Creating Constellations of Meaningful Relationships
When I was in college, one of the RAs would host a weekly watch party for one of her favorite shows, The West Wing. Most of us did not have TVs, so anyone in the dorm or anywhere on campus who heard about it and wanted to go was invited. With her RA funds, she provided … Continue reading Creating Constellations of Meaningful Relationships
Breaking Bread: Take a Student to Coffee or Lunch
When you sit down together at the Spartans Table, you belong. The Spartans Table program offers students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to interact in informal settings in the Spartan Cafe in the Sansbury Campus Life Center or the Perk Up Cafe in the Library. Have your lunch or afternoon coffee on us. Belonging Matters … Continue reading Breaking Bread: Take a Student to Coffee or Lunch
Relationship Matters: Casual Conversation as Pedagogy
The Spartans' Table initiative is BACK! by Dave Marlow When you sit down together at the Spartans' Table, you belong. Belonging is a primary factor in student retention (Costello, et al., 2022). Students who feel connected to their university are more likely to persist in their educational goals. Interacting informally at the Spartan Cafe in … Continue reading Relationship Matters: Casual Conversation as Pedagogy
Soft Skills and First Year Students
By Kristen Stevenson The Back to School Buzz is in the air! School supplies, backpacks, and nervous students abound while faculty wrap their minds around a new year, finish syllabi, and create content in Blackboard. For those of us who teach first-year students, we are also planning how to guide students to be successful in … Continue reading Soft Skills and First Year Students
Building a Safe Classroom Enviroment
By Kristen Stevenson The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework promotes synergies among teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence to achieve learning in courses. Your teaching presence sets the tone of the classroom (both face-to-face and virtual) for students to safely and successfully interact with both the content and one another. While college classrooms often … Continue reading Building a Safe Classroom Enviroment