Factors influencing student engagement, motivation, and learning: Strategies to enhance student success and retention

First-year college students come to us with many preconceived notions about the learning processes associated with college-level chemistry courses. Some arrive in our classes expecting to be challenged, while others arrive feeling underprepared and overwhelmed. If we want to retain students in our disciplines we need to help them succeed in our introductory-level courses. To accomplish this, we need to recognize that student engagement, motivation, and learning are dramatically impacted by our ability to relate to the developmental challenges faced by our students. This chapter introduces faculty to four models that can help us to recognize different aspects of student development and how those aspects relate to our courses. Then we suggest practical, impactful strategies to help faculty guide their students through this cognitive and emotional development while also providing resources necessary to help them become successful, independent learners.