scholarly journals Empowering Faculty to Support Academic Persistence through a Blended, Scholarship-Based Faculty Professional Development Program: The Persistence Scholars Program

Author(s):  
Michelle Miller ◽  
K. Laurie Dickson ◽  
Rachel L. Koch

While it is well-known that faculty-student interaction is key to student success, few institutions have directly leveraged faculty in supporting academic persistence. Many myths about persistence proliferate, and faculty can unwittingly hinder persistence by implementing the wrong kinds of practices. Faculty are most empowered to support student persistence when they understand and care about this issue. They are also better equipped to help when they have a good, current command of the body of knowledge relating to persistence. To address this, we created a blended faculty development program to engage faculty in the scholarship of academic persistence, addressing myths and misconceptions about persistence, and expanding understanding of what it is like to be a first-year student at our university. The Persistence Scholars Program engaged a total of 32 faculty over two semesters, beginning with pre-readings and an in-person daylong workshop followed by an eight or ten-week course. The curriculum was built around a central text, Completing College by Vincent Tinto, and selected empirical and germane articles. Participants engaged in online discussions and two experiential projects, including one that asked them to complete an activity that would enhance their understanding of first-year students’ experiences. Assessments of this program focused on participant ratings of target competencies (e.g., the ability to identify and dispel myths about why students persist), perception of usefulness of different specific assignments and materials, and suggestions for how the program can be refined for future cohorts.

2020 ◽  
pp. 135050762092562
Author(s):  
Maribel Blasco ◽  
Annemette Kjærgaard ◽  
Thyra Uth Thomsen

Based on qualitative data generated during a faculty development program for teachers of first-year students at a Danish business school, we explore teachers’ reflections about tactically mobilizing different positions in teaching situations. We propose that positioning theory offers a promising tool for understanding teachers’ assumptions about their professional identities and, when used in faculty development programs, can strengthen teachers’ awareness that they can situationally orchestrate pedagogy by purposefully shifting between different positions. Over time, this awareness may help to develop teachers’ situational wisdom. We introduce the concept of “pedagogical positioner” to capture this meta-positioning skill. We further identify three positions that teachers can adopt when teaching first-year students: the content expert, the learning facilitator, and the supportive caregiver. Based on positioning theory, we conceptualize the discursive positions, storylines, and rights and duties that emerge in teachers’ accounts of these shifts. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of reflexive and interactive positioning in teaching, and suggest how awareness about different positions might be fostered through faculty development programs.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donnalee Taylor

<p class="Body"><em>To date, little has been published on the provision of student-driven just-in-time information to support first year students. This chronicle of just-in-time curricular and extra-curricular student support information was designed early in 2014 and successfully disseminated to first year biomedical science students over three years at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In 2016, the information was redeveloped to make the support information electronically available to a much broader student audience. This article provides a dissemination template of what just-in-time curricular and extra-curricular information is required by first year university students. In addition, it outlines how students’ need for this information was determined and how information was successfully created and disseminated over these three years to assist the students in their transition to and through university. The intention of this article is to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on student resilience and wellbeing and to provide a guide for anyone interested in supporting their students in a similar manner.</em></p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelvin Mukolo Kayombo ◽  
Steve Carter

This study was the second phase of a larger research project that was designed to identify and measure a higher education institution’s brand in Zambia in order to ascertain areas for strengthening the brand’s competitive position. The objectives of this conjoint study were twofold: firstly, to identify the current position of the ZCAS brand as a case study and secondly, to establish the current position of the ZCAS brand relative to its higher education (HE) competitors in Zambia. This quantitative study involved administering a conjoint questionnaire to 110 first year students in ZCAS and 280 first year students in seven universities in the country. The 19 branding elements identified in the initial qualitative stage of the project were aggregated into five principal branding factors using Atlas.ti’s co-occurrence tools to facilitate this conjoint study. These five principal branding attributes are teaching quality, fees, course availability, learning environment and employability. The study revealed that ZCAS has a fairly strong brand position in the Zambian HE sector because the most important elements in its brand model, i.e. course availability, teaching quality and facilities are also the premier brand dimensions in the market. The study also revealed that ZCAS needs to reposition itself away from the competition in order to occupy a more favorable position in the minds of its prospective and existing customers. Accordingly, the study recommends that ZCAS increases its course offerings and collaborates with universities in the region. ZCAS should also consider setting up a quality assurance unit to foster quality in the institution. This study adds to the increasing body of knowledge on HE branding, particularly in developing countries, by developing and then testing a brand orientation model for the Zambian HE market.


After entering university and starting their studies, a person changes the routine rhythm of their life. Their social environment changes and they become subject to new requirements in connection with the features of the educational process. Consequently, these changes affect a first-year student's personal time and their psychophysiological state. The process of preparation for professional activities involves not only the acquisition of a certain body of knowledge and skills but also the acquisition of a system of values and attitudes governing the life of society. Speed and degree of adaptation influence the success of training, psychological comfort and satisfaction with the career choice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-47
Author(s):  
Donnalee Taylor

To date, little has been published on the provision of student-driven just-in-time information to support first year students. This chronicle of just-in-time curricular and extra-curricular student support information was designed early in 2014 and successfully disseminated to first year biomedical science students over three years at James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In 2016, the information was redeveloped to make the support information electronically available to a much broader student audience. This article provides a dissemination template of what just-in-time curricular and extra-curricular information is required by first year university students. In addition, it outlines how students’ need for this information was determined and how information was successfully created and disseminated over these three years to assist the students in their transition to and through university. The intention of this article is to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on student resilience and wellbeing and to provide a guide for anyone interested in supporting their students in a similar manner.


2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Boman ◽  
Michelle Yeo ◽  
Theresa Matus

In this article we report the outcomes of a needs assessment administered to new faculty members who were hired within the last four years at Mount Royal University. Our purpose in conducting this needs assessment was to gather information to guide the redevelopment of the institution’s support program for new faculty in light of a changing institutional context (i.e., the transition from a college to a university).  Faculty members were asked what kinds of support and resources they perceived themselves as needing during the first year of their full-time appointment and what gaps were present in their professional development.  We review the key themes in faculty members’ self-identified needs and summarize the principles behind a new faculty development program that was informed by the results of this research. 


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Ioanna Kayiatos ◽  
Joan Ostrove

<p class="Body"><span>In the Fall of 2013 we team-taught a disability studies course for a small group of first-year students. The course, Minding the Body, integrated scholarship from disability studies, feminist/queer studies, psychology, and Russian Studies. Originally envisioned and taught independently in the Fall of 2012 by Joan Ostrove and focused entirely on the U.S., Anastasia Kayiatos's arrival in the Department of German and Russian Studies at Macalester College afforded us an opportunity for collaboration and co-instruction that we found invigorating, compelling, and transformative. Grounded from the outset in disability studies, the course asked students to interrogate such questions as: What is a "normal" body? A "beautiful" body? Why do we feel the way we do about our bodies? How are bodies objectified, exploited, and regulated? How and why do we discriminate against people with non-normative bodies? How do people represent the experience of having a disabled body? How can we think critically about the various ways in which people change, regulate, and enhance their bodies? How do sexism, racism, classism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of oppression influence how different bodies are viewed, treated, educated, and experienced? The integration of Russian Studies importantly allowed us to ask how these questions and ideas change when we travel across time and geographical space. In our paper we will reflect on our experience of co-authoring the syllabus (we will include both the solo-taught and co-taught versions of the syllabus in an appendix); outline some of our techniques for team-teaching; and analyze an exemplary assignment and class meeting. We will conclude with a final word about the unique forms of teaching and learning that happened in our class as a consequence of its collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, which opened up new perspectives in disability studies not only for our students but also for us.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 68-80
Author(s):  
E. V. Kruglikova ◽  
E. A. Chanchaeva ◽  
R. I. Aizman

The paper analyzes the literature data on the peculiarities of nutrition of students studying in higher educational institutions of various regions of Russia, and the risks of developing food-related diseases. They are largely associated with the adaptation of students to study at a university, the lack of self-organization skills and a lack of  knowledge in matters of rational nutrition. The actual nutrition of  students, on the one hand, is characterized by a lack of macronutrients and micronutrients intake, on the other hand, by excessive consumption of substances that contribute to the development of obesity. The results of numerous studies show a general pattern of unbalanced nutrition of students in terms of the ratio of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, insufficient consumption of dietary fiber, full-fledged proteins, and  excessive intake of simple carbohydrates. Dietary fiber deficiency can  lead to changes in the composition of the microbiocenosis of the digestive tract, a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids, and consequently, the imbalance of fatty acid composition of the blood cell membrane. 20–40 % of Russian students show signs of severe hypovitaminosis, especially calciferol, which is caused not only by its deficiency in the diet, but also by physical, geographical, climatic and seasonal factors. The analysis of the content of the main minerals in students shows a sufficient content of calcium in the body, an excess of sodium and a lack of magnesium, potassium and  iron, which is due to both the composition of the food consumed and the peculiarities of the accumulation and excretion of these ions. An analysis of the actual nutrition of students shows the need for counseling young people, especially in the first years of study. The introduction of an educational program on optimal nutrition is possible through the practice of curatorial work during the adaptation of the first-year students to student’s life. 


2021 ◽  
pp. 116-124
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Vasilievna Kruglikova ◽  
◽  
Elena Anatolievna Chanchaeva ◽  
Sergey Sergeevich Sidorov ◽  
Marina Nikolaevna Lyovkina ◽  
...  

Problem and Aim. When socializing first-year students for independent living, there are difficulties in planning financial expenses, including for rational food, which often leads to its violation. The purpose of the article is to assess the actual nutrition of first-year students adapting to living in a dormity, and to propose a methodology for calculating the budget of students to solve their social and daily issues. Methodology. The work uses methods of empirical research of actual nutrition (macronutrient composition of daily diet), statistical and comparative methods of analysis. Results. The actual nutrition of first-year students living in the dormitory is characterized by a shortage of consumed calories, fats, including polyunsaturated fatty acids, and insufficient consumption of carbohydrates, including dietary fibers. This insufficiency is more pronounced among girls who also have deficient protein intake, especially of animal origin. A methodology for calculating the budget of students is proposed, which will help them determine the costs of basic necessities, including for full nutrition, and develop skills in compiling a daily food diet taking into account the needs of the body. Conclusion. The actual nutrition of freshmen living in the dormitory is characterized by a shortage of calories, fats and carbohydrates consumed, which is more pronounced among girls who also have a deficiency in protein consumption. A methodology for calculating the budgeting of students’ expenses has been proposed, which will allow them to improve the food structure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
AHM Mostafa Kamal ◽  
Khadeza Khatun ◽  
Shakil Shams ◽  
Begum Dilruba Kazi ◽  
Kazi Afzalur Rahman ◽  
...  

Context: Adequate knowledge about nutritional status of a community is necessary to have a comprehensive idea about its development process, as under-nutrition is one of the major health problems in developing countries. As an individual’s height and weight can be readily and inexpensively measured, body mass index (BMI) has become a popular heuristic approximation for body fatness in epidemiology and clinical practice. The BMI is the most common surrogate measure of obesity as well as nutritional assessment for individual. For this reasons an attempt has been taken to assess the nutritional status through the body mass index (BMI) among first year students of MBBS and B sc nursing course of government medical education institutes in Dhaka. Material and Methods: This descriptive type of analytic study was conducted in the Anatomy Department of Dhaka Medical College, Dhaka. The study sample was 177 individuals of first year students of MBBS and B.Sc nursing course admitted in the session of 2017-2018 in the Dhaka Medical College & Dhaka Nursing College, Dhaka. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as student’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the student’s height in meters (kg/m2). The warning sign of poor nutritional health was calculated according to the checklist adapted by the Nutrition Screening Initiative, American Academy of Family Physicians July 2001. With the help of statistical software SPSS-20 comparisons between the two groups were done. Result: The mean (±SD) height (meter), weight (kg) and BMI of groups MBBS and B Sc nursing were 1.63±0.09, 61.65±11.22, 23.11±3.53 and 1.56±0.07, 49.05±9.42, 20.15±3.47 respectively. Good nutritional health status was found 61.80% in MBBS and 53.30% in B Sc nursing groups. Conclusion: The present study showed that the BMI of first year students of MBBS course is higher than first year students of B Sc nursing course. J Dhaka Medical College, Vol. 28, No.1, April, 2019, Page 11-16


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