MCC Daily Tribune
One small thing can make a difference to our students
As we read Relationship-Rich Education this academic year, faculty may be looking for what they can do to encourage students to build connections with peers, faculty, and staff.
Please consider taking a minute during class to talk to your students about the CircleIn peer studying app. One statement from a faculty member has enormous influence on student behavior. Not sure what you want to say? Faculty resources can be found at https://faculty.circleinapp.com/3
What we know
- This app is available to all students and courses are already formed in the app making the connections easily accessible to all students.
- Some sections have tutors engaged in the app with students.
What we’ve learned
- Students who have used the app at MCC have better term GPAs and better retention rates than non-users. This trend holds across student demographic categories.
- Faculty who actively encourage use have more students engaged and benefitting from the app.
One of the challenges discussed in Relationship-Rich Education is how to make access to relationships more equitable. CircleIn is accessible even if the student is first-generation and may not know the benefit of connections, is short on time and can only make connections a few minutes at a time, or has other unseen burdens that may create obstacles. CircleIn can help build a network of peer support for students.
Haven’t started reading the book?
It’s not too late! We have unlimited access to the e-book version of the book through our Library.
Kimberley Collins
Academic Services
10/13/2021