364693078-12-20-2007-17-02-07

Slide 1: 

2007 Governor’s Summit on Higher Education Strengths Based Approaches to Teaching & Retaining High Risk Students In the College Classroom Alicia Fedelina Chávez, Ph.D. University of New Mexico afchavez@unm.edu   Felisha A. Herrera University of New Mexico   Photography by Florence Guido-DiBrito

Slide 2: 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Evans, N.; Forney, D. & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). Student Development in College: Theory, Research & Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Transforming from Deficit to Strengths Thinking… : 

Transforming from Deficit to Strengths Thinking… Low Income Students Challenges Work 1 or more jobs leaving less energy & time for study Often feel awkward and even ashamed of their own place in a college Often don’t have family, neighbors or friends who understand college Don’t know or understand formal or informal rules of college Will often avoid asking for assistance Strengths/Assets Often know how to work hard & highly motivated Bring strong practical application abilities to studies Learning & Retention Flexibility, experiential learning, high expectations + compassion for realities Practical solutions for realities Practice with campus professional to face critical situations

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When someone with the power, say, of a teacher describes the world and you are not in it… There is a moment of psychic disequilibrium, as if you looked in a mirror, and saw nothing. - bell hooks – I always knew I was very different from Alicia, but I never attributed our differences to my ethnicity. I always thought that Alicia acted differently because of her ethnicity. - Dr. Jody Donovan, Director of Parent & Family Programs at Colorado State University -

Elements of Multiculturally Empowering Learning Environments : 

Elements of Multiculturally Empowering Learning Environments Climate of Safety Spirit of Risk Taking Congruence Reciprocal Relationships Multiplicity

Multiple Intelligences : 

Multiple Intelligences

Key Aspects of Teaching & Retaining High-Risk College Students : 

Key Aspects of Teaching & Retaining High-Risk College Students High Expectations   Clear Goals & Instructions   Balance of Challenge & Support   Listening Ear & Knowledge of Campus Referrals (financial, personal, tutorial)   Facilitate students getting to know each other through the subject matter (get acquainted on first day, group assignments, pairs for discussion)   Situate Learning in Student Experiences Promote Creative Controversy (Respectful critique & questioning)   Develop Self Authorship (draw out what students know, have them create knowledge)   Sensitivity to Student Realities (challenges, needs, motivators)   Teach to Multiple Learning Styles   Partner with Students Ask!   Reflect on who you are…. (how this impacts your teaching & interpretations of students)

Slide 9: 

We must live life as full authentic human beings. Living Honorably And Sharing responsibility for Seven Generations into the future… -Wilma Mankiller – This means that we must go beyond ourselves to develop educational environments that are congruent with the ways of being, strengths and challenges of our students…