Students' Pathway to Success: A Faculty Guide

Authors

UNC Charlotte Center for Teaching and Learning; Randy Haldeman; Pedram Leilabady; Elizabeth Ajazi; Sharon Bullock; Wafaa Shaban; Debra Shafer; John Taylor; Tina Katsanos; Vaughn Schmutz; Kendra Jason; Michelle Pass; Honoré Missihoun; Takiyah Amin; Jen Hartman; Julie Padilla; Arun Ravindran; Celia Sinclair; Dan Boisvert; William Garcia; Jason Giersch; Jamie Strickland; Beth Elise Whitaker; Diane Cassidy; Desiré Taylor; Trudy Moore-Harrison; Robert McEachnie; Delane Ingalls Vanada; Dean Adams; Tonya Bates; Tuan Cao; Coral Wayland; Karen Flint; William Graves; Jay Morong

Synopsis

Welcome to Students’ Pathway to Success: A Faculty Guide, our collection about ways to make teaching a more positive, productive and enjoyable experience. Written collaboratively by the Top 40 Academy, a faculty professional learning community at UNC Charlotte, this book began as a new student induction effort aimed at the 40 or so largest courses on campuses with the greatest number of new student enrollments.

This book intends to prepare faculty who teach students new to the university to help create a positive academic experience for both first-time students and students who transfer in.

This book is based on five educational assumptions about teaching for success. A teacher must

    1. Inspire a commitment to success that helps students set goals and strategies for achieving those goals.
    2. Initiate an inquiry process that makes students responsible for their own progress.
    3. Instill cultural awareness so students will be aware of cultural and experiential differences.
    4. Create a way to help students determine where they belong and how they can make their mark through community awareness.
    5. Introduce a knowledge of resources students can use to enhance and support their college experiences.

The Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC Charlotte brought together 34 faculty members from different colleges and departments to combine their efforts to write Students’ Pathway to Success: A Faculty Guide and to share their knowledge and experience with other instructors who teach new students on our campus. Seven multidisciplinary faculty teams worked collaboratively to write the chapters. The goal of this book is to inform and assist faculty in implementing the best practices to help their students succeed at UNC Charlotte. We hope that it will serve as both a resource guide and an encouragement to all who wish to teach deeply and meaningfully.

The book is divided into two sections: “Expectations†and “Opportunities.†The chapters in “Expectations†discuss the practices and policies that students in Top 40 courses should experience. These chapters focus on the new student induction goals of Commitment to Success and Resources.

Top 40 courses also create multiple opportunities to engage students in the learning experience. The chapters in the†Opportunities†section reflect the three new student induction goals of Inquiry, Cultural Awareness and Community.

We would like to acknowledge Dr. Meg Morgan in the English Department and her students in ENGL 4183/5183 for the editing of the chapters and Ms. Somaly Kim Wu in Atkins Library for the digital publication of the guide.

Chapters

  • Constructing a Course Syllabus
    Randy Haldeman, Pedram Leilabady
  • Attendance
    Elizabeth Ajazi, Sharon Bullock, Wafaa Shaban, Debra Shafer, John Taylor
  • Promoting Civility and Professionalism in the Classroom
    Tina Katsanos, Vaughn Schmutz, Kendra Jason, Michelle Pass, Honoré Missihoun
  • Time to Task
    Takiyah Amin, Jen Hartman, Julie Padilla, Arun Ravindran, Celia Sinclair
  • Late Work and Late Adds
    Dan Boisvert, William Garcia, Jason Giersch, Jamie Strickland, Beth Elise Whitaker
  • Student Feedback
    Diane Cassidy, Desiré Taylor
  • Early Alert: A Guide to Best Practices
    Trudy Moore-Harrison, Robert McEachnie, Diane Cassidy, Desiré Taylor
  • Campus Resources
    Takiyah Amin, Jen Hartman, Julie Padilla, Arun Ravindran, Celia Sinclair
  • Learning How to Learn: Basic Skills, Making Connections, and Self-Direction
    Dan Boisvert, William Garcia, Jason Giersch, Jamie Strickland, Beth Elise Whitaker
  • Learner Centered Instructional Strategies: A Crash Course
    Delane Ingalls Vanada, Dean Adams
  • Methods to Help Students Create Original Work
    Tonya Bates, Tuan Cao, Coral Wayland
  • Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Awareness
    Kendra Jason, Vaughn Schmutz, Honoré Missihoun, Michelle Pass, Tina Katsanos
  • Civic Engagement: In and Outside the Classroom
    Karen Flint, William Graves, Jay Morong
  • Preparing Students for Life Success and Life Value Beyond School
    Elizabeth Ajazi, Sharon Bullock, Debra Shafer, John Taylor

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Published

May 1, 2015

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