freshmen : fresh meat?

FRESHMEN: FR

ESH

MEAT?

J E N N I F E R B E A T T I E , F R E S H M A N S E M I N A R C O O R D I N A T O R

FRESHMEN: WHAT YOU KNOW

• How would you describe your first-year students?

• What has the greatest impact on their success?

FRESHMEN: WHAT WE KNOW

• Today’s first-year students are…• Increasingly diverse (demographic characteristics).•More transient—moving from institution to institution, but often not “through” any institution.•At many levels of academic preparation or readiness.•Expectations don’t match ours•Study time, esp!!

TO SUCCEED OR NOT TO SUCCEED

• Profound changes

• Inability to adapt = withdrawal

• Best predictors for success/persistence

Student input variables vs. Institutional variable vs. Environmental variables

ATTRITION FACTORS

CHALLENGE & SUPPORT

What’s that mean??

A Model for Ensuring Student Success

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

Small Group Discussion Opportunities: participate actively Encourage deep processing of

information and ideas Small groups, constant

membership Assign at beginning of course, sit

together during classes, may meet outside of class

Assign a variety of support tasks Minimize isolation and anonymityTCTC = Success Teams w/

Contracts

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

Study Groups Encourage and even

help form Suggest what groups

should do Design homework with

study groups in mind Meet with study groups

during office hours

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES

Project Groups Complete one or more outside-of-class projects Most work done out of class, periodic meetings in class to

monitor Recommendations:

1.Carefully explain rationale for project groups2.Describe how student work will be evaluated3.Outline responsibilities of individuals to their groups4.Alert students to potential problems and ask groups to

define ground rules for themselves5.Provide strategies for groups to deal with uncooperative

members, and 6.Periodically invite students to evaluate the effectiveness

of their own and others’ contributions to the group

WRITING-TO-LEARN ACTIVITIES

Different than traditional writing assignments:

Write to and for themselves

To collect thoughts and get them on paper for examination and revision

Short: a few sentences, maybe a paragraph or two

Not graded

OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES

• Variety is the Spice of Life!• learning styles—expand repertoire

of instructional techniques• Effective instruction = both

concrete and abstract• MBTI• research shows 2/3 to ¾ of

population prefer inductive approaches that move from concrete to abstract• Most college instruction—abstract• Need different approaches• Case Studies/scenarios/problem-

based learning provide grounding in a human context

CASE STUDIES AND SCENARIOS

• Case studies tell stories• Scenarios present situations• characters, and actions• Tensions and conflicts• Problems and question• Promote empathy w/ central characters• Raise questions students care about, have no clear-cut answers

Start w/ shorter, focused case studies scenarios for freshmen!

There are websites for help in different disciplines!

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

LEARNING ABOUT CONTENT?

Three things I learned today are…

Gone in 60 Seconds

One way I can CHALLENGE 1st year

students is…

Gone in 60 Seconds

One way I can SUPPORT 1st-year

students is…

Gone in 60 Seconds

Gone in 60 Seconds

One question I still have about

challenging & supporting Freshmen is…

QUESTIONS