1980). The importance of the faculty member cannot be denied in contributing to student

engagement in the classroom and therefore facilitating academic success. The study of

student engagement involves identifying the practices used by faculty members to

increase learning and personal development and then surveying students to determine if

those practices are being used. The following is a review of the literature regarding how

the faculty member can influence learning.

The Influence of Faculty Members

 Umbach and Wawrzynski (2005) conclude that "the single most important" factor

in student development and classroom engagement is the faculty member. Whittington

(1998) however, has found that faculty members in colleges of agriculture typically teach

with methods that only require lower level thinking skills of the students and is

detrimental to student classroom engagement. However, many colleges and universities

now provide resources to help faculty members improve their instructional discourse. A

replication of Whittington's study is needed to determine if faculty members still teach at

lower cognitive levels.

 In a study conducted to examine the relationship between student-faculty

interaction and students' critical thinking skills, Smith's (1977) findings provide evidence

that there is a positive relationship. Specifically, increases in critical thinking ability were

positively correlated among variables of class participation with the faculty member as

well as participation with other students in the class (Smith).

 Increasing student engagement is more than just keeping students busy in the

learning process. Schlechty (2002) claims that the amount of time a faculty member

dedicates to improving the quality of assignments is directly related to student

engagement. Many studies have been conducted examining different instructional