Join this Teaching Circle: Impacting Student Retention and Persistence
Register Here for Zoom Link and Add to your calendar
Given the University’s current position, it’s natural that we think a lot about enrollment. We don’t always think about retention (freshmen at CU becoming sophomores) and persistence (graduating with a CU degree) in the same way. But student retention and persistence are critical: for every student we lose, we need to devote resources to placing eight in the recruitment pipeline. And retention is one area where faculty can make a tremendous impact.
We hope that you will join us in a Teaching Circle held throughout September, where experts will help us understand the challenges and opportunities that we face in this environment.
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 10:00 am: Joe Skufca will discuss the work of the First Year Council, and engage in a data-driven conversation on best practices in retaining first year students.
Wednesday, Sept. 20, 10:00 am: Cathy McNamara and Amanda Pickering will describe high-level University initiatives that analyze why students leave Clarkson. We’ll all discuss how faculty can help retain some of these.
Wednesday, Sept. 27, 10:00 am: Jen Ball will join and talk about retention from a diversity and inclusion perspective. What strategies can help us retain a diverse student body, and what are some frustrations faced by this population?
Supported by Clarkson University Institute for STEM Education (STEM Ed)
Where: This Teaching Circle meets via Zoom.
All are welcome to attend.
Register Here for Zoom Link and Add to your calendar
About Teaching Circles:
Teaching circles are intentional communities at Clarkson who share concerns and interests related to teaching. They are safe spaces in which colleagues (1) generate and share developments related to teaching, (2) ideate innovations or interventions designed to enhance student learning, (3) seek scholarly research and resources to inform and support implementation of trials.
Suggest a circle topic or start your own: Our aim is to grow the number of circles based on topics and interest from within the Clarkson community. You can help shape this program with your willingness to get involved. Suggest a topic, facilitate a circle or contribute suggestions. More on this in Moodle.
When applicable, teaching circles will contribute to Clarkson’s greater community of teaching and learning through presentations/publication of findings to colleagues.
Teaching Circles are coordinated by the Faculty Support and Development Task Force. Participation is open to any faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants.
What to expect:
- Each circle will be theme or topic focused and is guided by a facilitator or co-facilitators. Facilitators are responsible for organizing circle meetings, posting to circle’s online forum, circle goal setting & check ins, facilitate discussions, arranging for outside expertise (speakers, guest contributors, etc) and encouraging members to contribute fully. Facilitators volunteer in this leadership role for professional development and exploration of topics of interest.
- Circle Rules:
- Join as many circles as you like
- Drop out of a circle at any time
- Participate actively
- Be respectful and inclusive
- Teaching circle members will engage in active discussion and contribution is encouraged. Circles meet via Zoom for bi-weekly discussions and will have a home in a Moodle course, as a platform for hosting/sharing resources, facilitating online discussion.
Have an idea for a Teaching Circle? Great! Contact Alexander Cohen (acohen@clarkson.edu), Associate Director of Faculty Support, to pitch your idea.
Facilitators are required to:
- Hold meetings in a way that allows attendance and participation from all campuses. If Zoom is not appropriate, producing a recording is.
- Ensure that attendance is logged. This is easily automated through Zoom logs, but alternate means are acceptable if Zoom is not utilized.
- Create, in collaboration with Alexander Cohen or Laura Perry, a standing section on the Teaching Circles Moodle site to provide an archive of programming and a forum for ongoing discussion and collaboration.
Facilitators are encouraged to:
- Post to circle’s forum a greeting, and introduction
- Other suggested posts: relevant experience on the topic, resource review, questions for circle to explore, and comments of interest on the topic
- Moderate forum discussion
How to Join Teaching Circles:
Click to enroll in the Teaching Circles course in Moodle.
For questions, contact a Faculty Support and Development Task Force:
Alexander Cohen, acohen@clarkson.edu
Kathleen Kavanagh, kkavanag@clarkson.edu
Laura Perry, lperry@clarkson.edu
Christopher Robinson, crobinso@clarkson.edu
Erin Blauvelt, eblauvel@clarkson.edu
Tom Langen, tlangen@clarkson.edu
Kathleen Issen, kissen@clarkson.edu
Loretta Driskel, ldriskel@clarkson.edu
Jan DeWaters, jdewater@clarkson.edu