uic 2014 new faculty orientation kate zinsser dept. of psychology teaching the whole college student
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UIC 2014 New Faculty Orientation Kate Zinsser
Dept. of Psychology
Teaching the Whole College Student
The Cradle-to-Career Pathway to Success
Like all educators, you are a critical component on this path
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Cradle-to-Career Student Success
• UIC Undergraduate Student Success Initiative• Who Gets To Graduate? – NY Times• Mayor Emanuel’s City-Wide Cradle-to-Career
Pipeline
• There is more to career readiness than earning a degree.
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Thinking beyond the course description
Tell the person next to you:Three “non-cognitive” or “soft” skills that successful people in your field need to be considered competent.
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Social - Emotional CompetenceAka: Emotional Intelligence, Interpersonal skills, people
skills, etc.
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(CASEL, 2012)
Thinking beyond the course description
Tell the person next to you:Three ways that you support your students’ development of those competencies you identified previously.
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Your Role as a Social-Emotional Teacher
• Social-Emotional Teaching:• Create a positive classroom climate• Directly teach social-emotional
skills • Model social-emotional competence• React to emotional expressions in a
supportive way.• Avoid minimizing or dismissing their
feelings• Validate expression• Help problem-solve
setl.psch.uic.edu(Zinsser et al., 2014)
Social-Emotional Teaching in Higher Education:
• Promotes positive academic outcomes• Greater intent to persist (Barnett, 2011; Lillis, 2011).
• Improved confidence and motivation (Komarraju, Musulkin, & Bhattacharya, 2010).
• Higher Grades (Micari & Plazos, 2012; Wilson, 2006).
• Is something students want and appreciate (Gruber, Lowrie, Brodowsky, Reppel, Voss, & Chowdhury, 2012; Helterbaran, 2008; Hong & Shull, 2010).
• Improves teacher-student interactions (Cotten & Wilson, 2006; Nadler & Nadler, 2001).
Your Behavior Can…• Make students feel respected or disrespected
(Buttner, 2004).
• Make students think you have given up on them (Bandura & Lyons, 2012).
• Teach students how professionals in your field handle their emotions and treat others (Gates, 2000).
Supportive Professor Qualities• Professor qualities (Komarraju, Musulkin, & Bhattacharya, 2010)
• Approachable• Respectful• Available for out-of-class interactions
• E-mail characteristics (Sheer & Fung, 2007)
• Prompt*• Helpful• Social
Social-emotional Teaching via E-mail
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Impatient Student E-mail
Your class takes an exam on Wednesday. You announce that grades will be posted on Friday. You receive the following series of e-mails from one student on the evening of the day of the test.
• E-mail 1: What did I get on my exam? I really need to know.
• E-mail 2: When will exam grades be posted? • E-mail 3: Where is my exam grade? I’m still waiting…
With your table mates, discuss how you would respond to this student. setl.psch.uic.edu
Personal Crisis E-mail
Hey Professor, I didn’t turn in my assignment because I’ve just been really really depressed lately. I can’t focus, I can’t do anything, I can’t even get out of bed. This semester has just been really hard for me, I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on. I can’t keep up and I just don’t know what to do anymore.
With your table mates, discuss how you would respond to this student.
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Indignant student E-mail
I just saw my grade on the exam and I just don’t understand why I got that grade. I studied so hard and to give me that grade is like saying I did nothing! It’s like you think I didn’t even try but I did try. I think you just want your students to fail. Your tests are so unfair and your TA is so harsh that no one ever gets an A! I deserve higher than a B on this test!
With your table mates, discuss how you would respond to this student.
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Tips for Responding to Emotional E-mail
• Respond promptly, but think before you type.• Identify and label the emotion they’re expressing and
the likely cause. • Suggest more appropriate ways (timing, tone, etc.) to
communicate needs in the future. • Re-communicate your expectations, course
requirements, and the degree to which you can be flexible.
• Provide resources or suggestions for next steps.• Remind them of your availability during office hours.
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