LSUS implementing active learning practices to bolster student success

LSUS implementing active learning practices to bolster student success

SHREVEPORT - Do you want to be on the forefront of LSUS's education shift with the implementation of evidence-based active learning and high-impact teaching practices?

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) is hosting the first of several book study meetings throughout the fall semester.

Monday is the first meeting and will be held at 11 a.m. in Collaboratory.

The fall semester book is Facilitating Seven Ways of Learning: A Resource for More Purposeful, Effective, and Enjoyable College Teaching. Authored by Bridget D. Arend and James R. Davis.

Dr. Joyce Farrow, chair in the College of Education and CELT director, is a leading member of LSUS's efforts to implement active learning techniques.

"We're striving to foster a culture of teaching excellence by championing high-impact practices and evidence-based active learning, and we're dedicated to supporting faculty and staff professional development," Farrow said. "We want LSUS to be recognized as a regional and national leader in transformative teaching and learning, where high-impact practices and active learning are seamlessly integrated across all disciplines."

Book study members are asked to read the first two chapters of the book and skim the next five chapters to identify all seven ways of learning. A pre-reading reflection included in a Sept. 2 email from Dr. Helen Wise should also be completed prior to the first meeting.

Future fall semester book study meetings are scheduled for Oct. 20 and Nov. 24.

Faculty members aren't expected to make wholesale changes to their teaching styles.

Veteran math instructor Rogers Martin said he instituted a student-led test review toward the end of one of his spring semester classes.

"I purposefully didn't print out enough problem sheets for everyone to have one, and that pushed students to share sheets and study together," said Martin, who is also a Meauxmentum Scholar that encourages other faculty members to explore these ideas. "Students performed better on that test than other tests that semester - the scores came up a quite a bit actually.

"It's a small sample size, but it's promising enough that I'm employing that method this fall. If students can teach it to others, they understand it pretty well themselves."

Incremental change can benefit faculty and students as methods are tested to see what works best in each particular subject area.

The shift to active-learning teaching techniques is part of LSUS's Quality Enhancement Plan associated with its 10-year accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (regional accrediting body).

The plan, titled Navigating Student Success: Charting a Course for Teaching Excellence, is designed to foster deeper student learning, persistence, and a stronger sense of belonging.

"By training faculty in evidence-based, high-impact teaching strategies - especially in gateway and capstone courses - this initiative helps students connect with the material, their peers, instructors, and the broader academic community.

"High-impact practices include collaborative projects, undergraduate research, and service learning."