First-year Seminar Research Articles

Use Student Affairs Strategies to Retain Women in STEM

Use Student Affairs Strategies to Retain Women in STEM

What's the Point? An Exploration of Students' Motivation to Learn in a First-Year Seminar

What's the Point? An Exploration of Students' Motivation to Learn in a First-Year Seminar

The Introduction of Debate to First-Year Seminar

The Introduction of Debate to First-Year Seminar

The Problem of Defining and Communicating Quality in the 21st Century

The front page of the September 3, 2010 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education featured the headline “The Quality Question” and was subtitled “Mediocrity Happens” (Glenn). The title caught my attention because the University of Georgia, my home institution, has spent the last two years preparing for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS), our regional accrediting organization. The guiding document is “The Principles of Accreditation: Foundations for Quality Enhancement” (http://sacscoc.org/ pdf/2010principlesofacreditation.pdf). For more than 100 years since the founding of the first regional accrediting body in New England, accreditation has served as the overarching practice for defining and assuring quality in institutions of higher education. The UGA compliance report for SACS, which documents that we have met the core requirements for reaffirmation, is over 800 pages in length and includes approximately 2,400 supporting documents totaling close to 15,000 pages! Thousands of hours of faculty and staff time were spent investigating the requirements and documenting the University’s compliance with the SACS core requirements. Next, the compliance report will be reviewed by a peer review committee. Out of this “self-study” came several tangible improvements in areas of strategic planning, distance education, and faculty records to name only three areas. In tandem with the compliance work, another 30+ member committee met throughout the preceding 24 months to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is also a part of the reaffirmation process. After much discussion campus-wide, the QEP steering committee decided to focus on the development of a University-wide first-year seminar, labeled the First Year Odyssey. This seminar has the potential to affect every first-year student in critical thinking and writing—the plans are big! As anyone who has participated on an accreditation committee knows, the assessment (selfstudy) process is a fine-grained analysis reporting on multiple dimensions—mission, governance and administration, programs, the faculty, physical resources, student affairs, and so on. The process is an extremely important, high-stakes activity since colleges and universities must be accredited in order to participate in a myriad of federal programs valued in excess of $75 billion. Accreditation studies are occurring on hundreds of campuses across the nation this year, and will occur in the next year, until 10 years have passed and an individual campus repeats the process again. In addition to institutional level accreditation, comprehensive colleges and universities host numerous specialized accreditation visits each year, ranging from Innov High Educ (2010) 35:295–296 DOI 10.1007/s10755-010-9160-x

Transitioning Non-Traditional Students To An Undergraduate Business Program

This paper reports experiences of non-traditional students in a specially designed section of seminar course which was primarily designed for first-year traditional business students. The College of Business’s BSN101, Foundations of Business Administration (FBA), is designed to serves as a course to assist the students with transitioning into the business program. Typical traditional classes have enrollments of about 80 students. The special section for non-traditional students had seven students, 24 years of age or older, who were returning to undergraduate business school. This paper reports results of the implementation of the new program design in the FBA classes. Results are important not only to the College of Business, but also to the other Colleges as interest in first-year seminar courses and better serving the needs of non-traditional student increases. Currently, the University Retention Committee and the First-Year Seminar Sub-Committee are exploring the possibility of implementing a first-year seminar courses in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Services to be recommended to the Provost. Data collected for the experimental section in the study reported here will support decision-making regarding new seminar courses.

Reducing Heavy Drinking Among First Year Intercollegiate Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Web-Based Normative Feedback

This study evaluated the efficacy of a web-based personalized normative feedback program targeting heavy drinking in first-year intercollegiate athletes. The program was offered through the Athletic Department first-year seminar at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I university. Athletes were randomly assigned to either a web-based feedback group or a comparison condition. Results indicated high-risk athletes receiving the intervention reported significantly greater reductions in heavy drinking than those in the comparison group. Additionally, intervention effects were mediated by changes in perceptions of peer drinking. Findings support the use of web-based normative feedback for reducing heavy drinking in first-year intercollegiate athletes.

Internationalizing General Education at the Introductory Level: The First-Year Seminar On Political Self-Determination and Web-Based Political Research

This presentation explores ways by which first-year students develop global awareness, discover the academic expectations of college life, build intellectual skills and confront moral issues that emerge from political conflict. Specifically, it describes the model of a first-year seminar, developed at Elizabethtown College, that deals with the topic of political self-determination, in which students prepare case studies of contemporary conflicts involving group claims for political independence, conduct comparative analysis, and present their research at an undergraduate research conference. Moreover, attention is given to how students can perform more effective research on global affairs through the Internet, and how Internet resources can enhance teaching of introductory courses in comparative politics and international relations.

Roundtable on teaching "Work" as an interdisciplinary first-year college seminar

Roundtable on teaching "Work" as an interdisciplinary first-year college seminar

Ecologists and the development of sustainability curricula for majors vs. non-majors

Ecologists usually study interactions among living and non-living things at a particular spatial scale. Ecological curricula often have a biological focus except in ecosystem or applied ecology courses. At the undergraduate level, the impact of human activity on ecology class discussions is often relegated to urban ecology classes. The discussion of sustainability is a side line in introductory or upper level ecology courses, except in applied research courses, and more intensely addressed in non-science general education courses. To develop a global sustainable society will require that different disciplines understand the many factors that affect "sustainability" and work with a common definition of that term. To start the discussion among disciplines that is necessary to solve global environmental problems ecologists need to outline a clear connection between efficient natural resource management practices and global biodiversity goals. Faculty need to network across disciplines in curriculum development, and consider answers from the point of view of coursework in biology, earth science and physical science majors vs. in the general education or liberal arts core curriculum. The sustainability curriculum outcomes of such interdisciplinary discussions are considered for various undergraduate programs throughout the United States focusing on the process of integration of ecological knowledge. Nationally, science major programs develop courses that consider the human impact on the variability and management of natural resources, relative to biodiversity and landscape physical components. Courses are grouped into minors and/or configured as a major’s track. Many of these courses incorporate service-learning and utilize the campus and surrounding university community as a field lab for exploring sustainability, conservation and resource management issues. For non-majors, sustainability may be the theme of first-year seminars taught by faculty from different disciplines, to engage students in critical thinking exercises in solving global environmental problems. Often sociologists, political scientists, historians and geographers are more involved in teaching these general education courses than ecologists. A sustainable studies interdisciplinary major may result after establishing appropriate content courses for minors, the liberal arts curriculum and tracks within majors. The interdisciplinary major can also have several concentrations, as in International Studies major programs, or it can be a self-designed interdisciplinary major, differing in the relative amount of study of each discipline’s impact on sustainability and resource management trends. Ecologists’ participation in general education program development can lead to a better infusion of ecological knowledge into campus sustainability plans, with more opportunities for sustainability service-learning projects and internships.

Ecologists and the development of sustainability curricula for majors vs. non-majors

Abstract *Background/Question/Methods* Ecologists usually study interactions among living and non-living things at a particular spatial scale. Ecological curricula often have a biological focus except in ecosystem or applied ecology courses. At the undergraduate level, the impact of human activity on ecology class discussions is often relegated to urban ecology classes. The discussion of sustainability is a side line in introductory or upper level ecology courses, except in applied research courses, and more intensely addressed in non-science general education courses. To develop a global sustainable society will require that different disciplines understand the many factors that affect "sustainability" and work with a common definition of that term. To start the discussion among disciplines that is necessary to solve global environmental problems ecologists need to outline a clear connection between efficient natural resource management practices and global biodiversity goals. Faculty need to network across disciplines in curriculum development, and consider answers from the point of view of coursework in biology, earth science and physical science majors vs. in the general education or liberal arts core curriculum. The sustainability curriculum outcomes of such interdisciplinary discussions are considered for various undergraduate programs throughout the United States focusing on the process of integration of ecological knowledge. *Results/Conclusions* Nationally, science major programs develop courses that consider the human impact on the variability and management of natural resources, relative to biodiversity and landscape physical components. Courses are grouped into minors and/or configured as a major’s track. Many of these courses incorporate service-learning and utilize the campus and surrounding university community as a field lab for exploring sustainability, conservation and resource management issues. For non-majors, sustainability may be the theme of first-year seminars taught by faculty from different disciplines, to engage students in critical thinking exercises in solving global environmental problems. Often sociologists, political scientists, historians and geographers are more involved in teaching these general education courses than ecologists. A sustainable studies interdisciplinary major may result after establishing appropriate content courses for minors, the liberal arts curriculum and tracks within majors. The interdisciplinary major can also have several concentrations, as in International Studies major programs, or it can be a self-designed interdisciplinary major, differing in the relative amount of study of each discipline’s impact on sustainability and resource management trends. Ecologists’ participation in general education program development can lead to a better infusion of ecological knowledge into campus sustainability plans, with more opportunities for sustainability service-learning projects and internships.

The Value of a First-Year Seminar: International Students' Insights in Retrospect

Higher education institutions in the United States commonly offer first-year seminars to assist students with their transition to college. Seminars are one of several types of first-year interventions based on findings from persistence research identifying variables affecting student success. Diverse student populations such as international students or ethnic, cultural, and linguistic minorities have unique adjustment needs that may not be met by conventional retention programming. An important element of first-year programming is monitoring and collecting data to assess outcomes and inform program improvements. Gathering information about student experiences after the first year and the long-term impacts of first-year programs is also critical. This study describes a first-year seminar for international students and examines its influence on students beyond the first year. Findings indicate the seminar had a positive impact on various aspects of student adjustment within and after the first year.

Multiple Assessments of a First-Year Seminar Pilot

We found mixed support for a four-credit first-year seminar's positive impact on student engagement and academic performance but none for retention or intellectual growth. Our findings support the importance of shifting focus away from retention, increasing clarity about types of seminars, and using multiple measures and alternative indicators of impact.

Multiple Assessments of a First-Year Seminar Pilot

Multiple Assessments of a First-Year Seminar Pilot

Multiple Assessments of a First-Year Seminar Pilot

Multiple Assessments of a First-Year Seminar Pilot

PsychoGeography as Teaching Tool: Troubled Travels Through an Experimental First-Year Seminar

This article is a critical reflection on the effectiveness of an experimental teaching tool for the college classroom. In an experimental seminar, students are asked to wander around—across campus, in the city of the college, in their respective hometowns, and in shopping malls. By describing and theorizing their own experiences in “travelogues” students draw attention to highly political and often contentious issues, i.e., questions of class, social position, gender, race, agency, and the body. This article critically analyzes the successes and limits of such a project. Drawing on bell hooks’ theories, it suggests a pedagogy of space that demands that the teacher and the student confront, transgress, and transform the psychogeographies that structure, confuse, and complicate our lives.

Forensics as a Gateway: Promoting Undergraduate Interest in Science, and Graduate Student Professional Development through a First-Year Seminar Course

A group of five graduate students and a faculty mentor used the cultural popularity of forensics to develop a first-year undergraduate seminar. This course fulfilled two main objectives: First, the graduate student instructors developed professionally through a two-year process of creating, instructing, and revising a course. Second, a variety of pedagogical techniques including lectures, in-class demonstrations, laboratories, student presentations, and mock criminal investigations were used to teach an introductory-level forensics seminar course with substantial chemistry content. Herein, we share our experiences in developing an effective course structure in which students were introduced to science through forensics, with an emphasis on the development of essential skills, including critical thinking and public speaking. An assessment of the project's impact on graduate students, undergraduate students, and the department is also provided.

The Development of Political Awareness and Social Justice Citizenship Through Community-Based Learning in a First-Year General Education Seminar

Abstract This study assessed a community-based learning program in a firstyear general education seminar devoted to civic engagement and critical analysis of social issues. It investigated student attitudes and themes in students' policy papers. The results indicate that community-based learning strengthens political awareness and social justice attitudes and fosters political knowledge.

The Development of Political Awareness and Social Justice Citizenship Through Community-Based Learning in a First-Year General Education Seminar

The Development of Political Awareness and Social Justice Citizenship Through Community-Based Learning in a First-Year General Education Seminar

Full-Cycle Assessment of Critical Thinking in an Ethics and Science Course

Enhancing critical thinking skills for undergraduate students is important across the curriculum and between disciplines. We report on a method of improving critical thinking skills, which was studied through an Ethics and Science First-Year Seminar course. We used full cycle assessment over a three-year period to assess students’ development and to modify the course teaching and assignments with the goal of increasing student development of critical thinking skills. Data were obtained from student writing throughout the semester during each offering. Modest, but significant, overall gains of ~0.7 on a 4 point scale are reported between early and midterm assignments in the course using a seven trait assessment rubric. Key factors that contribute to the increase in critical thinking skills are identified including peer review, scaffolded assignments, and the use of a grading rubric for each assignment.

Passion, Purpose, and Service: Best Practices and Strategiesfor Integrating Service-Learning in First Year Seminars

First-year seminars and service-learning programs have contributed greatly to the efforts designed to reinvigorate the undergraduate academic experience over the past 25 years. Despite the mounting research indicating that service participation during the undergraduate years substantially enhances academic achievement, life skills development, and sense of civic responsibility (Astin & Sax,1998), fewer than a 25% of institutions nationally report using servicelearning in first year seminars (Tobolowsky, Mamrick, & Cox, 2005). As a result, most undergraduates participating in first year seminars do not benefit from service-learning participation until their second or third year of study. Using empirical evidence and both learning (Kolb, 1984) and intellectual (Perry, 1999) developmental theories, this paper will argue the benefits of including service-learning in the various models of first year seminars. In addition, the paper also illustrates best-practices from various institutions and provides recommendations for integrating service in both extended-orientation and academic first-year seminars.