PowerPoint Presentation: new_faculty_institute.pptx

Good Advice—Straight From Our Students

I asked our students how the four layers above influence their learning.
Here are their actual answers:

I learn the most when I…

• find a balance between work, family, home, and personal time.
• am organized and have good time management
• the stresses in my home life are at a minimum
• know when things are due
• get enough sleep and eat well
• show up for class, follow along, collaborate, and participate
• am passionate about what I am learning
• can ask the teacher for help in class
• am allowed to make mistakes
• am shown examples of what I am supposed to do

I learn the least when I…

• I have too much free time to work on assignments
• I have to sit and listen to a boring and stale teacher for two hours
• …silly time-wasting tasks are not helpful either
• when instructors do more putting-down than praising
• I have distractions around me—students not paying attention, Facebook
• the teacher is not organized or can not think clearly then I also get lost. (KISS)
• I don't learn very much when a teacher just gives me an assignment and expects me to know how to do it. Or if they tell me to figure it out on my own. I pay for the class so that the teacher actually teaches me, i don't pay for me to teach myself...otherwise theres no point in taking the class. (just saying)

I learn the most when my fellow students…

Summary: Students want to collaborate, interact, share, learn and receive feedback from each other.

• want to be in class, and want to learn. The dynamic of a class affects me more than anything
• give me honest, constuctive, friendly criticism (frequent comment!)
• help me out with projects and give me feed back—we're in this together
• are positive and resepectful
• are well behaved during class
• are cooperative during group projects
• when fellow students actually participate in group efforts and critiques with life and vigor instead of what happens 90% of the time when everyone just stares at the ground acting dumb
• are willing to share tips and techniques that are not taught in class. We can all learn much from each other if we all do our part
• ask pertinent questions to the instructor or to other students. I don't always feel comfortable asking questions myself, but I really do pay attention to the types of questions and responses that others get

I learn the least when my fellow students…

Summary: Students want to be in class with equally involved, collaborative, considerate, and passionate students.

• don't care and are lazy
• are disruptive and are slackers during group projects
• are petty and disruptive and are not respectful of the person leading the class
• talk a lot, asking unrelated questions, and take up my time.

I learn the most when my teachers…

• tell me how to improve my work and make it better
• are approachable and helpful while able to be honest
• are available to answer questions or offer help. I like having multiple ways of connecting with my teachers (e-mail, office hours, etc)
• make assignments and projects clear. Having a resource to go to to get class information (website or Blackboard) is a big help
• is able to give a real life example (personal experience is best) of what they're talking about. Makes things more memorable
• Are fun, engaging, and make the students move around! It's no fun sitting for 1-3 hour lectures
• have a time line for due dates for the semester. That way I can plan my personal and work schedule around making time for homework when I know something is due in the future
• don't hold me by the hand because it challenges me to do a little research on my own
• are trying to teach, not make friends
• allow lots of freedom in class projects
• are organized
• very knowledgeable about the class subject matter
• fair with due dates
• share their knowledge, real world experience, and insight into the industry
• allow us class time to work
• push for what they know you can do
• can explain something in another way than was explained in the directions of a project or text because sometimes I just don't understand the wording
• are confident in their teaching abilities and aware of current industry trends

I learn the least when my teachers…

• that are not organized
• That are biased
• constantly change what is going on
• are unapproachable and don't make me feel stupid for asking questions, even if they're ridiculous
• don't care about what their teaching
• that give busy work. Keep homework relevant and productive
• make us buy books that we use once
• don't teach in more than one way to keep us engaged
• judge students
• don't have an open mind

I learn the most in a college that…

• is friendly and welcoming
• wants and helps me to succeed
• provides software, current technology, and enthusiastic teachers
• offers classes at many different times and ways, online, blended
• has a designated quiet work place
• provides good instructors
• cares about its students and the staff helps us
• has helpful resources such as the library or study groups
• always has a computer available for me to use
• has smart faculty that knows what the students need
• has an environment that is up to industry standards
• has a group of classmates that want to learn all that they can
• has resources available (ASC) for all types of learners
• feels like an important step in our careers rather than just a hurdle to overcome. We come here to learn, unlike in high-school where your goal is just to graduate.

I learn the least in a college that…

• is not helpful
• where I'm pretty much just a number (Universities), and professors obviously don't care about you. I need to feel included and a part of something. This is why I prefer a tech school or a private school
• has stopped growing and doesn't find new ways to constantly make the education more engaging and effective
• I feel like the college is just here to take my money and move on
• Doesn't offer classes that fit my schedule. for example a lot of classes are only offered certain semesters
• I learn the least in a college that is hard to get to because of lack of parking

My Early Years—"Tough Love" From My Students

• We all know you’re a nice guy, but we need someone to tell us if our work sucks
• Stop talking/lecturing so much! Let us learn some things on our own
• Give us class time for assignments. Then we can talk to you when we are working on them and have questions
• Show more samples of how other people did the assignment—not just yours
• Tell us what we did right or wrong on our projects, don’t just use that grid thing

Beloit College's Mindset List

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2014/

Western Student Demographics

* Percentages are based on students that we have the information for. Currently 1,868 of the 8,526 credit students from 2010-2011 provided this information.

Listening to our Students

My evaluations are always anonymous.

1. Write on whiteboard, "2 areas done well, 2 areas to improve, other comments"
2. classroom_assessment.pdf (1–2 times during semester)
3. instructor_course_eval.pdf (end of semester)
4. Zoomerang.com (free online survey web site)

Poster Art

Download 11" x 17" poster art PDF: student_portrait_poster.pdf (121k)

—Click to Take the Student Success Survey—