Tricia Seifert

Teaching Philosophy

I teach a wide range of courses from research methods to topical courses. The common thread that runs through them is my commitment to supporting student success through the use of experiential learning. I firmly believe that students who have the opportunity to put the theory of what they are learning in the classroom into practice are more confident in their abilities and have a better understanding of how context influences processes and outcomes. My goal as an educator is to help students gain the knowledge, skills, abilities and dispositions they need to be successful based on their self-definition.

Courses Taught

Introduction to Student Services
This course provides students with an interdisciplinary introduction to the field of student affairs and services. We discuss the historical, philosophical, cultural and organizational aspects of the field. As part of this course, students reflect on their identity as a practitioner and the competencies they believe they need to possess in order to support student success. This course is ideal for students who work in the field of student affairs and services and are interested in having greater intentionality for the way they approach their work. This course will be offered in a compressed format in May-June, 2012.

Quantitative Research Process and Design
The latest findings from research studies abound us in our daily lives. But not all research is done with the same level of rigour; how do you weigh the evidence? This course is designed to develop students’ abilities to critique quantitative research presented in the media and academic journals. In addition to developing skills in critiquing research, students draft a research proposal using quantitative methods. I offer this course annually during the fall term in the evening.

Survey Methodology 

Survey research is ubiquitous in postsecondary educational evaluation, assessment and research. Consequently, staff are often asked to create a survey with little understanding of the properties for developing a high quality survey. The major objective of the course is for students to develop skills needed to design and conduct a survey using the theory of total survey error. These skills include identifying and developing specific survey objectives, developing a sampling protocol, constructing reliable and valid self-administered questionnaires, collecting data, and thoughtfully preparing the data for analysis. My QRPD course (described above), a similar quantitative research design course, or an introductory statistics course is required as a pre-requisite for this course. I offer this course annually during the winter term in the evening.

 

Engaging Issues in Postsecondary Education
Through the crucible of service learning, students will reflect online and in person to make more complex meaning of the issues discussed in Recurring Issues in Postsecondary Education (TPS:1803). The course is still under development and is expected to launch in Winter 2013.

Research

My long-standing research interest has been rooted in understanding how postsecondary participation relates to student learning and success, commonly referred to as college impact research. Recently, my focus has expanded to understanding how postsecondary institutions organize their programs and services in ways that promote student success. With an increasing diversity of students attending postsecondary education, understanding how institutions support students in achieving their goals is paramount.

The Supporting Student Success study began by examining how student affairs and services staff at 9 universities and 5 colleges in Ontario perceived their institution’s organizational structures and how these structures helped or hindered staff members’ ability to support student success. This study has expanded its focus and is now developing a 360 degree understanding of how students, staff, faculty, and senior administrative leaders perceive how their institution supports student success. The Supporting Student Success study has been funded by grants from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC),  and the Connaught New Researcher program at the University of Toronto.

 
The report from the first phase of the study was released by HEQCO in November 2011 and is available here. The Supporting Student Success research team regularly blogs about the project in terms of how the study’s findings can inform practice and policy. You can follow our blog

I’m also working with colleagues at the Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation on a HEQCO-funded project examining the role of teaching assistants as members of the course teaching team. One of the key questions of interest is the relationship between TAs’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning (surface compared to deep). Findings from this study are intended to support faculty, administrators, and educational developers in establishing educational environments and opportunities that maximize deeper learning. We are in the process of collecting data and expect to begin analysis in summer 2012.
 
Recent Publications

• Seifert, T., Arnold, C.H., Burrow, J., & Brown, A. (2011). Supporting Student Success: The Role of Student Services Within Ontario’s Postsecondary Institutions. Toronto, ON: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.