freshmen : fresh meat?
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Freshmen : Fresh Meat?. Jennifer Beattie, Freshman Seminar Coordinator. 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… - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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