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Supporting Students > Academic Support
3 matchesFrom Deficit to Asset Framing: How Shifting Faculty Mindset Framing Can Positively Affect Student Motivation and Belonging
Target Audience: College/University Staff, Non-tenure Track Faculty, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty
Program Components: Professional Development:Advising and Mentoring, Diversity/Inclusion, Supporting Students:Student Engagement, Academic Support
Student's cultural wealth and faculty mindset framing are often overlooked aspects of educational practice that if addressed, could lead to meaningful change and academic success of students. To shift toward an assets-based view of students and cultivate student belonging we encourage asset framing of students through the cultural wealth, or the knowledge, skills, and contacts, they bring to STEMM classrooms.
It is often posited that academic success is predicated on the "grittiness" of students. Grit can be defined as "expressing a passion and perseverance for pursuing long-term goals" which provides students with the ability to achieve long-term goals even in the face of adversity (Allen, Kannangara & Carson, 2021, p. 75). Grit is often associated with mindset or the perception that students have about their ability to learn. Mindsets, or implicit theories, related to learning generally emphasize the "fixedness or malleability of human characteristics like intelligence or personality (Canning, et. al, 2019)." The majority of research on grit and mindsets related to learning and academic success have focused on students. Thus, leaving the "blame" for lower levels of academic persistence and success squarely on the perceived characteristics of students. However, several recent studies have examined the influence of faculty mindset on student success. This new research indicates that faculty behavior and classroom culture which stems from faculty mindset affects persistence and leads to larger racial achievement gaps in STEM courses and programs (Canning, et. al, 2019). More
Implementing Integrated Comprehensive Student Programs in STEM: Challenges and Facilitators from the CSU STEM Collaboratives
Target Audience: College/University Staff, Non-tenure Track Faculty, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Institution Administration
Program Components: Institutional Systems:Strategic Planning, Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Academic Support
In my last post, I described the benefits of integrated support programs for underrepresented students in STEM. These integrated programs bridge organizational silos and build a unified community of support, in which faculty and staff work together to break down barriers to student success. The campuses that participated in the CSU STEM Collaboratives project saw increased student success and other organizational benefits as a result of creating integrated programs.
While integration across functional areas represents a promising strategy for supporting student success, it represents a new way of working in higher education. Implementing integrated programs presents some unique challenges that may not be evident when implementing other types of interventions. In this post, I will briefly discuss a few of these challenges, as well as some strategies that STEM Collaboratives campuses used to overcome them. More
Integrating across Academic and Student Affairs to Support Underrepresented Students in STEM: Lessons from the CSU STEM Collaboratives
Target Audience: College/University Staff, Non-tenure Track Faculty, Tenured/Tenure-track Faculty, Institution Administration
Program Components: Supporting Students:Mentoring Program, Academic Support
The challenges of keeping undergraduate students in STEM programs and getting them to complete their degrees are well-documented and frequently discussed by members of this group and a wide audience of stakeholders around the country (Eagan, Hurtado, Figueroa, & Hughes, 2014). For students from underrepresented backgrounds, these challenges are even steeper, as they may have experienced inadequate high school preparation in math and science, an unwelcoming or chilly climate in college, or poorly taught introductory STEM courses (Tsui, 2007). Many existing interventions for underrepresented students in STEM tend to target small groups and remain disconnected from other support programs for low-income, first-generation, or minority students. Additionally, most existing support programs have either not included or not coordinated with ongoing efforts to reform introductory STEM curriculum and teaching. More
