Faculty often study the growth mindset as it applies to students, but we faculty can also reflect on how we might do even more to promote student success.

Let me ask you about our students.

• Do you believe that students can learn new things in your subject or area?
• Do you believe that students can actually increase their basic intelligence in your subject or area?
• All students? Or just some—and, if so, which ones?
• Do you believe that students are doing all they can to promote their own success?

Research shows that the answer to the first three of these questions, which come from the Community College Survey for Student Engagement toolkit on academic growth mindset, is yes.

As for the last question?

Maybe we should first ask if we believe that we faculty are doing all we can to promote student success.

What motivates good teaching

Studies show that faculty who are most intrinsically motivated to teach are the ones who engage in the most effective teaching practices. Robert Stupnisky, et al., published findings in Contemporary Educational Psychology last year that show "finding teaching enjoyable and important led faculty to report increased utilization of all four teaching best practices analyzed in the current study: instructional clarity, higher-order learning, reflective and integrative learning, and collaborative learning." Autonomous motivation was a significant predictor of teaching best practices.

In other words, teachers who like teaching are better teachers.

To increase intrinsic motivations, the article suggests that institutions focus on enhancing faculty satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of "competence (a desire to interact effectively with one's environment and to seek challenges that are slightly beyond their current capacities), relatedness (the necessity for close and secure emotional bonds with others) and autonomy (the necessity of experiencing a sense of choice, willingness, and volition)."

Using guilt or rewards, on the other hand, was found to be unlikely to result in better teaching.

Our labor matters

Acknowledging that intrinsic motivation by definition comes from within, the researchers note that "the models showed identified motivation for teaching (i.e., teaching because of believed importance) were equally effective in predicting teaching best practices among faculty."

This one seems easier to address: teaching at a community college is incredibly important. While some research suggests that vertical transfers—community college students who transfer to four-year institutions—fare worse than native four-year students (students who started at the four-year school), other studies establish that our students fare just as well.

In 2016 the Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment (CAPSEE) found that for students transferring from community college with an associate's degree, "their probability of baccalaureate attainment are comparable to those of native four-year students."

In 2017 Community College Review published a study noting that "although community college students [who transferred to a four-year institution] experienced an initial penalty with respect to degree completion until 125% of normal time, the penalty was no longer evident six years after initial enrollment in college."

More recent research in The Journal of Higher Education noted that while the study estimates a "roughly 14% earnings disadvantage for baccalaureates who started at a 2-year rather than 4-year institution, regardless of college major," there was no effect on the vertical-transfer graduates’ employment chances.

Finally, the CAPSEE research indicates "community college students who successfully navigated the transfer barrier were equal to matched native four-year students in terms of their labor market performance, at least in the short term (eight years after entry)."
So we know that our work does carry an impact for students who transfer to four-year institutions. And we know there's significant research on the benefits of associate's degree attainment for students who choose to move directly into the workforce.

The FA supports effective teaching

Naturally the FA wants our members to be the most effective, strong, smart faculty they can be.

Thus, we've negotiated contract language for two sources of professional development funding: one for full-time faculty and a separate, dedicated pool of funding for adjunct faculty.

Adjuncts should contact Kim Ng Southard (kimn@fascc.org) for information about adjunct funding, and full-time faculty can contact me (cynthia@fascc.org) or attend one of the professional development workshops I host every February.

We believe in the growth mindset, we believe in our students and we believe in our faculty.