Information for Wabash National Study Students

 

 

News Update – May 2008 Thank you students from Allegheny College, Delaware State University, Fairfield University, Franklin College, North Carolina A&T State University, the University of Rhode Island, Vassar College, and Wabash College for your participation in spring assessment sessions.   We also appreciate the students from Ivy Tech Community College and Kirkwood Community College who participated in final assessments this spring.

STUDY RESULTS FOR 2006–2007

We launched the Wabash National Study in the fall of 2006 with 4,501 students from nineteen institutions participating. We now have information about our findings from that first year. We've shared the results with your institutions and we believe that what we learned could lead to beneficial changes for all students. 

The Assessments You Took You may remember that in the fall and spring semesters of your first year in college, you took surveys about your experiences in high school and college. You also took assessments to measure abilities that we hope you'll develop during college. In our work, we call these abilities outcomes. We are examining a variety of outcomes including moral reasoning, critical thinking, openness to diversity, leadership, and psychological well-being. Findings from the First Year

When we analyzed the data from the experience surveys and the outcome measures, we found that students who reported having high levels of certain types of interactions and experiences in college tended to score higher on the outcome measures in the spring than they scored in the fall. In other words, some experiences led to growth. The experiences that predicted growth on the outcomes fell into three categories:

Good Teaching and High Quality Interactions with Faculty

Students reported . . .

• Faculty were interested in teaching and student development.
• They got prompt feedback from faculty.
• They had high-quality interactions with faculty outside of class.
• The teaching they experienced was clear and organized.

Academic Challenge and High Expectations

Students reported . . . 

• They worked hard and were challenged to do their best work.
• Exams and assignments often required them to write essays, compare and contrast ideas, and/or argue for a particular point of view.
• Their classes were challenging and faculty expected a lot from them.
• Classes required them to put together ideas from various sources and to understand the connections between different events.

Diversity Experiences

Students reported . . . 

• They attended debates or lectures on political or social issues.
• They had meaningful discussions with students who were different from them in terms of race, national origin, personal values, religious beliefs, and/or political views.
• They participated in racial or cultural awareness workshops.

The Not So Good News 

Although these experiences predicted change on many of the outcomes, few students reported actually experiencing high levels of good teaching, academic challenge, and diversity experiences.

Next Steps

We’re talking to faculty, administrators, and staff at study institutions about the findings and working with them to identify changes that would increase students' experiences with good teaching, academic challenge, and diversity and therefore improve student learning. You can be part of the discussion by talking about the results in student groups or with faculty, staff, and administrators on your campuses.

Reports on the Data

To read the full reports on findings from the first year go to http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/nationalstudy.research