Engaging Community Colleges A First Look

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2009 CCCSE Workshop Engagement in the Classroom
May 26, 2009 Austin, Texas
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• Courtney Adkins
• Survey Operations Coordinator
• adkins_at_ccsse.org
• Karla Fisher
• College Relations Coordinator
• fisher_at_ccsse.org
• Center for Community College Student Engagement
  CCCSE
• Community College Leadership Program
• The University of Texas at Austin

Community College Survey of Student Engagement
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Student Engagement
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What is Student Engagement?

• the amount of time and energy students invest in
  meaningful educational practices
• in other words, institutional practices and
  student behaviors that are highly correlated with
  student learning and retention

Community College Survey of Student Engagement
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Why classroom engagement is so important

• Almost 40 of 2008 CCSSE Cohort respondents spend
  more than 30 hours a week working for pay
• Over 25 of 2008 CCSSE Cohort respondents spend
  more than 21 hours a week caring for dependents
• 82 of 2008 CCSSE Cohort respondents never
  participate in college-sponsored activities
• 60 of community college students are enrolled
  part time

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Three questions to think about

• What role do faculty play in student engagement?
• What role do staff play in student engagement?
• What role do administrators play in student
  engagement?

Community College Survey of Student Engagement
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Report out

• Faculty roles
• Staff roles
• Administrators roles

Community College Survey of Student Engagement
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Student Voices What Students Say Matters Most
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What makes a classroom engaging?

• Students say it happens when
• Its personal
• Its interactive
• Its challenging
• Its encouraging

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Its personalStudent Faculty Interaction
The process of interacting with the teacher. 
Its not about someone just coming and trying to
teach you everything.  You know something, the
teacher also knows something, so you exchange. 
That process makes you get involved and it makes
you feel better because you tell yourself, Wow. 
I know something.
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Student who often or very often
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Its interactiveActive and Collaborative
Learning
I really get into classes that have teachers who
encourage discussion.  It really doesnt matter
what class it is.  Classes that really
engageIts rarer than Id like, only a few
classes really got into that.
She will read the notes and then give you
funny ways that will make you remember stuff. 
Its a fun class where shes real interactive
with the students.  Shell let you ask questions
most instructors dont like questions.
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• 4a) Asked questions in class or contributed to
  class discussions
• 64 (often or very often)
• 3 (never)
• 4b) Made a class presentation
• 28 (often or very often)
• 31 (never)
• 4f) Worked with other students on projects during
  class
• 46 (often or very often)
• 13 (never)

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Its challengingAcademic Challenge
They told us the first week, If you miss X
number of classes then this happens, if you miss
another, then this happens  When I got the
letterfrom my advisor saying that I have missed
two daysIm like, Oh, they were serious about
that.  Ive been on time ever since.  I have not
missed another class Im passing my quizzes,
reading my text. 
I hate it at the moment, but my favorite
teachers are always the ass-kickers I like to
be challenged.
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• During the current school year, how often have
  you
• 4p) Worked harder than you thought you could to
  meet an instructors standards or expectations?
• 49 (often or very often)
• 11 (never)
• How much does your coursework at this college
  emphasize?
• 5f) Using information you have read or heard to
  perform a new skill
• 60 (quite a bit or very much)
• 9 (very little)

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Its encouragingSupport for Learners
I believe all of them are very good at using
strong encouragement.  I think thats important. 
Of course we can get encouragement from family
and friends, but that instructor giving you that
pat on the backit makes coming to class more
rewarding.
All my high school teacherstold me that your
teachers in college, they wouldnt care whether
you showed up, they wouldnt care if you turned
in your assignments, they wouldnt care if you
failed.  But, at the community college, all my
teachers are really showing that they are
interested in us succeeding.  I didnt expect
that.
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Its encouragingSupport for Learners
Our English teacher is the most awesome teacher
ever.  Shell go through and do the lectures but
then she has comical relief in between.  You walk
out of there knowing youve learned somethingbut
not feeling, Oh my God, the world is falling on
me.
The instructorsare more than willing to help
me.  Ive always felt thatif Im willing to
work, theyre willing to work just as hard.
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What CCFSSE Data Tell Us
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A Tale of Two Perspectives
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Student-Faculty Interaction Student
Experiences/Faculty Perceptions
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Explaining the gap

• Personal experiences vs. Systematically-collected
  data
• The part-time double whammy

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Pedagogical approaches

• Nearly a third (31) of the 2008 CCFSSE Cohort
  (faculty respondents) say that they spend 50100
  of their class time lecturing.
• More than half (53) of faculty members allocate
  less than 10 of their class time to small group
  activities.
• 89 of faculty members report spending less than
  20 of their class time on in-class writing.
• 50 of faculty respondents spend no class time on
  student computer use.

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Activity

• In groups, come up with ideas that will help
  increase student engagement in the classroom.
• What can faculty do?
• What can staff do?
• What can administrators do?

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Report out

• Faculty?
• Staff?
• Administrators?

Community College Survey of Student Engagement
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Promising PracticesPatrick Henry Community
College (VA)

• On the 2005 CCSSE, PHCC students identified
  memorization as their major learning mode. PHCC
  decided to move away from lecture-based
  instruction to one where the learner is actively
  engaged and more accountable for his/her
  learning. To accomplish this, they implemented
  an aggressive faculty professional development
  plan. 62 of full-time faculty including 100 of
  developmental ed faculty have completed the
  training and adopted cooperative learning
  strategies.
• Students enrolled in PHCC courses using
  cooperative learning (CL) demonstrate higher
  persistence in the first year 71 of students in
  two CL courses and 63 of students in one CL
  course persisted through their first year,
  compared to 54 of students in no CL courses.
• PHCC is creating SCALE (Southern Center for
  Active Learning Excellence, an active learning
  institute to provide additional faculty training
  in a variety of teaching strategies.

Center for Community College Student Engagement
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Promising PracticesGainesville State College (GA)

• GSC uses supplemental instruction (SI) to support
  students in traditionally difficult courses
  those with DFW grade rates of more than 30. In
  classes with SI, a student leader attends class
  with the students and holds regularly scheduled
  review sessions.
• Among students participating in SI, the college
  found increases of 26 to 67 in ABC grade rates,
  depending on the number of SI sessions the
  students attended.

Center for Community College Student Engagement
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Your promising practices

• Institutional / policy
• Support staff / services
• Classroom

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Helpful CCSSE Tools for involving faculty and
staff in classroom engagement data

• Predictions Exercises
• Course Feedback Form

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CCSSE Course Feedback Form

• End-of-course evaluation instrument
• Developed with the assistance of an advisory
  panel from CCSSE member colleges
• Based on student engagement items from the CCSSE
  survey and additional course feedback items
  submitted and reviewed by our advisory panel
  members

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• Questions/Discussion
• Please complete your CCCSE Workshop Evaluation
  Form.
• Please leave your Evaluation Form and Promising
  Practices Form on the table.