by Dr. Penny MacCormack
KaSondra Toney (photo courtesy of USM)
When KaSondra Toney returned to college, so did her self-doubt.
KaSondra’s college journey began several years earlier, but twice she had to withdraw to support her young family. Now that her children were older, KaSondra was determined to finish her degree. Yet once she enrolled in her online classes at The University of Southern Mississippi, a familiar question lingered: Do I really belong here? Am I college material?
These are the same questions many of the 20 million students starting college this fall will ask themselves. Too many will view the academic and, at times personal, struggles they face as they enter and engage in their college courses as evidence that they don’t belong.
KaSondra’s story is an important reminder for faculty and higher education leaders that a focus on student belonging — especially early on and through the semester — is key to stronger and more equitable achievement.
For KaSondra, everything started to change when she met Dr. Angel Herring. Professor Herring embraces teaching with an asset-based mindset, focusing on the unique skills and experiences each student brings to her courses. She creates welcome videos to introduce herself. As a first-generation college student herself, she makes it a point to describe her own struggles to help students understand they are not alone in their struggles and that they can reach out for support.
To learn about each student’s goals, expectations, and learning needs, Professor Herring schedules meetings. “She listened to me,” KaSondra recalls from their meeting. “It helped me realize that what I had to say was important and that my ideas were important. She noticed something in me that I didn’t notice in myself.”
As KaSondra would come to find out, that welcoming and supportive culture is embraced by instructors and staff across USM. “They really helped me through a lot of self-doubt.” And she describes the relationships she formed with the staff and instructors in USM’s School of Child and Family Sciences as “transformative.”
In 2020, KaSondra fulfilled her dream and earned her bachelor’s degree. She also won USM’s Bishop Award, which recognizes students who have endured hardships in pursuit of their education. In December, KaSondra will earn a master’s degree from USM’s School Counseling program. She has accepted a position to become a school district’s social emotional school counselor.
The Power of Effective Teaching
Professor Herring is one of more than 200 educators at USM who is fully certified in effective college instruction through a partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), where I serve as chief academic officer.
The effective and equity-promoting teaching practices that Professor Herring utilizes are part of the 25 core competencies that constitute ACUE’s Effective Practice Framework. Backed by decades of research, each of these practices is demonstrated by faculty, like Dr. Angel Herring, across every discipline and institution type, so that faculty across the country can see themselves in our offerings.
In every ACUE course, our learning modules include dozens of teaching practices that faculty and staff can implement with their students right away. And our data show that all types of faculty are eager to learn about and implement the skills they learn in community with their colleagues. To date, more than 20,500 faculty have earned ACUE’s credentials, a nationally-recognized professional distinction that has been independently validated and endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE).
KaSondra’s success story at USM is not by chance. As a result of USM’s partnership with ACUE, which began in 2016, faculty today are incentivized, supported, and recognized for strengthening their teaching craft. Research published earlier this year found that USM’s retention rates increased for first-year students taught by ACUE Certified faculty. In addition, students achieved more and performed better in subsequent courses after being taught by an ACUE Certified faculty member.
And USM is no outlier. Public university systems across the country, including CUNY, Texas A&M, and California State University, are leading major initiatives to invest in effective teaching at scale. Community colleges, technical colleges, and private liberal arts colleges have all seen the impact that effective teaching strategies have on faculty and students as nearly two dozen impact studies show. Students learn more, complete courses at a higher level, and persist in larger numbers from one semester to the next when taught by ACUE Certified faculty.
Get Started: Three Strategies to Prepare for a Strong Semester
So, what are some strategies that will help to strengthen student belonging in the new academic year?
You can start even before the semester begins through learner-centered and equitable course design. It is strengthened in the days leading up to the first day through welcome messages and student interest surveys. It continues the first day and beyond through activities that build community and establish peer-to-peer relationships. Here are three strategies to get started:
#1 Prepare an Inclusive Syllabus
The syllabus is your students’ first impression of your course — and of you. It conveys priorities and sets the tone and expectations for the course. It can also be a powerful tool for creating an inclusive learning community.
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#2 Send a Welcome Message
Welcome messages can help ease students’ concerns by helping them view you as a person who will support them and prepare them for what lies ahead.
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#3 Recognize Student Assets
Teaching from an asset-based mindset begins with discovering the skills, experiences, and prior knowledge that your students bring to your course. One way to accomplish this is by assigning your students a survey early in the course to learn about their interests, hobbies, skills, and experiences and then using this information to inform course and learning experience design.
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Interested in Learning More?
More than ever, colleges and universities are recognizing the critical role of faculty and staff in accelerating student success, belonging, and equity.
Whether you are an individual faculty member or an administrator, equipping instructors with effective and equity-promoting teaching practices is one of the highest impact ways to help students learn more and succeed. It is also an opportunity to join a community of professional practice with others who are committed to lifelong learning and helping their students succeed.
Click here to learn more about how ACUE programs can accelerate student success, equity, and belonging at your institution.
