(QEP) Engaging the First Year Student - West Texas A&M University

QEP: Engaging the First Year StudentWest Texas A&M UniversityAssignments Students and Faculty Found Disengaging:• Busywork• Too simple assignments/lectures• Assignments without credibility• Do not know what professors or students wants• Textbooks that are out of date, not practical or applicable, and boring• Not helpful to major or me• Topics are not interesting or assignments about the topics aren’t interesting• No directionAs a result of these general ideas about what students and faculty found both engaging anddisengaging academically, a thematic analysis of their perspectives became important. Thesethemes shed greater light on the NSSE results because we were able to find specific examples toexplain the NSSE data reports. The following themes emerged from a transcript analysis of thefocus groups.Active LearningA dominant theme was that the students wanted to be active learners if and only if the professortook the responsibility for creating an environment for active learning. Students demanded thatthe professor be enthusiastic, not appear bored, presents either “cutting edge” material or in a“ cutting edge” manner, not rely on textbook for lecture, was not intimidating, and structured theclass toward success for students. If the professor did all these AND got to know the students ona personal level, the students were motivated to actively learn. Students overwhelminglysuggested that this happens in classes for their major, but not core. Students enjoyed group workthat was team oriented and community based in its problem solving.TrustStudents would trust the professor of a hard class, and would work harder, if a “reward” wasvisible at the end. The question was what this reward constitutes. Students must have a cleardirection toward an ‘A’ or ‘B’. If this was the case – again, the onus was upon the professor toprovide justification for both the path and the outcome – then students overwhelminglysuggested they were willing to risk a difficult class. Students did not trust intimidatingprofessors, or ones who were too structured, bored, or who could not control a classroom.Students liked the professor to be part of a team. They seemed especially fond of teachers whoappeared academically “human” to them and who were unafraid to admit failings.Personal RelevanceStudents clearly demanded that the material be relevant and that relevance be explained by theprofessor. Students wanted relevance included in course materials, assignments, teaching style,and outcome assessments. Without this knowledge, students conceded that the course becameirrelevant and a mere “hoop to jump through.” They also suggested that they needed to see theimportance of course content to the professor. The core was seen as the site where professors didnot take or feel a personal relevance to their own careers. While students did not necessarilysuggest that the course must be relevant to their major, they did suggest that it helps to motivatethem if it is.13