A substantial part of our job when working in higher education is contact with students. However, you may not realize the scope of the impact this contact with instructors has on students. Research shows that frequent student interactions with their instructors are positively correlated with:
- Academic achievement,
- College satisfaction,
- Educational aspiration,
- Intellectual and professional development, and
- Persistence.
This contact is especially meaningful when extended outside of the classroom. The quality of this contact is more important than the quantity of the contact, making this a low cost, high impact opportunity. Unfortunately, students often do not know how (or why) to interact with their instructors outside of the classroom. This is particularly problematic for younger undergraduate students who are not familiar with the norms of university life yet.
The linked graphic provides some specific tips to increase your interactions with students this semester. Try one or more and see if there are benefits to yourself as well.
Frequent student-instructor contact is only 1 of 7 principles for effective undergraduate teaching that we will be reviewing in our 7-part series. This series, based on work from Chickering & Gamson, will be released throughout the academic year. Subscribe to the blog to be sure you don’t miss any of these posts, as well as other great topics on the CITL Blog this year. If you would like to discuss any of these tips in more detail, please contact the CITL for an individual consultation.
Additional Readings:
- Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education | Chickering & Gamson
- Pedagogical Signals of Faculty Approachability | Cox, McIntosh, Terenzini, Reason, Quaye
7 Principles of Good Teaching Blog Series – by Shannon Sipes
I can’t wait for the rest of the series! Thanks Shannon!