‘MTSU On the Record’ concludes tribute to MT Engage with group appraisal

Carmelita Dotson, a lecturer of social work, poses outside the Academic Classroom Building. Dotson was a recent guest along with other faculty members on the "MTSU On the Record" radio program. Dotson teaches classes in the MT Engage program, which employs high-impact strategies to get students more involved in their educational careers. (MTSU Photo by J. Intintoli)

Carmelita Dotson, a lecturer in MTSU’s Department of Social Work, poses outside the Academic Classroom Building. Dotson and some of her colleagues were guests on the June 29 edition of the “MTSU On the Record” radio program to discuss the MT Engage program, which employs high-impact strategies to get students more involved in their educational careers. (MTSU Photo by J. Intintoli)

The “MTSU On the Record” radio program wrapped up its celebration of MT Engage’s five-year anniversary with a roundtable of professors’ perspectives.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Carmelita Dotson and some of her MT Engage colleagues first aired June 29 on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org.

You can listen to their conversation via the Soundcloud link above.

Dr. Aleka Blackwell

Dr. Roberta Chevrette

Dotson, a lecturer in the Department of Social Work, explained how her department’s involvement with the student-centered program since 2017 led to the creation of both a faculty learning community and a professional learning community in which academic colleagues exchange ideas on the best high-impact learning practices for students.

“We saw MT Engage as an added bonus to help our students … to get the material integrated more smoothly throughout their journey,” Dotson said.

Dr. Donna Dopwell

Dr. Renee Jones

MT Engage, which began in 2016, is the university’s latest Quality Enhancement Plan, or QEP, which is a requirement for reaccreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. It builds on the work of the previous QEP, Experiential Learning, by including freshmen and sophomores.

Along with Dotson, discussion participants included Aleka Blackwell, an associate professor of English; Roberta Chevrette, an assistant professor of communication studies; Donna Dopwell, an assistant professor of social work; Renee Jones, an assistant professor of university studies; Soraya Nogueira, an associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese; Michael Rice, an associate professor of German; and John Sanborn, an associate professor of social work.