In This Issue:
- Letter from the Editors
- Webinar: Report-Out from the Communications Audit Working Group (February 15, 1:00PM ET)
- Virtual Table Talk: Collaborative Learning and Team Projects (February 19, 1:00PM ET)
- Reminders & News
Regardless of your academic calendar, the second semester is underway on all Frontier Set campuses. The fall’s entering students have survived (and some will have thrived), and the hope is that they have returned for the next semester.
How have we helped our students to reflect on their experiences, and have we heard what barriers they hit? How have we assessed their processes and products, ferreted out areas of concern, and provided strategic interventions and supports to help redirect them to more success?
Frontier Set sites are addressing critical pressure points along the student’s trajectory, with an eye to loss and momentum moments, especially among the student populations whose disaggregated data reveals stubborn gaps.
Our February virtual events will focus on several topics that can be problematic, especially for students making the transition from high school to college. Are we fostering or hindering the accountability of our students, especially with regard to reading and responding to our emails and other communications? How about their accountability and engagement, within a classroom that fosters collaborative learning and teamwork? Assuming that all students are equipped and ready to meet our expectations may not be reasonable . . . what self-analysis and scaffolding can set them up for success?
Attend a virtual event and hear from your colleagues about the exciting work taking place. Thank you for all that you do.
Warmly,
KD, Gila, Jerry, Lisa, and Victoria
frontierset@venturewell.org
Webinar
Learnings from the Communications Audit Working Group
Date: Friday, February 15; 1:00 PM ET
Speakers: Laurie Fladd, ATD; Erika Fenik, Lorain County Community College; Ann Theodori, Sam Houston State University; Teresa Thompson-Pinckney, Fayetteville State University.
Target Audience: Any/all administrators, faculty, and staff.
Throughout Fall 2018, eight Frontier Set institutions worked with Laurie Fladd from Achieving the Dream to map out their campus communication processes. Institutions chose the scope (audience, included processes and timespan) for their work; many focused on at least some portion of the period between an admissions acceptance through the end of the first semester. The process of creating the communication audit led participants through production of their own process and communication map, followed by a SWOT analysis which produced clear recommendations for their institution.
Our February webinar will give the broader Frontier Set a chance to hear from three of the Working Groups (LCCC, SHSU, and FSU) regarding their insights, campus engagement, and recommendations – both to their campus and for peer institutions who want to undertake such a project. Even if you are not on the verge of launching a communications audit at your institution, there are rich learnings about the student experience and why they might tune out our messaging.
Register Here
Virtual Table Talk
Collaborative Learning and Team Projects
Date: Tuesday, February 19; 1:00 PM ET
Hosts: Dave Braunschweig, Harper College and MeShonya Wren-Coleman, Jackson State University
Target Audience: Frontier Set faculty, working in traditional classrooms, online or blended classes
Research clearly supports the use of teamwork and group projects in the classroom – for both content delivery and the development of executive functioning skills – yet students can be reluctant or resistant.
For years, NSSE has indicated that “students who participate in collaborative learning and educational activities outside the classroom and who interact more with faculty members get better grades, are more satisfied with their education, and are more likely to remain in college. But the gains from those practices are even greater for students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, or who come to college less prepared than their peers.” (Chronicle, 11/17/06)
Hear from faculty from two Frontier Set institutions (Harper College and Jackson State University) who have incorporated collaborative learning and group projects into their courses. Learn from their approaches, and share your techniques. Within the Table Talk format, there will be plenty of time for interaction, questions, and comments.
Register Here
Reminders & News
Frontier Set Platform
For Frontier Set members, the Education Community Platform will be phased out at the end of February, and we will launch our Frontier Set Community Platform (aka, the new Platform)! All curated resources and Frontier Set artifacts will be automatically transferred over and easily accessible. However, if you’ve been an active user of the Education Community, you may want to take some steps to preserve personal connections, communications, discussions, and bookmarks (these will not be moved over). On February 28, if you’ve been part of the Education Community, you will be directed to the new Platform.Watch for opportunities in March to learn more about how to make the most of the Platform tool.
Postsecondary Data Partnership
National Student Clearinghouse has posted the Updated A/R Dictionary and Submission Guide to the PDP Website, and reminds us that the Spring Data Submission window for the Fall 2018 Semester is open from January 28th – March 8th. Additionally, here is the schedule for webinars related to the PDP:
- Institution and Intermediary Q&A Sessions, February 2 at 2:00pm ET and February 26 at 2:00pm ET (Invitations sent 1/28)
- PDP Spring Data Submission for Intermediaries, February 14 at 2:00pm ET
- Webinars to introduce the new KPI Dashboards will be scheduled during late March/early April. (Invitations to be sent in February)
Did you see these? Articles that may interest you:
- America’s colleges struggle to envision the future of diversity on campus
Hechinger Report, January 16, 2019 - The unseen reason working-class students drop out
Politico, January 16, 2019. Discussion of the cultural mismatch between the university culture of independence and working-class norms of interdependence, resulting in vastly different academic outcomes - Report: Online learning should ‘supplement’ — not replace — face-to-face instruction
The Dept. of Education’s current rule-making session is looking at CBE, accreditation, Title IV funding, and reports on “online learning” to set the course for coming years. - Giving a nudge: How digital alerts can keep students on track
Several schools are spotlighted, with their use of Chatbots and other ‘nudge’ approaches; the ethical and not-so-ethical use of student data is also addressed. - Activities for Teaching Innovation: Game-Based Learning in the Classroom
While focused on innovation and entrepreneurship content, this blog post discusses game-based learning and how helpful it can be in developing 21st century skills. Full of examples and a toolkit, there are many transferrable ideas! - Top 6 trends in higher education
Brookings Institute, January 10, 2019 - 9 higher ed trends to watch in 2019
Deep Dive, January 7, 2019
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