Author: Moriah Beck

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.

Teaching Matters is hosted by the Retention Faculty Fellows, and runs monthly during the regular semester. The theme for March, “Giving and receiving effective feedback,” will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 3 in 142 Rhatigan Student Center.

All instructors, teaching faculty, GTAs and students are invited to join the discussion. Lunch will be provided. RSVP by sending an email to karla.jordan@wichita.edu by Tuesday, Feb. 28.

The Retention Fellows will continue hosting its Teaching Matters series this semester. All faculty, instructors, teaching assistants and students are invited to participate in conversations designed to enhance and improve teaching and learning at WSU.

Its first event will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3 via Zoom, and it will focus on how to support transfer student transitions and success.

Join the Retention Fellows for their third installment of the “Teaching Matters” series, devoted to creating an engaging learning environment for your classes.

Student engagement can take many forms, including an in-person or virtual activity, use of case studies, the Socratic method of questioning students, or integration of relevant examples.

Share your experiments with other passionate teachers, and join the discussion at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in 231/232 Woolsey Hall.

Wichita State will host its tenth annual Expanding Your Horizons STEM workshop for middle school girls 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at Hubbard Hall. Volunteers are needed to assist with workshops, photography and will receive a free T-shirt and lunch.

For more information, visit the Expanding Your Horizons page or contact moriah.beck@wichita.edu.

Wichita State’s Retention Fellows will host an event for students, faculty and staff at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7 in Room 134 of Woolsey Hall. The event will discuss ideas about how to improve student retention while exploring classroom assessment in several forms including surveys.