Philosopher King: Connecting at the Conference

Fun at the National Symposium on Student Retention

Elicitation Model: Digging Into the Notion of Student Engagement

Michael Morsches

Dean, LECR

Moraine Valley Community College

morschesm@morainevalley.edu

Grant J. Matthews

Dean, Academic Learning Skills

Lane Community College

matthewsg@lanecc.edu

Abstract: Student engagement can encompass many different levels of interaction. Whether it be between student and instructor, among students themselves, with the actual subject matter, or with the various resources and departments on campus—getting and keeping students engaged is a challenging proposition. Frequently, students say they fear speaking in public, being called upon in class, going to the whiteboard, and being singled out by an instructor. Collectively, these fears could be conceptualized as a wish or need for anonymity. Faculty have cited student actions such as participation, question asking, volunteering, office hour visits, and favorable body language as preferred behaviors. These preferences could be conceptualized as a wish or need for engagement. “East is East and West is West, and never the twain…” (Kipling, 1929, p. 75). This paper will outline the authors' Elicitation Model and theoretical Student Engagement Constructs to explore psychological factors that prohibit engagement. The paper also presents many practical, proven examples of classroom techniques, gestures, and considerations for using the Elicitation Model that can help produce healthy student engagement in all academic spheres of interaction.

Guest Starring

Mariam Aslam

Student Success Research Analyst

University of Toronto

I don't always appreciate professional conferences. This was my fourth trip to the NSSR, and on a whole, I usually enjoy this particular conference. This year was different in many ways though - It was in a new location for me (the Florida Panhandle), we were publishing a refereed paper, I was reuniting with Grant, I had other colleagues from my school presenting a poster session, and I really needed a break from work. Despite these advantages, the conference exceeded my expectations.

I like this conference for two main reasons: 1) There is a lot of qualitative data by talented people, and 2) I am surrounded by hundreds of people genuinely trying to crack some retention riddle with a lot of fire in their bellies. There is always a great deal of nerd energy in the room. And like most valuable conferences, there are opportunities for young people to present their research and programs. It's not easy to get a paper accepted, but the organizers don't limit participation to the same old group of experts. It is a well run conference by intelligent, nice people.

Grant and I are very passionate about our presentation topic this year - Student Engagement. I believe we both are fairly good at engaging students, and we have really tried to break the construct down to meaningful components in order to present a practical model to elicit good engagement in classrooms. Judging by the feedback we have received, we were successful :)

Grant and I always have a lot of fun together when we go off to conferences. We tease each other and make all sorts of meaningless bets (most of which I won this trip). Grant is very intelligent and is also very personable. Those two attributes, combined with his high sense of integrity, provide for a lot of good, clean fun. This year, we decided to attend the first evening's ice breaker (mainly because the food is usually good), where we met several very interesting people. The two most enduring folks we met were Mariam and Dave - two Canadians who independently ended up at the same table. Mariam is from Toronto and Dave is from Newfoundland. There were a few other folks who drifted in and out, including the very southern Leon, who I am not quite sure was drinking or not - but who I liked immediately. We chatted away for a few hours, finding lots of personal and professional points of interest. And if Dave hadn't suggested that we get together the next night for dinner, it would have been a vastly different conference and this post wouldn't be written.

Dave is a very energetic and jolly guy. He laughs loudly and sincerely. I was a bit surprised to hear that he was married and that he had a young daughter. He is very witty, and I suppose that gets him into a few scrapes sometimes. I wouldn't have tagged him as a Canuck though - more Irish, though I suppose it could have been the hair.....Dave is one of those people who can bounce back and forth from naive to wry with very little warning. I found myself preparing for the inevitable yet subtle innuendo that was surely around every corner. Dave tried a raw oyster, a hush puppy, and key lime pie for the first times over several meals. Pretty adventurous, I thought, for a Newfoundlander. One thing for sure though, I was totally convinced after a very short time that Dave was a wonderful husband and father.

Mariam was another story - from Toronto, she was far more cosmopolitan than the rest of us, and maybe quite a bit smarter. A self-confirmed extrovert, she slowly and judiciously doled out little bits and orts about herself over the few days we were all together. She is very tall for a Pakistani woman, and carries an intriguing constellation of east and west sensibilities and orneriness. I smiled as I quickly realized that she was a feminist that I could talk to without a lot of filters. She has a dignified demeanor, but when you strike the right chord, her passion surges to the surface. By the end of the first night, Grant and I decided to invite her to co-present with us a few days later (alas, Dave, who evidently lives on the edge of the world, had to leave the conference on the morning of our workshop). She trusted us and gamely jumped in with both feet.

I thought our session went very well, and that Mariam was an excellent match to our two different styles. She and Grant modeled everything our paper was about!

It was so energizing to be with several young people (Grant sort of included) who were so passionate, funny, and engaging. They reminded me of several good people we have in our office. Mostly, I appreciated the fact that these folks were out there in the world helping others in so many ways. There are times when I lament my tardy and inconsistent arrival at professionalism, but I am in no way jealous or envious of these young people who are so far ahead of me in their quests to make the world a better place - I am instead hopeful :)