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

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 4 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 5 Indicators 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 6 National Survey of Student 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 ( )  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 7 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 8 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) 12%

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 9 Time on Task

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 10 How Students Spend Their Time

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 11 Variations in Student-Faculty Interaction by Discipline

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 12 First-year students Lower division faculty Seniors Upper 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 13 What WPI Learned from NSSE 4 th year students highly engaged –Project work and research –Interactions with faculty –Collaboration with peers 1 st year students unengaged –Not working very hard –Not much writing –Not much thinking

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 14 Pedagogies of Engagement Association of American Colleges and Universities Collaborative inquiry Service learning Experiential learning Integrative learning Project-based learning

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 15 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 16 What Constitutes Project Work? “Open-ended” problems Many possible solutions Goal, methods chosen by learners Complexity, ambiguity Real and messy

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 17 Key Learning Outcomes of Projects Communication and teamwork Research, analysis, synthesis Problem solving Critical thinking “Real world” skills

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 18 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 19 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 20 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 21 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 22 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 23 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 24 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 25 Student Course Evaluations Overall, how much did you learn from this course? –Almost nothing 1% –A little10% –Quite a lot57% –More than any course I’ve taken 32%

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 26 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 27 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 Student Engagement is Used to Stimulate Effective Educational Practices” John Hayek National Survey of Student Engagement Jillian Kinzie NSSE Institute for Effective Educational Practice AAC&U Pedagogies of Engagement Conference April 2004 Part of this presentation was based on:

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 29 Questions for Discussion Are projects feasible for large courses? Are projects appropriate at all levels? Must projects be “real”? Is group work essential?