December 13, 2024“What Works” When Building Educational Relationships? by Kassidy Puckett and Peter Felten As we noted in our previous post in this two-part analysis (Puckett and Felten 2024), student-faculty and student-student relationships contribute significantly to learning, motivation, identity development, well-being, and graduation rates in higher education (Felten and Lambert 2020). The positive effects…
November 5, 2024What Are Barriers to Relationship-Rich Education? Faculty Perspectives by Kassidy Puckett and Peter FeltenStudent-faculty, student-staff, and student-student relationships contribute significantly to student learning, motivation, identity development, well-being, graduation rates, and post-graduation career and civic outcomes in higher education (Mayhew et al. 2016; Felten and Lambert 2020). The effects of student-faculty interactions are particularly…
April 16, 2024Relationship-Rich Education at Scale, aka the Too Many Bodies Problemby Peter FeltenDecades of research demonstrates that student learning and well-being in higher education are enhanced by positive relationships with peers and instructors (Felten and Lambert 2020). Yet, one common challenge with relationship-rich education is scale. How is this possible when I’m…
June 8, 2022Meaningful Learning Experiences and the Value of a College Degreeby Jessie L. Moore, Jason Hussar, Kaye Usry, and Peter FeltenA recent survey by the Center for Engaged Learning and the Elon University Poll explored the types of meaningful learning experiences college graduates had while in school and how college helped them develop skills they’re applying in their professional careers….
October 12, 2021Faculty Practices to Support Transfer Student Successby Peter FeltenNearly 40% of all US undergraduate students transfer between institutions at least once, and at some colleges and university more than half of all students have transferred (Shapiro et al. 2018). Many students successfully navigate transfer, earning their degrees at…
October 27, 2020Is College Worth It? Alumni Say High-Impact Experiences Make College Worthwhileby Jessie L. Moore, Peter Felten, Jason Husser, and Kaye UsryWhat is the value of an undergraduate education? Scholars, politicians, and families have debated that question for decades. Research consistently demonstrates the economic payoff of earning a degree, but is that enough to make college “worth it” for students? In…
August 16, 2019Can we teach curiosity?by Peter Felten Curiosity might be bad for cats, but it is essential for human learning. As Eleanor Duckworth notes, “What you do about what you don’t know is, in the final analysis, what determines what you will know” (The…
August 29, 2018Mentors play critical role in quality of college experience, new poll suggestsThe Elon University Poll, in collaboration with the Center for Engaged Learning, conducted a representative online survey of more than 4,000 Bachelor degree holders in the United States. The purpose of this survey was to study the extent of mentor…
July 19, 2018The heart of engaged learning: What students do and thinkby Peter FeltenHerbert Simon, one of the most influential American academics of the 20th century, succinctly described the micro-level of student engagement: “Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher…
September 16, 2016Improvement Mattersby Peter Felten This post originally appeared as a NILOA Guest Viewpoint on the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment website. This Viewpoint summarizes important takeaways found in Chapter 6 of “The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most”…
