Interactions Unlimited

A Faculty-Student Interaction (FSI) Project at Michigan Tech

Dr. Nilufer Onder

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Connections Classes

A Connections Class is a 20 minute period during one class hour where faculty share information about themselves, their research, their interests, how they decided to become a professor, and any other information they feel comfortable sharing with the class. Students can ask questions and the dialogue is intended to be informal and open

Connections Classes were designed to enhance faculty-student interaction. Research shows that faculty interactions with engineering students make more of a difference than one would think. Even very casual, brief conversations with faculty can:

Motivate students

Enhance learning

Improve student performance

Positively influence retention

Increase student commitment to engineering careers

All these outcomes lead to more engaged students and higher quality work from students.

Invitation to Michigan Tech faculty

Trying a Connections Class is quick, easy, and has advantages:

Better learning outcomes from students

Students perceive greater accessibility

Save faculty time in office hours

Stronger courses, stronger evaluations

I did a Connections Class in Fall 2013. I prepared slides but you don't have to. Here are my slides: ( pdf file ) ( Open Office file )

If there is any way I can help you with your Connections Class, don't hesitate to let me know.

I ask students and faculty to fill out a brief, anonymous survey after the Connections Class.

Interactions Unlimited at Michigan Tech

Interactions Unlimited is lead by Dr. Nilufer Onder from the Department of Computer Science. The project received funding from Engage.

ENGAGE is an Extension Services Project funded by the National Science Foundation. Extension Services projects are modeled after the Cooperative Extension Service in Land Grant Institutions and are intended to extend proven, research-based strategies into STEM education. The overarching goal of ENGAGE is to increase the capacity of engineering schools to retain undergraduate students by facilitating the implementation of three research-based strategies to improve student day-to-day classroom and educational experience. The Engage project PIs are Susan Metz, C. Diane Matt, and Patricia Campbell.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.