October 29, 2021
This week’s suggestion comes from an article by Mischa Willett (Seattle Pacific University) in the October 19 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. Every semester I have a few students in my course just check-out or sometimes never even check in. The author runs a program targeting students most at risk to check out that has been very successful in improving their success and persistence. Through working with these students, Willett has learned that the most common reason students cite for floundering and leaving college is feeling disconnected. The author provides some approaches they use to help foster student connection with their professors, peers and institution.
4 Simple Ways to Help Your Most-Disconnected Students
- Tell your story.
We can help smooth the transition via small acts that collapse those distances and humanize us to the starry-eyed and overwhelmed. So, tell your students the names of your kids. Show them a picture of your pet. Be wise about protecting your privacy, of course, but talking about your neighborhood can make you and the region around the campus come alive to students. Mention your favorite music, give them a chance to giggle and judge. Such shared details can make things that are intimidating feel a little less so.
- Seek out the lost.
One thing we can do as faculty members to help both retention and the student experience more broadly, is to keep our eyes open. Notice your students. And when you can, do something, however small, to show that you see them.
- Settle for “medium-impact” practices.
Say there’s a free event coming up. There is a huge difference between you, as a faculty member, standing at the front of the room and saying: (a) nothing about it; (b) “there’s a play on campus this weekend”; (c) “you should go to the campus play this weekend”; (d) “you’ll get extra credit if you go to the play this weekend”; and (e) “I’ll be going with my family; you should come, too, on Friday at 7 p.m.”
- Create community where and when you can.
Helping them forge those necessary connections is, in my view, a part of faculty work. If a student misses class, I don’t say, “Ask someone for the notes.” Instead, I say, “This is James; he seems to take good notes. James, will you share your notes?” This approach puts all the awkwardness on me rather than on the students and absolves them of a task that many are anxious about performing.
Perhaps now more than ever, faculty members need to see and be seen around the campus. It doesn’t cost much, in terms of time or money, to take small steps that counter the disconnection many students feel, and it may help all of us feel more connected.
For more details see Mischa Willett’s entire article.
I know, even these simple suggestions can be challenging to apply with large enrollment courses and a busy schedule. Like most changes, try one or two each semester. See which strategy fits best for you. Do what you can when you can.
Well, I know what I will be doing this weekend, raking leaves.
Have a good one, Paul
Paul Laybourn (he/him/his)
Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Director, W2R S-STEM Program
Director, NoCo B2B Program
Director, REU Site in Molecular Biosciences
paul.laybourn@colostate.edu
970-491-5100
