First-year Experience Research Articles

The value of embedding work-integrated learning and other transitionary supports into the first year curriculum: Perspectives of first year subject coordinators

The first year of university, also known as the first year experience (FYE), is a crucial time for students as they learn a range of new practices that enable them to study and pursue a discipline or profession of interest. The function of this transitionary time however in relation to providing both a successful transition into university as well as an orientation to the profession is under-developed. Work-integrated learning is a leading pedagogy in tertiary institutions to build student’s career-readiness by applying theory within work experiences. However, despite the growth of WIL across discipline contexts, little is known about the prevalence and impact of WIL practices within the first year of tertiary study. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of those who design and facilitate first year subjects on the value of embedding WIL and other transitionary supports into the first year curriculum. A qualitative case study was employed, with interviews from ten first-year subject coordinators within a single degree and institution. The findings reveal three crucial areas of transition in the first year: Transition into learning, Transition into being a student, and Transition into becoming a professional. Recommendations centre on benefits of a whole-of-course approach to transition and WIL for developing students with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed both at university and into the workplace.

Students’ Views of the Promoters and Barriers to First Year College Persistence in Ireland: A Partnership Study

Navigating the transition to college and persisting is crucial to student college success. This research aims to explore the promoters and barriers to first year persistence, the student support needs in relation to these promoters and barriers, who students need the support from and when support is particularly needed. A participatory methodological approach was central to the study, carried out through a partnership with a cohort of 28 second year students to retrospectively explore the first-year college experience in Ireland. Participatory workshops conducted with the students identified persistence promoters, including being on the right course, gaining independence, academic supports, and connection to home. Barriers included being on the wrong course, anxiety, and lack of motivation to first year student persistence. These factors were further developed by the students to identify support solutions, personnel they need support from, and a three-pronged delivery solution, beginning in post-primary school through preparation for the transition to college. While confirming previous international studies, the research adds a novel understanding of the first-year student experience towards persistence and highlights the value and importance of giving students the space to share their original and detailed perspective of first year, as a student perspective supporting solutions for better higher educational outcomes.

A Case Study on the Development of the First-Year Experience Programs

A Case Study on the Development of the First-Year Experience Programs

Moving toward Engagement: Teaching Collaborative Dance and Science Classes to First Year College Students

ABSTRACT This article describes teaching science and dance together as part of a university first-year experience. This was done to address educational challenges including engagement and retention of diverse students, development of scientific literacy, and development of creative artistic expression. We describe team teaching “the Art and Science of Dance,” where students learn about asking and answering questions through multiple lenses, learn how to do science, and learn how to dance. We assessed student experiences and found that the course challenges all students, but provides a structure where they are able to actively participate in the generation of scientific knowledge and art by the end of their first semester at college. Therefore, we advocate teaching challenging, multidisciplinary courses to first-year students. Dance collaborations seem to be an especially effective way to do this.

First-Year Experiences of Social Studies Teachers Starting their Profession in the Public Sector

<p style="text-align:justify">This research aims to reveal the first-year experiences of social studies teachers who have just started their profession in the public sector. Also, it aims to reveal what awaits teachers in the school environment and the current experiences of teachers at the beginning of the profession. Case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. The study group of the research consists of 34 social studies teachers working in secondary schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education (Turkey) in the districts of Ankara. Participants were selected on an equal basis from all districts of Ankara province. Purposeful sampling, one of the non-random sampling methods was used in determining participants. In addition, criterion sampling was also used in the purposeful sampling phase. The obtained data were subjected to the content and descriptive analysis. As a result of the research, following the latest changes and developments and developing their basic knowledge and skills seems important for teachers who started their profession in the public sector. The multidisciplinary of the social studies branch, attractivity, and the fact that there are no alternatives comes to the fore in teachers' decision-making process to become social studies teachers. In addition, teachers participating in the research suggested to new teachers that they should master their fields, maintain their personal development, get to know the target group, and maintain strong communication in school.</p>

555 - First-Year Experience in Blood and Marrow Transplant Data Management at Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC)

555 - First-Year Experience in Blood and Marrow Transplant Data Management at Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC)

PSYCHOSOCIAL INFLUENCES ON FIRST-YEAR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS LEARNING OUTCOMES IN CHINESE UNIVERSITIES

This study examined the psychosocial state of international students and the resultant effect on the students' first-year learning outcome. Of interest was whether participants first-year experiences would influence learning. We grounded this study on student involvement and psychosocial theories. A total of 600 international students from 83 Chinese Universities participated in an online survey. The psychosocial factors were measured with both the First Year University Experience Questionnaire and 12-point GHQ questionnaires and analysed with hierarchical multiple regression. The result was statistically significant explaining 24%, 27% and 33% variance on international students' learning outcomes, after controlling for all the psychosocial factors. Moreover, the results suggested the need for University administrators to provide counselling support and promote sustainable psychosocial oriented programs. KEYWORDS: First-year experiences, international students, learning outcomes, psychosocial influence

High-Impact Practices and Their Effects: Implications for the Undergraduate Political Science Curriculum

Part of a broader movement to promote student engagement in educational activities, high-impact practices (HIPs) are purported to deepen learning through such activities as first-year seminars, internships, community-based learning, capstone experiences, study abroad, and research with faculty. Within political science, HIPs are key to efforts to increase civic and political engagement. The discipline is heavily invested in HIPs as vehicles for research, professional development, curriculum, instruction, and student involvement. Addressing disputes among scholars over the efficacy of HIPs, this study examined the effects of upper-year HIPs on student engagement, learning, and satisfaction at a small, private college in the Northeast, measured by responses from seniors to the National Survey of Student Engagement in 2008–2017. Consistent with the literature, the analysis found that community-based learning and research with faculty related positively with: (1) higher-order, reflective, and integrative learning behaviors, (2) personal and general education competencies, and (3) faculty-student interaction. However, community-based learning had the largest impact on arts and sciences majors. Research with faculty, followed by study abroad and capstone experiences, influenced professional studies majors the most. In addition, capstone experiences and study abroad connected positively to satisfaction with the overall educational experience. Depending on their curriculum goals and program mix, political science departments should consider which kinds of HIPs best fit the undergraduate major.

Hemşirelik Birinci Sınıf Öğrencilerinin İlk Klinik Deneyiminde Yaşananlar: Nitel Bir Çalışma

Objective: The research was carried out to determine the experiences of first year nursing students in their first clinical practices. Material and Methods: The study was carried out in the spring term of 2019-2020 using the phenomenology pattern, which is among the qualitative research methods. The population of the study consisted of the students enrolled in the first year of the nursing department of Çankırı Karatekin University. With the purposeful sampling method from the universe, 20 students who comply with the inclusion criteria and who agreed to participate in the study formed the sample of the study. Necessary permissions were obtained before starting the work. Interviews with the 'Semi-structured Interview Form', which was used in the collection of the research data, took an average of 30-45 minutes. The program MAXQDA was used in the analysis of the data. Results: Of the 20 students participating in the research; 5 of them were men, 15 of them were women and the average age of the participants were 19.3. It was determined that the students measured mostly vital signs and communicated with the patient in their first clinical application, while they faced many problems such as the fear of harming the patient, the patients' aggressive attitude and denying the application, and the patients' desire to seek help from the nurses. It was found that nurses approached the students as a teacher within a context of positive attitude and some of them were indifferent towards the students within a context of negative attitude. Conclusion: As a result of the study; it is recommended to support laboratory practices with different methods; in order to increase the support of nurses towards students in clinical education and to provide cooperation between schools and hospitals.

Mediation Effect of the Improvement in Teaching Assistant Quality in Students’ Evaluations of Their First-Year Experience

Mediation Effect of the Improvement in Teaching Assistant Quality in Students’ Evaluations of Their First-Year Experience

Experiencias estudiantiles en el primer año universitario. Una aproximación desde la sociología de la educación francesa

Based on research in the French sociology of education on the experience of students in the mass university, the article considers the way in which first-year students deal with their transition to a chilean public university. Through data reported from eight focus groups with 42 students from the University of Santiago de Chile, it showed that first-year experience constitutes a complex socialization process scarred by a series of discontinuities regarding the school: strong decline in previous academic evidence, deficit in academic preparation attributed to school education, and a readjustment of routines and habits to manage time and study. The conclusions highlight the contributions of the study and propose a research agenda for future studies in the area.

Fact or fiction? Library leadership of a campus-wide intellectual theme

Every year Illinois Wesleyan University organizes a campus-wide intellectual theme. In 2019, the Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan proposed the topic of fact or fiction for the annual intellectual theme. This program is noteworthy to the profession because the intellectual themes are truly campus-wide, engaging students at all levels and integrating curricular and co-curricular components. These intellectual themes go beyond the more common shared first-year experiences or One Book, One School programs. This article is a brief case study of the library-led Fact or Fiction intellectual theme.

'I'll be there for you'-- Comparative Insights on First-Year Experience (FYE) Policies of Belonging in the 21st Century

In the last 40 years undergraduate enrollment across the United States has more than doubled, yet graduation rates remain practically unchanged (Complete College America 2012). Increased pressure placed on first-year experience as a policy and practice to carve a pathway with strategies for navigating higher education internationally is how institutions in the 21stcentury grapple with challenges of retaining, progressing, and graduating their students (Nutt and Calderon, 2009). Despite the availability of scholarship and pervasiveness of policy which include first-year experience (FYE) initiatives, or a multiplex of “intentional academic and co-curricular efforts within and across postsecondary institutions” to emphasize academic and social adjustment (Koch 2007, 23), higher education globally is somewhat divided on equitable, inclusive understandings, approaches, and implementation when it comes to placing imporance on social adjustment over academic skills in 21st century education contexts.

South Africa’s First-Year Experience: Consolidating and Deepening a Culture of National Scholarship

This special edition of Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA) represents an important milestone for South Africa's First-Year Experience movement. This milestone is about reaching a particular stage of maturation in the drive to cultivate national First-Year Experience scholarship. It also shows the importance of the continued development of South Africa's only dedicated national centre for First-Year Experience, i.e. the South African National Resource Centre for the First-Year Experience (SANRC), in terms of helping grow and nurture scholarship in the field.

“My name is Matshepo … Mother of Hope”: Examining Hope amid the First-Year Experience

This special edition of Journal of Student Affairs in Africa (JSAA) represents an important milestone for South Africa's First-Year Experience movement. This milestone is about reaching a particular stage of maturation in the drive to cultivate national First-Year Experience scholarship. It also shows the importance of the continued development of South Africa's only dedicated national centre for First-Year Experience, i.e. the South African National Resource Centre for the First-Year Experience (SANRC), in terms of helping grow and nurture scholarship in the field.

Towards a Learning Mindset: First-Year University Students’ Qualitative Perspectives on Gratitude in the Context of Learning Effort

Signature strengths, such as gratitude, can assist students in navigating the demanding first-year experience. However, more research is needed to explore the role of gratitude in relation to cognitive benefits for students. This article reports on a constructivist grounded theory study that explored South African students' conceptions and enactments of gratitude with regard to their learning efforts. Qualitative data were collected in individual open-ended interviews (n = 22, age-range = 18-23) and analysed using three interdependent coding phases (initial coding, focused coding and theoretical coding). The resultant grounded theory was titled "˜Thanks: Gratitude and learning resilience amongst first-year university students". The findings revealed that gratitude could take many forms and has a positive qualitative impact on students' learning resilience, and that gratitude and learning resilience are emancipatory in nature. Limitations and areas for further research conclude the discussion.

Video Essays: Curating and Transforming Film Education through Artistic Research

This article is dedicated to all my SOAS undergraduate and postgraduate class members of the academic year 2019-2020, Marguerite Culot, Maximilian Frederik, Umloda Emad Ibrahim, Mostafa Khattab, Ewa Kataryna Kiszelka, Alix Lafosse, Peiwen Li, Yuan Liao, Leen M. Fouad, Donovan Mathews, Ying Sang, Clara Katharina Von Harling, Hsueh Liang Wong, Jianbin Zhang, Cameron McGrath, Greta Alexandra Bassett, Harriet Louis Bessant Marsh, Samantha Carrick, Kim Eckersley, Alexander Hall, Christopher Stump, Ha Linh To, Inhe Yang and Jemima Presland. They were part of my first-year experience of implementing video essays as a creative assessment method. I am very grateful for their enthusiastic response to my invitation to create audiovisual criticism, and impressed by the quality of the work they produced. In their uncertainty lies my learning experience, the one that encourages me to keep engaging with this creative assessment method, and to produce them for various purposes. They have been my main partners in this collaborative task of working together towards finding some academic room for audiovisual criticism. They have been active participants in the learning and teaching of the study of film through film. My deepest gratitude also to all those colleagues who have been great sources of inspiration and supportive of my creative initiatives, starting from Prof Lindiwe Dovey. Many thanks to her and the whole Screen Worlds Team. I am so grateful to fellow colleagues at the School of Arts in SOAS, such as Prof Shane McCausland, who enthusiastically embraced and shared my interest in recursion, Dr Caspar Melville, Prof Lucy Duran, and Dr Morgan Davies, who welcomed me to a sonic discussion to share my experience teaching (or rather, being taught) video essays. I further thank the SOAS Decolonising Working Group. I am also grateful to Bartolomeo Meletti, for his eagerness to join me in the challenging endeavour of creating a guide to make video essays. Finally, I would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewer of this article, for their thorough feedback and generous engagement with my work.

Impressions Obtained by Teaching the First-year Experience in Shinshu University

Impressions Obtained by Teaching the First-year Experience in Shinshu University

Oral Communication in an Integrated STEM and Humanities First-Year Experience

This study looks at Purdue University's Integrated First-Year Experience of Design Thinking in Technology, Fundamentals of Speech Communication, and First-Year Composition and its effects on oral communication. We examined whether this three-course integration inspired by writing-across-the-curriculum and communication-across-the-curriculum would lead students to develop more effective oral communication skills than a nonintegrated course. Frameworks for 21st century skills and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (2017) have pinpointed the importance of oral and written communication skills and initiatives. Still, research has produced mixed results on how well universities are preparing students for the workplace. Our study investigated whether the integrated program had better end-of-semester group oral presentations than student groups enrolled only in our Design Thinking in Technology course. A quasi-experimental design and post-only analysis revealed that integrated sections had more effective oral presentations than the nonintegrated sections

Increasing self-efficacy to improve the transition to university: an Australian case study

ABSTRACT The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students’ baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject’s highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention.