Dr. Éva Szeli, Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, exemplifies the mission of the BRIDGE Coalition through her dedication to advancing student success and innovative teaching practices. By focusing on making course materials engaging and relevant, addressing challenges like fragmented attention and cognitive overload, and advocating for personalized academic coaching, Dr. Szeli’s work highlights the power of equitable, research-driven solutions to empower learners.

Her insights on overcoming barriers to student success showcase how instructors can utilize technology to support effective educational practices and prepare learners for the workforce of tomorrow. 

Dr. Éva Szeli

Teaching Professor | Department of Psychology

Arizona State University

Q: What, in your opinion, is the single most important factor in determining student success in your classroom?

A: "Student interest in – and engagement with – course materials is a critical factor in determining academic success. As an educator, I can approach this in two ways. First, I can maximize the extent to which course content is relevant and applicable to students’ lives or future professions. This means choosing a great textbook or curating interesting readings and media. And second, I can present that material in ways that make it more likely that students will enjoy learning the content. This, in turn, means using best practices in teaching, as well as high-quality pedagogical technology."

Q: What’s the biggest barrier to student success or learning that you’ve observed in your teaching?

A: "My students are more diverse in age, background, and college preparedness than ever before – and they are saddled with extracurricular responsibilities that compete with their educational and professional goals. As such, fragmented attention, cognitive overload, and mental and physical exhaustion are often responsible for their pragmatic focus on outcome (get through this course, earn that degree) rather than process (learning and mastery)." 

Q: If you could guarantee every student one resource for success, what would it be?

A: "All students may benefit from some form of academic coaching, whether it is personalized on a smaller scale or automated (e.g., with AI applications) on a larger scale. Students often come to college lacking the metacognitive skills to understand how to study and to learn effectively – and then find themselves puzzled if/when they do not do well in college courses." 

Q: If AI could solve one problem in your classroom tomorrow, what would you want to tackle?

A: "I would like to see AI provide more personalized, adaptive learning solutions, so that each student can engage with course content when and how works best for them – and hopefully, in a way that stimulates their interest in the material and their motivation to learn. The good news is that such AI tools are starting to emerge!" 

Q: Are you concerned about cheating, the impact of social media or AI-generated content influencing study habits? 

A: "The key is ensuring that both faculty and students have the resources and training to use these tools effectively and ethically. I believe it is critically important for faculty to learn as much as we can about AI and pedagogical technology, not only so that we can be better educators in our areas of expertise, but so that we can provide students with the skills they will need to live and work in an AI-enhanced future."