Student Success Activities Chemistry Faculty Annual Evaluation November 21, 2022 As specified in University System of Georgia Board of Regents Policy Manual 8.3, Additional Policies for Faculty, review of faculty, including annual evaluations, third-year review, and post-tenure review, as well as promotion and tenure, include evaluation of the faculty member’s involvement in student success activities. Student success activities, defined in University of Georgia Academic Affairs Policy Manual 1.10-10, is a comprehensive term for faculty effort expended to support the short- and long-term academic and professional achievements of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and trainees. Student success can be supported by in class as well as outside of class efforts. Involvement in student success activities is not predicated upon additional allocation of effort but is included within the faculty member’s allocation of effort in instruction, research/scholarship/creative work, service, and/or administration, as applicable. Units are responsible for further specification of student success activities in their criteria for all review processes. Faculty evaluation should focus on documenting a faculty member’s quality involvement in a small number of student success activities to maximize effectiveness and engagement (see policy approved by University Council: https://apps.reg.uga.edu/UniversityCouncil/motion/showDocuments/1388). Thus, chemistry faculty are expected to select a small number (i.e., at least one and up to three) of the following activities and briefly explain how they engaged in the activity in a way that is consistent with student success. The explanation should be included in the narrative for the corresponding area of effort (e.g., instruction, research, service, and/or administration) Examples of Teaching-related Student Success Activities and Features of Quality Involvement Activity Example features of quality involvement In class Organizing and attending journal clubs Allow for student direction and ownership (e.g., students select articles, themes) Scaffold student understanding of journal articles by breaking the article down into understandable chunks, using effective strategies for teaching how to read and critique primary literature (e.g., https://qubeshub.org/community/groups/coursesource/publications?id=2640&v=1) Provide opportunities for practice and feedback from peers and instructor(s) Ensure everyone has a chance to ask questions and participate in the conversation Supervising independent study Structure the independent study by working with the student to establish and adjust expectations over time (e.g., creating a syllabus or work plan) Establish milestones and timelines that help the student stay on track Provide opportunities for practice and giving timely feedback New course development Design the course to meet students’ and curricular needs Use backward design https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/ Organizing recitation or review sessions Consider student needs and constraints in scheduling review sessions Allow for student direction and inclusion (e.g., all students in the session write a question they have on an index card and then address as many as possible, starting with the most common questions/topics? Organize recitations as an integral part of the course structure with peer led learning (CLAs and/or GTAs) file:///C:/Users/sre13137/Downloads/Workshop_Chemistry_Overcoming_the_Barrie.pdf Host asynchronous review sessions on eLC discussion board and facilitating to ensure that students’ questions are addressed in a respectful way (e.g., no question is a “stupid” question) Use effective and inclusive teaching practices* Include or increase writing-intensive best practices, as defined by the WIP program https://write.uga.edu/programs/wip/ Use small group instruction in ways that are consistent with student success (resources include: https://lse.ascb.org/evidence-based-teaching-guides/group-work/ and https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/setting-up-and-facilitating-group-work-using-cooperative-learning-groups-effectively/) Incorporate peer mentors or chemistry learning assistants (CLAs) into the classroom Use active learning and student engagement strategies in class Use transparency in teaching and learning methods by explaining to the students why they’re learning particular content, how it is relevant to their daily lives and/or future careers, and how to learn it effectively Gauge students’ understanding of course concepts in class using student response systems and adjust instruction based on what students already know/can do and what they need more time or support to learn Encourage students to describe their thought processes in addressing problems and/or their problem solving and study approaches, reflect on what is or is not working, and develop plans to change based on their reflections (i.e., student metacognition: https://lse.ascb.org/evidence-based-teaching-guides/student-metacognition/ and https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/) Outside of class Teach study abroad courses Use effective and inclusive teaching practices (examples listed above) Use backward design Mentor students (Undergrad and Graduate) Work with mentee to align and adjust expectations for the mentoring relationship over time Strive to maintain open lines of communication Provide both career and technical support (e.g., guidance, advice, instruction, advocacy, networking) and psychosocial support (e.g., encouragement, role modeling, normalizing struggle, conveying unconditional positive regard) in ways that are responsive to mentee needs (i.e., ask mentees about their needs, listen actively, ask mentees how you can help) Complete professional development related to mentoring and student support (e.g. Safe Space training) Collect mentoring assessment data, reflect on results, and take steps to improve over time* Working with graduate students on their indiviudual development plans (IDP) and reviewing these annually Advising undergraduates regarding graduate school application Taking students to conduct research projects outside the laboratory (field projects) Participate in and apply lessons learned from teaching professional development* Identify areas to improve and seek out relevant professional development (e.g., teaching or mentoring workshops) and/or feedback from colleagues Make decisions about improvements and assess their effectiveness Help colleagues improve their teaching Carry out peer observations of instruction in ways that are consistent with UGA’s new teaching evaluation policy (https://apps.reg.uga.edu/UniversityCouncil/meetingAgendaDocument/download/1286) (This could also be included under Service) * One way to demonstrate evidence of teaching and mentoring effectiveness is to provide indicators of ongoing efforts to make teaching and mentoring decisions based on evidence. Accomplishing this involves looking at evidence of student knowledge or skills (e.g., responses on an exam, homework, other assignment) and/or mentee experiences, identifying areas where improvements are needed, and changing instruction/mentoring to support student learning and growth. This approach can be detailed in self-reflection as part of annual evaluation of instruction and would be considered a student success activity. Examples of Research-related Student Success Activities and Features of Quality Involvement Activity Example features of quality involvement Directing undergraduate research Structure the research experience by working with the student to establish and adjust expectations over time (e.g., creating a syllabus or work plan) Establish milestones and timelines that help the student stay on track Provide opportunities for practice and giving timely feedback and research progress and products (e.g., group meeting presentations, conference presentations, lab notebook entries, reports) Mentoring other personnel (e.g., grad students, postdocs, etc.) in mentoring undergraduate researchers by meeting regularly to discuss progress and offer advice on ways to improve Encouraging undergraduate researchers to seek out opportunities to get support for and present their work (e.g., SURO, CURO fellowships, CURO symposium, etc.) While not all research advising relationships are mentoring relationships, many of the same ideas apply. To function as a mentor: Strive to maintain open lines of communication (e.g., group messaging through Slack so students get the help they need in a timely fashion, regular meetings) Provide both career and technical support (e.g., guidance, advice, instruction, advocacy, networking) and psychosocial support (e.g., encouragement, role modeling, normalizing struggle, conveying unconditional positive regard) in ways that are responsive to mentee needs (i.e., ask mentees about their needs, listen actively, ask mentees how you can help) Complete professional development related to mentoring and student support Collect mentoring assessment data, reflect on results, and take steps to improve over time Advising graduate researchers Same ideas apply regarding aligning expectations, maintaining open lines of communication, providing career/technical and psychosocial support, completing professional development, and/or improving based on assessment results. Co-authoring or co-presenting with students (Graduate and Undergraduate) Facilitate student involvement in the authoring/presenting process as much as possible given their educational/career stage and the circumstances Advise students on how to include these accomplishments on their resumes/CVs Provide opportunities for students to practice and get feedback before the work is finalized Other forms of student mentoring (Graduate and Undergraduate) Serving on thesis/dissertation committees Giving feedback on practice job talks and interviews Sponsoring student participation in professional meetings and conferences Holding regular research group meetings for graduate and undergraduate students to provide feedback on their research activities and to help guide them in the research process Participating in graduate training programs as a research mentor Examples of Service-related Student Success Activities and Features of Quality Involvement Activity Example features of quality involvement Advising a student organization (Graduate and Undergraduate) Allow for student direction and ownership Support students in finding needed resources (e.g., help with applying for small grants, networking, etc.) Engaging in informal interactions Seek support from the Student/Faculty Enrichment Fund and follow through on plans Participate in student organized events, such as gatherings of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS), the Chemistry Graduate Student Organization (CGSO), the Minority Science Student Association https://uga.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/mssa, etc. Attend student presentations and poster sessions at the SURO or CURO symposia Sponsoring professional development activities for students (Graduate and Undergraduate) Organize and host events that allow students to explore career paths and/or develop their professional skills Other forms of student support (Graduate and Undergraduate) Nominating students for awards Giving feedback to students on application materials Supporting student recruitment and retention (ILS evaluator, GRAC member, etc) Judging/giving feedback on poster/oral presentations for students other than your own Engaging in student-related diversity, equity and inclusion activities Write letters of recommendation Involvement in peer teaching evaluation Serving on the executive or advisory committee for a graduate training program
