimulating programs
• Work on creating cross disciplinary classes that would address multiple student needs

Student Preparation

• Can students explain their overall plan? Why are they going to school? What do they want to do? Can they explain to other students why they are at MCC?
• Challenge each student to get resources to overcome
• I will be more proactive to help students reflect on their own placement
• Need counselors to support students and dept to retain students and teach academic success skills
• To learn the system, be able to navigate themselves. To learn about MCC – their college of choice
• To serve students who are new and need assistance as a first year. Program would help at risk students
• Training to be better students

Diversity in Learning & Background

• Find ways to make assignments relevant to real world issues
• Meet needs of various backgrounds

Motivation

• Ask a student to perform in a way they have never imagined
• Building student interest in personal development
• By insisting that students engage in critical thinking with respect to their cultural and life experiences, and the importance of their contributions
• Challenge and support students to set their own goals and steps to reach goals – empower the student – cognitive therapy style
• Challenge students
• Academics far outweigh anything negative.
• Challenge students with goals for their future
• Challenge them to see how they can excel and be the best they can
• Each student to do his/her best. Set high expectations
• Engage the emotional spark in the potential student. Let them know its all about them
• Expect them to believe they have the abilities to be that person who can make a change that changes the world
• For my students to stay and increase success early
• Give reinforcement to student. Encourage them to succeed
• Help them reach these goals and dreams
• Hold high expectations, foster a team atmosphere
• Push them to be their best in every way – as students and as beacons for the community
• Talk about grad ceremony often. Role model: first attenders

Standards

• Build open students goals so that it pushes them further
• Keep standards high. Provide an environment to develop each person
• Maintain academic standards.
• Maintain quality in the classroom. Jim Mancuso understands quality.
• Maintain the educational standard required by the profession. Utilize teaching approaches that facilitate critical thinking and hands on experience
• Make objectives high and clear and then express appreciation
• Not lessen standards just because this is a “community college.” “Buck stops here” at whatever department student seeks help
• Set expectations higher than normal. Providing students the resources they need to attain them

Support System

• Create more support systems that allow students to focus on their studies and programs
• I need to know the programs for grants and student loans so I can take care of these exceptional people’s needs
• Make the registrations process easier
• Need current phone and e-mail to reach students in need
• Provide prevention services
• Provide this level of service each and every interaction
• Significantly enhance academic advisement

Environment

• Find out what our students need as far as library services – ask them, don’t assume we know what they want
• Get proper facilities for performance
• Need better student union. Registration-one-stop/online
• Negative “be quiet” attitude open, “Border” approach of a library that invites spending time learning, reading, researching, gathering for relaxation and discussion
• Parking! we need multilevel parking garage. Signs on buildings
• Provide best customer service – on a consistent basics
• To identify and function as an MCC student on an MCC campus
• Use our resources more efficiently. The attention to details is so important. Clean bathrooms.

Academic Departments

• Set department goals and keep functional staff focused on them
• We need to look for ways to support customer service in all departments especially frontline offices