Explorations in Photography: Keeping things in focus

In yet another of Ricky Tims' weekly Photo Challenges, we were to take photos that were "tack sharp", meaning that the entire photo was in crisp focus.  For an image that involves some depth (with some parts of the image being close and some further away), this typically involves using a high f-stop on the camera.  Accompanied by the ever-patient Q, I tramped out in the snow to our local playground to find some shots.  

My original vision had been to take a photo of an empty swing, but that didn't work out.  First of all, swings move, which makes it very hard to get a crisply focused image.  Second, no matter what angle I shot from, there were always distracting elements in the background.  So much for my original vision.  

But Q suggested taking a photo of this springy duck. The duck is somewhat creepy-looking, but with my shadow cast over it, the expression seems more frightened than menacing. Putting the duck in the left edge of the photo gives room for the implied line-of-sight . . . what is it looking at?

 

(Did you know that there are quite a few unusual examples of playground equipment out there?  A Google search for "creepy playground equipment" brings up a startling array of images, such as these.)

I also took some close-ups of the merry-go-round.  I don't think this is "tack sharp", though -- the front seems in focus, but the back is somewhat less sharply focused.

I took some shots of the jungle gym and the steps up to the slide, too, but nothing emerged as a strong composition.  Finding good photos can be challenging!  After being out in the snow for over an hour, my socks and the knees of my pants were soaked, my feet were cold, and I packed it all in for the day.  

Lessons learned:  Your original vision may or may not work out; be open to other ideas.  And dress for the weather.  

Explorations in photography: Finding lines

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am taking Ricky Tims' online Photo Challenge class.  Work has been keeping me pretty busy, so I haven't managed to complete all of the weekly challenges.  Even so, I have been learning a lot about photography and composition.  One of the weekly challenges involved finding a line.  I wandered around my father's house one Sunday afternoon, taking photos that explored line.  (You can click on the photos to enlarge them.)

This is a close-up of an African mask (the twigs create the hair & beard on the face).  I liked this photo best -- the lines have a lot of wonderful movement.

This is a close-up of a spinning wheel made by paternal grandfather's grandfather (my great-great grandfather).  This is the photo I submitted for the challenge, as line is the dominant feature, though I'm not completely happy with it.  While the composition is simple and clean, I don't find it that interesting.  

This is a glass art vase.  Here I was exploring the idea of an edge as a line, though I think the colored shapes on the vase draw the eye more than the edge of the vase.  I love the beautiful color and sheen of the glass.

Again, I was looking at edges in terms of line, as well as the lines on the mask itself.  I like the composition and the way it frames the eyes and motifs on the mask.  Again, though, the composition seems less about line and more about shape, so it didn't seem to fit the challenge.  I think I could have gotten the focus a bit crisper, as well.  I have a lot to learn about working with my new camera.  My previous camera was a superzoom, but this class required a DSLR camera; I'm still figuring out how it works.  

This approach to photography is quite different from what I have done before.  Typically I take photos of things that interest me (such as vacation shots) -- I try to do a good job with composition and quality of the photo, but my motivation is to capture an experience or record something for future memory.  The photo challenges require that I go out to look for images to shoot that fit the challenge theme.  I'm finding that somewhat difficult -- it's hard to find inspiration at times.  I'm hoping that I'll get more ideas for photos as I go along.  I think the class will help me train my eye to look for interesting compositions.  

I'm linking this post up to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.    

Rediscover the Joy of Learning

Stuff Your Eyes with Wonder (Deborah C. Stearns, 2013)
Trying something new, I began my Inspiration Series.

I love to learn new things.  In fact, I positively deliciate in learning.

* Deliciate = to enjoy or indulge oneself, luxuriate, revel, to take one's pleasure.  

Did you feel a little zing as you learned that word?  A recent study found that learning new words stimulates the ventral striatum, the part of the brain that is associated with reward and pleasure.  In other words, learning a new word seems to activate the same part of the brain as gambling, sex, and tasty food.  (One could say that this means you probably deliciate in learning the word "deliciate.")

I suspect that this is not just limited to learning new words, but is true of learning more generally.  There is pleasure in acquiring knowledge and mastering new skills.  One recent study of elementary school children found that:

joy arrives when the child surmounts a series of difficulties to achieve a goal. One of the authors’ videos shows seven-year-old Esko, tapping himself proudly on the chest and announcing, “Hey, I figured out how to do math!” A desire to master the material leads to more joy than a desire to simply perform well, Rantala and Määttä add: joy often accompanies “the feeling of shining as an expert.” (from http://www.creativitypost.com/education/wheres_the_joy_in_learning)  

Sadly, I think we often lose sight of the joy of learning.  I remember one student in my General Psychology class some years ago who insisted that there was nothing he wanted to learn -- nothing at all.  It made me unutterably sad.  Learning can be a wonderful experience, and yet many of us forget its pleasures, thinking of it only as joyless labor.

I am fortunate to work in a profession that is committed to lifelong learning.  Higher education is not only in the business of providing access to learning for our students, but also recognizes the importance of ongoing learning for faculty and staff.  For example, I was able to spend last year on sabbatical so that I could learn more about the flipped classroom approach and the science of teaching and learning.

But you don't need to be an academic or take a sabbatical to experience the joys of learning.  Want to learn something new?   Here are some suggestions.

I've been reading for as long as I can remember.

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell

• Read.  I read voraciously, learning from science writers, biographers and scholars of all types.  I find new ideas in speculative fiction and memoir.  I read online articles, physical books and magazines, and enjoy the occasional audiobook.  Reading is accessible in any number of formats, and can be enjoyed without cost through libraries and the internet.  If you are a bibliophile, definitely head over to Brain Pickings, one of my favorite blog finds this year.  

 Baining Night Dance Mask (Kavat)
made of bark cloth by the Central Baining people
from Papua New Guinea, New Britain
(from the Metropolitain Museum of Art, NYC)

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge. ~Thomas Berger

•  Ask questions. Opportunities for learning are everywhere for those who are curious about the world.  When we ask questions, we open ourselves to new learning.  Ask questions of your friends and family to learn more about their lives and experiences.  Ask questions of experts to learn from their expertise.  Ask questions of yourself to learn more about your inner world.  If you can't find someone to answer your questions, go find the answer yourself!  (I'm still working on finding out more about the art of Papua New Guinea, for example.)

    

We all have an Elephant's Child, full of insatiable curiosity.
Drawing by Kate Reed (used with permission of the artist)



• Research.  When you find a topic that interests you, pursue your curiosity.  Explore it in depth.  Follow links, look for additional readings, ask questions and find answers.  Become an expert.  I spend many hours researching to prepare for my presentations and it has led me to all kinds of interesting learning -- from the science of happiness to successful relationships to all corners of human sexuality (check out my posts on sexual language, the sexual double standard, and same-sex marriage, for example).  

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver (2012),
where I learned about traditional Chinese garden design

All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.  ~ Martin H. Fischer

• Travel.  Travel offers us the opportunity to learn more about history, architecture, art, science, language and culture.  Explore the environment and notice what is different.  Talk to the people who live there.  Try new foods and have new experiences.  Read guidebooks to find out more about the places you visit.  Go to the local sights and visit the museums.  I always learn a lot from traveling, as you can tell from my extensive travelogues (such as my blog posts on Krakow, Prague, and Iceland).

via

• Listen to podcasts.  There are so many great podcasts out there -- free and full of learning potential.  I listen to podcasts on long drives and while I'm cooking or filing.  Podcasts like This American Life, Radiolab, Invisibilia, and The TED Radio Hour have given me insight into all kinds of topics I knew little about.  I'm looking forward to getting into Hidden Brain, as soon as I have some time, as I have really enjoyed Shankar Vedantam's pieces on NPR.

• Watch documentaries.  No matter where your interests lie, there is sure to be a documentary for you.  I favor historical and cultural documentaries, and I'm always finding new ones to watch through Netflix.  (I haven't even finished all of Ken Burns' documentaries yet!)  Make sure it is a reputable source, of course -- not all of the "documentaries" on YouTube are accurate.  So check out your PBS station or other credible media sources.  Beyond documentaries, you can also watch educational videos at TED-Ed and learner.org.  

I learn from my students, too.
(Photo by Sanjay Suchak)

• Take a class.  This gives you a chance to do more in-depth learning and connect with other learners.  Classes are available everywhere -- the local recreation center, community college, art/dance/writing centers, and other community resources.  Check out retail outlets, too, as you can find cooking classes at your local kitchen store, jewelry classes at the bead store, and ceramics classes at the art store.  If your local area doesn't have the class you want, there are plenty of online classes; you can study with experts all over the world without ever leaving your home.  I generally prefer face-to-face classes (such as the television/video classes I took last year), but I've also enjoyed several Craftsy classes and I'm looking forward to an online photography class with Ricky Tims that starts in January.  

• Get private lessons.  If you know what you want to learn and can find someone to teach you, you might want to invest in private lessons.  These can be a bit more expensive than classes, but you get to focus on what you want to learn at your own pace and in your own time.  If you have a local expert, face-to-face lessons are a great option, but you could also consider distance learning via video calls (Skype, Google Hangout, etc.).  Over the last year, I've been studying pattern fitting with the fabulous Sarah Veblen, and watching her figure out the right shape for a sleeve or rotating a dart has definitely expanded my understanding of how to engineer clothing that fits well (though I still have much to learn).

What Would Your Eyes See If They Were Newly Bloomed?
(Deborah C. Stearns, 2007, made as a class assignment)

• Try something new.  We often think of learning only within formal contexts, but we can learn anytime and anywhere.  Walk a different route and take note of what you see and hear.  Use a recipe you've never made before or tweak an old recipe -- what worked well and what didn't?  Explore unfamiliar types of music, art, performance, or athletics.  Try something new and see where it takes you.

Start off your year by rediscovering the joy of learning.  You know that learning is good for you -- it keeps your mind engaged and helps you grow and develop your capabilities.  But don't forget that it is also pleasurable.  So go ahead and deliciate in learning.  I'll be deliciating, right along with you.  

College Is Not A Content Delivery System: Interpersonal Interactions and Student Success

Montgomery College graduates via

It's that time of year again, when thousands of high school students go off to college.  What is it that college offers, in an era when the internet is teeming with freely available information?

All too often, we think of education, particularly higher education, as a content delivery system:  College provides access to information and programs that foster the development of particular skills, such as critical thinking.  This idea leads some to enthusiastically embrace technology as a replacement for the traditional college experience.  After all, we can make the content and relevant assignments available online, for a fraction of the cost now incurred by college students (see, for example, massive open online courses [MOOCs] and aspects of Kevin Carey's vision of the future "University of Everywhere").  This would seem like an ideal way to increase access to, and reduce the costs of, higher education. Right?

Not really.  The problem with this approach is that it ignores the important role of interpersonal interactions in education.

Higher education is not merely the mechanical transmission of content and skills to students.  College students' success is embedded in their immersion in a broader college culture, comprised of a network of relationships with faculty, staff, and other students.  Decades of research have found that positive, educational or intellectual interactions with faculty and peers, both within and outside of the classroom, are associated with students' intellectual development and academic success.¹  Faculty-student interactions:

are critical for everything from building students' capacity as scholars, fostering degree aspirations and retention (especially in the sciences), and promoting the success of students from underrepresented backgrounds.²

One review of relevant research concludes that many of the effects of college are "mediated through the interpersonal environments they create."³  In other words, higher education affects students largely through the kinds of social interactions they have in college.  The authors argue that personal and academic growth emerges from interacting with those who are different from us and engaging in substantive discussions of new ideas.⁴

Why are social interactions and relationships important for college students' success?  Here are just a few of the many factors that are potentially relevant.

Teacher and student interaction via

People are sources of practical, academic help.
Students who have good relationships with their professors and with their peers have access to a key learning resource -- other people.  They can ask questions about the material or about course assignments, learn effective study skills, get extra help, and participate in study groups.  Students hone their intellectual skills and deepen their understanding of course material through their interactions with faculty and other students.⁵  As one community college student noted:

You know, the more I talk to other people about our class stuff, the homework, the tests, the more I'm actually learning, . . . and the more I learn not only about other people but also about the subject, because my brain is getting more, because I'm getting more involved with the students.  I'm getting more involved with the class even after class.⁶  

Faculty and peers can also model relevant academic skills, such as critical thinking and respectful discourse.  More broadly, faculty can act as advisors and mentors, providing guidance to students as they navigate their college experience (e.g., helping them choose classes and programs of study, identifying ways to pursue their academic and professional interests, suggesting effective responses to academic challenges or setbacks).  Students who are assigned a faculty mentor have better academic performance and a lower dropout rate.⁷   Faculty, staff, and even peers can also connect students with support services as well as academic and professional opportunities (e.g., study abroad, internships).

College classroom -- lots of smiles here! (via)

Strong, positive relationships provide a safe space for teaching and learning.
Learning often involves vulnerability -- we have to stretch ourselves, and in doing so, we risk failure.  Learning is hard work, and we will make mistakes along the way (in fact, certain difficulties and errors can enhance learning⁸).  Students are asked to embrace new perspectives and ways of thinking, which can be distressing.⁹  Positive student-teacher relationships are important to creating a supportive environment for learning, as noted by this undergraduate student:

[I would learn best with a] caring relationship [with my instructor] in which honest feedback and opportunities for growth are provided.  With this type of relationship I would feel free to take risks to enhance my own growth.¹⁰

Teaching can be risky as well.  When instructors create a new class activity or assignment, it will sometimes fall flat (even a tried-and-true teaching technique can fall flat, at times -- yep, been there myself).  This means that trust, empathy, and respect among students and teachers are fundamental to successful teaching and learning.

Highly effective teachers tend to reflect a strong trust in students.  They usually believe that students want to learn, and they assume, until proven otherwise, that they can. [. . .] Above all, they tend to treat students with what can only be called simple decency.¹¹  

Students participate more in class when instructors create a more supportive atmosphere.¹²   Conversely, when students do not feel respected or supported, they are likely to disengage from class and/or school, hindering their ability to learn and succeed.¹³  Both students and teachers highlight the importance of open, supportive, comfortable, safe, and respectful relations in class.¹⁴   Feeling respected when interacting with faculty is a key factor in academic motivation and confidence.¹⁵

Having good relationships with students is likely to reduce teachers' frustration
and increase their enthusiasm (via)

Positive teacher-student relationships can result in better teaching.
When professors have positive relationships with their students, they are likely to enjoy their teaching more and be more motivated to provide high-quality instruction.  The professor who has positive engagement with students will probably be more approachable and committed to going the extra mile to support students' academic development.  Students report that faculty approachability, enthusiasm, and dedication are helpful to their success¹⁶ and faculty are seen as more approachable when they show concern for their students.¹⁷  In short, positive teacher-student relationships are likely to improve faculty job satisfaction and enthusiasm for teaching, as well as their approachability, which is likely to result in better student outcomes.¹⁸

via

Good relationships can strengthen students' motivation.
When professors show genuine concern for their students, their students are more motivated, have a more positive attitude toward the class, get better grades, and learn more.¹⁹  Similarly, more frequent student-faculty interactions outside of class are associated with stronger student motivation.²⁰  Poor relationships with faculty undermine students' motivation:  Students who feel alienated or distant from their professors tend to be discouraged and unmotivated.²¹  Faculty enhance students' motivation directly through encouragement, positive feedback, and concrete suggestions for improvement.  In other words, faculty can let students know that success is possible, as well as how to achieve it, which can foster students' sense of self-efficacy and academic self-confidence.

A positive teacher-student relationship also motivates students to work harder to please the instructor.²² As one undergraduate student put it:

When you have a personal relationship, or personal interaction, it makes you want to give 100% and do your best -- you don't want to let this person down.  ²³ 

Peer interactions also predict student motivation.²⁴  Strong relationships with peers can also foster a greater motivation and engagement with coursework.

The more students are involved, academically and socially, in shared learning experiences that link them as learners with their peers, the more likely they are to become more involved in their own learning and invest the time and energy needed to learn (Tinto, Goodsell, & Russo, 1993).  The social affiliations that those activities provide serve as a vehicle through which academic involvement is engaged.²⁵

In other words, students' relationships with faculty and peers have the potential to increase their motivation and effort, which is likely to result in enhanced learning and better academic outcomes.

via

Relationships can provide emotional support.
Students have emotional needs and concerns which can intrude on their academic work.  A bad grade can result in feelings of hopelessness.  A family crisis can cause anxiety that makes it hard to focus on studying.  Feelings of loneliness, experiencing harassment or disrespect, a difficult breakup -- all of these have the potential to negatively impact a student's academic life.  Students need supportive relationships with friends, family, faculty, and staff to help them weather these difficulties. While most of my meetings with students focus on course-related, academic matters, my students also discuss personal problems with me, seeking advice or a shoulder to lean on.  I have reason to think these conversations are helpful academically as well as personally, as students who go to their college mentor for support and encouragement are more likely to stay in college.²⁶  Receiving sufficient emotional support (along with social companionship support) may be key to successful adjustment to college for first-year students.²⁷

Students of color often face stereotyping and discrimination
that can make them feel marginalized (via)

Positive relationships can increase students' sense of belonging.
When students have warm relationships with faculty, staff, and other students, it helps them feel connected to the college community.  The sense that others in the college community know them and care about them increases their commitment to their college education and makes it more likely that they will persist and achieve their academic goals.²⁸  College students' sense of belonging is also associated with stronger academic motivation and self-efficacy.²⁹   Overall rates of college completion are lower than desirable (especially for lower-income students), given the financial costs of higher education and benefits of obtaining a college degree.  Stronger relationships with faculty and peers are likely to increase student persistence and academic success.

The sense of belonging can be precarious for first-generation and ethnic minority college students, who may feel marginalized within the college community or experience doubts about whether they belong in college at all.³⁰  So for all students, a sense of belonging is associated with positive academic outcomes, but for first-generation and ethnic minority students, strong and positive relationships with faculty, staff, and peers may be even more critical for academic success.  One study of Latino students found that those who frequently discussed course content with peers outside of class had a stronger sense of belonging to the campus community.³¹

College students often lack confidence in their abilities (via)

Students' relationships can strengthen their academic self-concept.
When students get encouragement and positive feedback from their teachers and peers about their work, they begin to have greater confidence in their academic abilities.  Academic self-confidence is greater among students who see their faculty members as approachable and respectful, for example.³²  Students need other people to provide validation that their ideas are valuable and they are worthy of being in college; college students, particularly new students, have a strong need for self-esteem and self-affirmation.³³

Faculty, whether as advisors or role models, can expand the students' sense of their possible future. One of my students, for example, wrote me a couple of years ago to let me know that taking my General Psychology course helped re-invigorate his own love of learning:

I found I really loved the material which helped, but more than that I was really struck by how much you obviously loved what you do and that really resonated with me for a very long time. That was exactly the kind of engagement I was looking for in my life.

Whether encouraging students to take a particular class, apply for an internship, or consider graduate school, faculty and staff can help students see themselves as capable of achieving more than they thought possible.

Employers are looking for interpersonal skills (via)

Relational skills and personal growth are important educational outcomes.
College education is not just about intellectual development; it must address the whole person.  Certainly intellectual growth is an important aspect of higher education, but it must be accompanied by personal growth to ready students for the challenges of work and life after college.  Research has found that non-cognitive skills (e.g., perseverance, self-control, emotional stability) predict success in school and work,³⁴ so gains in relevant non-cognitive skills are another important outcome of education.  These "soft skills" are also what employers are looking for in new hires.  Interpersonal skills are highly ranked among those sought-after skills:  Employers rate characteristics such as the ability to work on a team and communicate with others as among the top skills they look for in employees.³⁵  Social interactions with faculty and peers predict college students' personal development, as well as their intellectual growth.³⁶  In other words, the interactions students have with peers and faculty have the potential to help them develop skills that are vital to employment and success at work.

Abraham Maslow's theory states that we have an intrinsic need for love and belongingness (via)

Positive relationships fulfill our need for interpersonal connection.
Humans have a fundamental need to have close interpersonal relationships.  We need to have regular interpersonal interactions within the context of caring relationships.³⁷  When our social needs are not being met, we experience distress, making it more difficult to focus on other goals and activities.  In other words, students are unlikely to learn or grow academically if they are suffering from depression and anxiety resulting from social isolation or loneliness.  While students are likely to have relationships with friends and family outside of the college community, strengthening students' relationships within the college community is important, particularly for residential students, to ensure that all students can satisfy their relational needs on a regular basis.

Learning is Social

Don't get me wrong -- I believe in increased access to education and I love the array of educational resources available online.  But if we are serious about designing higher education, we need to understand the needs of learners.  Rather than thinking of learning as an individual activity, we need to remember that learning is usually social.

We are social animals.  Researchers are increasingly finding evidence that virtually every aspect of our behavior -- including thinking and learning -- is influenced by our social context.  Even the most minimal social connection can enhance our achievement motivation.  When someone interested in math finds out that they share a birthday with a successful math student, they become more motivated to pursue math and they work longer on a math problem.  Our achievement motivations are not merely our own, but are affected by our sense of social connection, or what has been termed mere belonging.³⁸   Our memory is also better when we are socially engaged:  People remembered a list of items better when the person reading the list sat closer to them, leaned in, and engaged in eye contact (showed greater immediacy) than when the experimenter sat further away and didn't engage in eye contact.³⁹  (As one student aptly says, "I learn better when I am treated as a person rather than a number"⁴⁰) Conversely, the threat of future social isolation causes impairment in our capacity for intelligent thought.⁴¹

Can students learn from content alone, without interacting with a teacher or other students?  Probably, at least in some cases.  But research suggests that such learning might be less rich than the learning that is fostered through social interactions and supportive relationships within a diverse community of teachers and peers.  In addition, it is clear that many, if not most students, need more than just access to online content to successfully learn.  While thousands of students have enrolled in MOOCs, very few actually finish the course, and those who do are typically those who have already completed some college (indeed, one study concludes that most of those who enroll in MOOCs are young and well-educated).  Most students need more than just access to an online course to successfully learn the material.  Further, what students gain from higher education isn't just the content learned in one class -- students immersed in the college experience learn broadly and deeply from what they do in and outside of class, including a myriad of social interactions and influences within and beyond the specifics of any one class.

Rather than re-imagine college as a content-rich, but interpersonally impoverished, landscape, we should combine a content-rich learning environment with strategies to expand the social interactions that foster college students' learning and academic success.

• Students should be encouraged to engage with their professors and peers both in class and outside of class.  (I know, I know -- you may be intimidated or think that faculty aren't interested in meeting with students, but you need to get past those concerns and take advantage of the opportunities for intellectual and personal growth that college affords.)  
• Faculty can include classroom and co-curricular activities that foster more opportunities for students to interact with each other and with their instructors.  (It is clear that faculty need to do more than just post office hours if we want to encourage such interactions.)  
• College facilities can be structured to encourage intellectual interactions (student lounges could be situated near faculty offices, for example⁴²).  
• Programs can create spaces for academic discourse, such as informal discussions that are attended by students, faculty, and staff. (That was my goal in creating the Psychology Brown Bag Series at Montgomery College.)  

This is not to say that such interactions couldn't be fostered in an online or blended learning environment.  Indeed, online college courses often include structures to encourage interactions with peers and/or the instructor.  The online environment can also provide intellectual, interpersonal interactions, though they need to be designed with the specifics of online learners in mind.  The argument for the importance of relationships is not meant to denigrate the potential of online courses.  Let's just not kid ourselves -- giving students access to content alone is not sufficient for successful higher education.  

What higher education offers is not merely intellectual content.  It is the opportunity to engage in an academic culture of diverse learners and teachers and researchers.  The relationships students form in college can help them learn and motivate them to do their best work.  Faculty, staff, and peers can help students dream big and make progress toward achieving their dreams.  At its best, college provides a supportive interpersonal environment in which students can discuss new ideas, stretch themselves, and grow, both intellectually and personally.  Content may be available freely on the internet, but students need more than access to content to succeed in college.  They need strong, positive relationships with faculty, staff, and other students.  They need a community.  They need people.

My students clowning at the National Museum of the American Indian (2011)

You might also enjoy these other posts on teaching:

Making a Difference: Whether You Know it or Not
Become an Incremental Theorist
Teaching toward a Better World
Writing is Life
Losing the Lecture
Interrogating Museum Exhibits
The Value of Dissent

References

1. Two articles that review this research are:
• Lamport, M. A. (1993).  Student-faculty informal interaction and the effect on college student outcomes:  A review of the literature.  Adolescence, 28, 971-991.
• Terenzini, P. T., Pascarella, E. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1999).  Students' out-of-class experiences and their influence on learning and cognitive development:  A literature review.  Journal of College Student Development, 40, 610-623.
• Also see this study on the impact of peer relationships:  Whitt, E. J., Nora, A., Edison, M., Terenzini, P., & Pascarella, E. T. (1999).  Interactions with peers and objective and self-reported cognitive outcomes across 3 years of college.  Journal of College Student Development, 40, 61-78.
2. Baker, V. L. & Griffin, K. A. (2010).  Beyond mentoring and advising:  Toward understanding the role of faculty "developers" in student success.  About Campus, 14, 2-8.  doi:  10.1002/abc.20002 (p. 2)
3. Terenzini, P. T., Pascarella, E. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1999).  Students' out-of-class experiences and their influence on learning and cognitive development:  A literature review.  Journal of College Student Development, 40, 610-623 (p. 614).  See also: Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1980).  Student-faculty and student-peer relationships as mediators of the structural effects of undergraduate residence arrangement.  Journal of Educational Research, 73, 344-353. 
4. Terenzini, P. T., Pascarella, E. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1999).  Students' out-of-class experiences and their influence on learning and cognitive development:  A literature review.  Journal of College Student Development, 40, 610-623.
5. Kember, D., Leung, D. Y. P., & Ma, R. S. F. (2006).  Characterizing learning environments capable of nurturing generic capabilities in higher education.  Research in Higher Education, 48, 609-632.  doi:  10.1007/s11162-006-9037-0; Smith, D. G. (1977). College classroom interactions and critical thinking. Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 180-190.; Whitt, E. J., Nora, A., Edison, M., Terenzini, P., & Pascarella, E. T. (1999).  Interactions with peers and objective and self-reported cognitive outcomes across 3 years of college.  Journal of College Student Development, 40, 61-78.
6. Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as communities: Exploring the educational character of student persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 68, 599-623. (p. 611)
7. Campbell, T. A. & Campbell, D. E.  (1997).  Faculty/student mentor program:  Effects on academic performance and retention.  Research in Higher Education, 38,  727-742.; Hu, S., & Ma, Y.  (2010).  Mentoring and student persistence in college:  A study of the Washington State Achievers Program.   Innovative Higher Education, 35,329-341.  doi:  10.1007/s10755-010-9147-7
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