1st Edition
Teaching for Retention Strategies to Ignite Student Success in Higher Education
This book provides actionable insights and strategies to help address the student retention problem that has plagued higher education.
Designed for faculty, this book reframes the common question, “Why do students leave and how can we fix it?” to “What if we made sure that every student had a compelling reason to stay?” Drawing upon the Gallup-Purdue “Big Six,” – six key experiences in undergraduate education that influence graduates’ well-being – Teaching for Retention outlines incremental action steps and strategies that every faculty member can implement on their own, without seeking administrative approval or waiting for institutional initiatives.
This exciting book is designed for any faculty member who wants to increase students’ engagement in learning and motivation, and ultimately support students in completing their degree programs successfully.
Support material includes workshop facilitator notes, lesson plans, presentation slides, and participant workbook. These materials are available at www.routledge.com/9781032811833
Preface
First, an Apology
1. Understanding 21st-Century Teaching
Teaching for Retention
The Big Six
Higher Education Today
21st Century Educator Skills and Competencies
The Learnings
Meeting Students Where They Are
2. Generating Excitement for Learning
Core Assumptions
Inspiring Excitement for Learning
Strategies for Active Learning
Eight Key Elements
Distracted, Reluctant, or Non-Responsive Students
3. Caring for Students as People
Look to Your Left, Look to Your Right
Not What, but Who and How
Faculty Immediacy
Warm Demander
Unreasonable Caring
4. Mentoring for Retention
Roots of Mentoring
Toward Mentoring
Strategies for Mentoring
Mentoring Special Populations
Mentoring Students in Crisis
The Case for Mentoring
5. Providing Opportunities to Work on Long-Term Projects
Defining Long-Term Projects
HIPs Connection
Engagement Beyond the Classroom
Toward Long-Term Projects
6. Incorporating Authentic Experiences
College-Career Connections
Pathways to Achievement
Experiential Education
Keeping Our Promises
7. Engaging Students Beyond the Classroom
Moving Beyond the Classroom
Theories of Student Persistence
Strategies for Student Engagement
Benefits of Student Engagement
Facilitating Student Engagement
Just Two Things
8. Questioning Assumptions
The Trope of the Uncaring Professor
Weed-Out Courses
Analyzing Assumptions
In Plain Sight
9. Designing for Student Success
Quality Matters and Comprehensive Instructional Design
Designing for Student Success
10. Transforming Roadblocks into Stepping Stones
Why Students Leave
Financial Hardships
Institutional Frustrations
Personal Difficulties
Instructional and Academic Challenges
Social Disconnection
Compassion and Responsibility
Conclusion
Envoy
Resources
How to Write Objectives and Outcomes
How to Create a Course Map
How to Create a Career Pathway Map
How to Create a Program Map
Biography
Bruce M. Mackh is the Vice Provost for Assessment and Chief Accreditation Officer at Wright State University in Dayton, USA. He is an experienced educator, academic administrator, and scholar of art and design, higher education, and teaching and learning.
