Abstract:

So why don’t students apply skills they know will help them be successful?

So what is stopping students from implementing these commonly known methods and techniques to achieve success?

What more can we do? Individual faculty members and institutions as a whole have put enormous time, effort, and resources into developing and implementing student success programs. And, yet, there are still large numbers of students who struggle to adapt to the demands required of them to perform at a university level.

So what more can we do? The answer is surprising obvious—Stop with the one-size cognitive approach fits all! Consider nearly all students have clear knowledge of actions that would help them succeed if they simply implemented them. But, it is all too common that this cognitive knowledge is not enough for them to take action and do what they know is required of them. There is a barrier that inhibits action. This barrier is invariably social-emotionally based and as such is most effectively addressed using affective learning methods.

This work draws on the results of a 10 year longitudinal study on effective success strategies. In this study, we have developed a introspective affective-based method to identify and work through the inhibiting barriers allowing the student to engage in proven cognitive success skills. We will present how the integration of meta-affective methods with the more common meta-cognitive strategies can significantly improve student success.

We will show:
1) the influence of both the affective and cognitive learning domains on student success,
2) how these two domains are intertwined with the affective domain often having a more dominate influence resulting in students frequently choosing ineffective and inefficient strategies in direct conflict with their cognitive knowledge of better success techniques
3) methodologies to effectively deal with affective-based barriers to student success, and
4) results of implementation of these methodologies.

Further, the methodologies are by designed to take student preparedness where they are and not some preconceived notions of where they "should' be. This creates a more equitable playing field that allows any student to develop effective and efficient success skills.

This presentation targets any educator interested in developing a more holistic, approach to student success.

Keywords:

Barrier mitigation, student success skills, meta-affective, meta-emotive, equity, meta-cognition.