Continuing with the theme of quality teaching, the mid-January semi-annual Academic Affairs Dean, Department Head, Director (DDD) Workday discussion centered on student success rates in gateway foundation and exploration courses, both nationally and at WKU. As I discussed in my campus email sent on January 7th (
attached here for your convenience
), this is definitely an area in which quality teaching could impact student learning.
During the DDD Workday, national and WKU data for gateway courses were presented, Gen. Z student characteristics and expectations were discussed, and the significant impacts effective teaching makes on first-semester students were reviewed. Deans, department heads/chairs, school directors, and other participants then discussed and recommended strategies to help our students successfully complete these courses. Recommendations included focusing on teaching methods, course (re-)design, student peer support, clearer communication of learning outcomes, and proactive assessment of student learning. It is our hope that department heads/chairs will take these ideas back to their faculty to begin evaluating their own gateway courses.
