laurie a. schreiner, ph.d. azusa pacific university · 2019-05-17 · national symposium on student...

National Symposium on Student Retention 11/1/2016

1

Beyond Grades and Graduation:

Thriving as a Retention StrategyLaurie A. Schreiner, Ph.D.Azusa Pacific University

How does your college or university define student success?


2

Definitions of Student Success

Graduation

Academic Performance (GPA)

Learning GainsCritical thinkingAnalytical reasoningWriting skills

Engagement in “educationally purposeful activities”

The Achievement Gap

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Asian

Caucasian

African American

Latino

Six-Year Graduation Rates

Source: NCES 2015


3

The disparity in college-completion rates between rich

and poor students has grown by about 50 percent since the 1980s.

http://chronicle.com/article/Has-Higher-Education-Become-

an/132619/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

30% 6%

70% 26%


4

An Increase in Diverse Learners

80% of the growth in new student enrollments in the next decade will come from low‐income students and students of color

Carnevale & Fry, 2010

We need some new strategies for success!


5

Thriving -- More than just surviving!

• Psychosocial

• Motivation

Attitudes

• Engagement

Behavior

• Learning

• Graduation

Student Success


6

FROM:Surviving

What is not very changeable about people

Who you are and where you’ve been

Target the weakness and fix it

Failure prevention

TO:Thriving

What can be changed

Who you can become and where you’re going

Target the talent and build on it

Success promotion

A Shift in Perspective

Academic

PsychologicalInterpersonal

Thriving: Fully engaged, energized, and making the most of the college experience


7

The Thriving Quotient (TQ)Based on existing malleableconstructs predictive of student persistence and GPA

24-item instrument

Coefficient alpha = .89

Confirmatory factor analysis: five-factor model with a higher-order construct of thriving

Demographic Characteristics

• Gender

• Race/Ethnicity

• Household Income

Campus Experiences

• Involvement

• Leadership

• Student‐Faculty Interaction

• High‐Impact Practices

Success Outcomes

• Graduation

• GPA

• Learning Gains

I E O

Astin, 1991


8


• Gender

• Race/Ethnicity


Campus Experiences

• Involvement

• Leadership



Success Outcomes

• Graduation

• GPA

• Learning Gains

THRIVING


• Gender

• Race/Ethnicity


Campus Experiences

• Involvement

• Leadership



Success Outcomes

• Graduation

• GPA

• Learning Gains

THRIVING


9

Academic Determination

Engaged Learning

Positive Perspective

Social Connectedness

Diverse Citizenship

THRIVING

Engaged Learning

Meaningful Processing • Connections• Energy• Relevance and application

Learning That Lasts!


10

Academic Determination

Diverse Citizenship

Want to make a

difference

Value differences in others

Think I can make a

difference

Act to make a

difference


11

Social Connectedness

Feeling supported by others, having close friends, not feeling lonely

Positive Perspective

Realistic Optimism – long‐term confidence in the future


12

“Failure” is reframed as a temporary setback

Thriving is malleable!

We can intervene to make a difference in students’ thriving levels ‐‐ and in their ultimate success.


13

Pathways to Thriving

• Campus Involvement• Student‐Faculty Interaction

• Spirituality• Strengths Development

• Sense of Community

Different Pathways to Thriving

Ethnic minority

students had fewer

“pathways” to thriving

than majority

students—and those

pathways differed

across ethnic groups.


14

Pathway #1: Campus Involvement

• INVITE input, participation,

and leadership of campus

events and activities

• CONNECT campus

involvement to future goals

• ENCOURAGE peer

leadership and mentoring

• PAY ATTENTION to time and

availability for commuters

and working students

Pathway #2:High Quality Student‐Faculty Interaction

• Conversations about

careers; “painting a

picture of the future”

• Engaging dialogue

around academic issues

• Growth mindset

• Research partnerships

• Validation – “you

deserve to be here”


15

Spirituality was a major pathway to thriving for students of color – twice as important as for dominant culture students

#1 Pathway for Black students

Pathway #3: Spirituality

• Advising that focuses on

meaning and purpose

• Mentoring

• Faculty and staff willing to

engage in dialogue

• Partnerships with faith‐

based organizations

• Sacred space on campus

• Weaving interfaith

observances into diversity

celebrations and training


16

Introduce yourself to your other neighbor–and describe what energizes you most about your work! (What part of your work would you do for free?)


17

Clues to “Strengths”

Activities that you do well and that energize you are clues to your strengthsYour most fulfilling experiences likely have occurred when you were “playing to your strengths”

• Seemed to flow naturally and effortlessly• Productive• “I was born to do this!”• You want to do more of this• You invest time and energy to do it

The Dominant Paradigm: Deficit Remediation

•There are certain skills required to be successful here

•At entrance, we need to measure students’ abilities in these key areas

•Students need to spend most of their time in their areas of weakness, in order to achieve


18

The Problem?

• This approach does NOT tap into student motivation or lead to student engagement

• The biggest challenge facing us as educators: how to engage students in the learning process

Spending most of your time in your area of weakness—while it will improve your skills, perhaps to a level of “average”—will NOT produce excellence

Becoming The Best Version of Yourself

Rather than sending the message that there is one path to success, a strengths‐based approach encourages us to become the “best version of ourselves” in order to succeed in academics and in life.


19

Strengths of Competence

Individual Thriving

Strengths Development

Strengths of Character

(Talent + Energy) x (Knowledge + Skill)

Strength =


20

Start with Talent

… a naturally recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.

‐‐Clifton & Harter, 2003

Ways of processing information

Ways of interacting with people

Ways of seeing the world

Habits, behaviors, or beliefs that lead to greater effectiveness

Predisposition DevelopedRequires Effort

Talent x Investment = Strength

Investment is a MULTIPLIER of talent!

Louis, 2008


21

It’s all about strengths development!

“Look for what each student brings

to the learning environment and

communicate appreciation,

respect, and trust that students are

capable of learning.”

Bain, K. (2004).What the Best College Teachers Do


22

How would you describe a thriving campus?


23

Psychological

sense of

community is the

strongest

contributor to

thriving for all

students.

MembershipSymbols, signs, rituals

Not just “welcome” but a full member of the community sense of belonging and validation

RelationshipOpportunities for positive interactions

Celebrations

Shared emotional connection

OwnershipStudent voice

Contribution

Mattering to the institution

PartnershipInterdependence

Shared goals

Reciprocity

Sense of Community


24

Institutional Integrity: Delivering On Your Promises

A key contributor to sense of community for all students –but especially underrepresented students!

Institutional Integrity: Delivering On Your Promises

‐‐campus is accurately portrayed during admissions

‐‐expectations are met

‐‐ faculty and staff “walk the talk”


25

Strategies for Thriving as a Campus

•Create an environment that brings out the best• Identify strengths and assets at entrance• Strengths development as a philosophical approach in advising, residence life education, leadership programs, pedagogy, Human Resources

•Put learning at the center• Decision‐making lens• Embodied mission: Faculty‐student life partnerships

•Strengthen the sense of community on campus


26

Thriving Students Are Equipped to Flourish for a Lifetime

• Engaged in lifelong learning

• Meeting their goals• Connected to others in

healthy ways• Optimistic about their

future• Contributing to their

community and society

Join us for the 2016‐17 Thriving Project!

www.ThrivingInCollege.orgTake a handout – give us your business card

We’ll send you the Power Point slides and more info


27

ReferencesAsh, A., & Schreiner, L. A. (2016). Pathways to success in students of color on Christian campuses: The role of institutional integrity and sense of community. Christian Higher Education, 15(1‐2), 38‐61.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self‐efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman.

Bean, J. P., & Eaton, S. B. (2000). A psychological model of college student retention. In J. M. Braxton (Ed.), Reworking the departure

puzzle (pp. 48–61). Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Keyes, C.L.M, & Haidt, J. (Eds.). (2003). Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well‐lived. Washington, D.C.: American

Psychological Association.

Louis, M. C., & Schreiner, L. A. (2012). Helping students thrive: A strengths development model. In L. A. Schreiner, M. C. Louis, & D. D.

Nelson (Eds.), Thriving in transitions: A research‐based approach to college student success (pp. 19‐40). Columbia, SC: University of

South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First‐Year Experience and Students in Transition.

Perry, R. P., Hall, N. C., & Ruthig, J. C. (2005). Perceived (academic) control and scholastic attainment in higher education. In J. C.

Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 20, pp. 363‐436). Norwell, MA: Springer.

Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self‐regulated learning in college students. Educational

Psychology Review, 16(4), 385‐407.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self‐determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well‐

being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well‐being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,

69, 719‐727.

Schreiner, L. (2010). The “Thriving Quotient”: A new vision for student success. About Campus, 15(2), 2‐10.

Schreiner, L. (2010). Thriving in the classroom. About Campus, 15(3), 2‐10.

Schreiner, L. (2010). Thriving in community. About Campus, 15(4), 2‐11.

Schreiner, L. A. (2016). Thriving: Expanding the goal of higher education. In D. W. Harward (Ed.), Well‐Being and Higher Education: A

Strategy for Change and the Realization of Education’s Greater Purpose (pp. 135‐148). Washington, DC: American Association of

Colleges and Universities.

Schreiner, L. A. (2015). Positive psychology and higher education: The contribution of positive psychology to student success and

institutional effectiveness. In J. C. Wade, L. I. Marks, and R. D. Hetzel (Eds.), Positive Psychology on the College Campus (pp. 1‐25).

Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Schreiner, L. A. (2014). Different pathways to thriving among students of color: An untapped opportunity for success. About

Campus, 19(5), 10‐19. DOI: 10.10021.abc.21169

Schreiner, L., Hulme, E., Hetzel, R., & Lopez, S. (2009). Positive psychology on campus. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford

handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.) (pp. 569‐578). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Schreiner, L., & Louis, M. C. (2011). The Engaged Learning Index: Implications for faculty development. Journal of Excellence in

College Teaching, 22(1), 5‐28.

Schreiner, L. A., Louis, M. C., & Nelson, D. D. (Eds.) (2012). Thriving in transitions: A research‐based approach to college student

success. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First‐Year Experience and Students in

Transition.

laurie a. schreiner, ph.d. azusa pacific university · 2019-05-17 · national symposium on student...

Documents