Author: Moriah Beck

Join the Retention Fellows for a Teaching Matters lunch and conversation about incoming freshmen students at noon Friday, April 5 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room. Lunch will be provided.

Local high school teachers will share what they have observed about the lasting effects of the pandemic on the class of 2024, which will help prepare employees to meet the students where they are.

The panelists for the event:

• Kathleen O’Brien, biomedical sciences, Derby High School
• April Taylor, Spanish, North High School
• April Pameticky, English, East High School
• Shaw Chastain, fine arts, Wichita Public Schools

RSVP to attend by April 2 by emailing aa.student@wichita.edu.

As part of the ongoing Teaching Matters series, the WSU Retention Fellows are excited to invite the campus community to its upcoming session titled “Inclusive Teaching to Promote a Sense of Belonging for All Students” at noon Friday, March 1 in 261 Rhatigan Student Center.

As part of the Student Experience Project, Wichita State will launch a community of practice for faculty interested in collaborating with peers on campus to implement evidence-based teaching practices to improve student experience.

The Retention Fellows looks forward to your participation and the opportunity to explore effective ways to improve the student experience for all students.

As part of the ongoing Teaching Matters series, the WSU Retention Fellows are excited to invite you to its upcoming session titled “Cultivating Student Relationships in the Virtual Classroom” at noon Friday, Feb. 2 on Teams.

Join the Retention Fellows for an insightful discussion on creating a student-friendly online environment that promotes meaningful connections and enhances the overall learning experience.

The Retention Fellows looks forward to your participation and the opportunity to explore effective ways to navigate the virtual classroom together.

The Retention Fellows invites all students, instructors and faculty to its monthly Teaching Today series.

This month, the Retention Fellows will discuss ways to re-energize classed for the end of the semester. Come discuss how to keep students focused and excited so that they can finish strong at noon Friday, Nov. 10 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center. Snacks are provided but participants are welcome to bring their lunches.

Wichita State will host its 11th annual Expanding Your Horizons STEM workshop for middle school girls from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Volunteers are needed to assist with workshops and photography, and volunteers will receive a T-shirt and lunch at no additional charge if they volunteer for three or more hours.

Register to host a workshop or sign up to volunteer.

For questions, email Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu.

Join the Retention Fellows at its next Teaching Matters discussion to talk about the ways to promote active learning and student engagement at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6 in 231/232 Woolsey Hall. The Retention Fellows will provide bagels/donuts, but attendees are encouraged to bring their own beverages and their colleagues to the discussion.

Retention fellows have issued a challenge to reward the department and college that have the best attendance at all of the Teaching Matters sessions this year.

Any questions can be directed to Dr. Moriah Beck, Retention Faculty Fellows coordinator, at moriah.beck@wichita.edu.

The First Year Research Experience (FYRE) is open to new Wichita State students from all majors. Through a competitive application process, students are matched with ongoing research projects led by WSU professors in numerous STEM disciplines. Selected students will participate in active laboratory research for 8-10 hours per week, culminating in a poster presentation about their work.

The FYRE applications are due Oct. 10, with interviews and selection occurring in November. Students earn three hours of honors credit and a letter grade for successful completion of FYRE in the spring 2024 semester. Through the FYRE program, students gain perspectives about research and mentoring for developing their career plan.

The Cohen Honors College is seeking mentors to work with students selected to participate in the First-Year Research Experience (FYRE) in STEM. The mission of the FYRE in STEM program is to build a community of students, faculty and professionals from various backgrounds to support young STEM majors or potential majors as they form identities as members of the scientific community and improve the likelihood that they will persist to graduation.

To continue the success of FYRE in STEM, the program is looking for dedicated research mentors from across campus who can provide an appropriate short-term STEM research project in the spring 2024 semester. Faculty, graduate students and/or other STEM professionals at WSU should apply by Oct. 15.  Faculty are also encouraged to nominate graduate students to serve as FYRE mentors. All mentors will be matched with students based on interest. Questions may be directed to Moriah Beck at moriah.beck@wichita.edu or 316-978-5476.

If you know of a first-year undergraduate student who may be interested in applying to the FYRE in STEM program, direct them to the FYRE in STEM Student Application. Faculty can apply online.

Join the Retention Fellows to discuss ways to encourage connections with and among your students at noon Friday, Sept. 8 in 265 Rhatigan Student Center with the “Creating connections with and among your students” discussion.

Bring your lunch and colleagues to engage with other instructors. Any questions can be directed to Dr. Moriah Beck, Retention Faculty Fellows coordinator, at moriah.beck@wichita.edu.

Faculty members with an interest in retaining students should apply to become a Retention Faculty Fellow. Applications for the 2023-24 academic year are open through Friday, April 21.

Retention Faculty Fellows support Strategic Enrollment Management goal three to “Increase persistence rates of degree seeking student populations.” The Retention Faculty Fellows share best practices and create opportunities for other faculty members to be in dialogue about quality instructional design and student engagement.

Fellows should be endorsed by the dean or their representative. For questions, contact Moriah Beck, retention faculty fellow coordinator, at moriah.beck@wichita.edu.