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What is a First-Year Seminar?

What is a First-Year Seminar?. Mary Stuart Hunter Associate V ice President University 101 Programs and National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition shunter@sc.edu. What makes a course a F irst-Year Seminar?. Deconstructing “First-Year Seminars”.

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What is a First-Year Seminar?

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  1. What is a First-Year Seminar? Mary Stuart Hunter Associate Vice President University 101 Programs and National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition shunter@sc.edu

  2. What makes a course a First-Year Seminar?

  3. Deconstructing“First-Year Seminars” First-Year For new students First year in college First year on our campus Seminar Small class size Setting for exchange of ideas and information Through discussion, responsibility for teaching and learning is shared

  4. Origins of First-Year Seminars Johns Hopkins University – 1877 non credit, system of faculty advisers (Gordon, 1989) Lee College – 1882 first reported first-year seminar (Barefoot & Fidler, 1996) Boston College – 1888 first extended orientation seminar (Gahagan, 2002) Reed College – 1911 credit, orientation course (Fitts & Swift, 1928)

  5. 1948 survey indicated that 43% of institutions offered a required orientation course (Gordon, 1989) Increased growth of first-year seminars since 1980 In 2009, 86.5% of survey respondents (n=890) indicated they had a first-year seminar (National Resource Center’s 2009 Nationqal Survey of First –Year Seminars)

  6. What is a First-Year Seminar? A course designed to “assist students in their academic and social development and in their transition to college. A seminar, by definition, is a small discussion-based course in which students and their instructors exchange ideas and information. In most cases, there is a strong emphasis on creating community in the classroom.” (p. 275-276) Hunter, M. S., & Linder, C. (2005). First-year seminars. In M. L. Upcraft, J. N. Gardner, & B. O. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 275-291), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

  7. A freshman seminar is a course intended to enhance the academic and/or social integration of first-year students by introducing them to (a) a variety of topics, which vary by seminar type, (b) to essential skills for college success, and (c) to selected processes, the most common of which is the creation of a peer support group. (p. 49) Barefoot, B.O. (1992) Helping first-year college students climb the academic ladder: Report of a national survey of freshman seminar programming in American higher education. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA.

  8. Types of Seminars • Extended Orientation • Academic - with uniform content across sections • Academic - on various topics • Basic study skills • Pre-professional or discipline-linked • Hybrid

  9. Extended Orientation Academic - with uniform content Academic - with various topics Basic study skills Pre-professional or discipline- linked Hybrid

  10. Rationale for First-Year Seminars Why does a first-year seminar exist on your campus? Table talk time…. Please do not turn page or look ahead!

  11. Your Rationale May Depend Upon Institutional mission and vision Institutional type Student needs and characteristics Culture and politics of the campus Type of seminar

  12. Potential Rationales for First-Year Seminars Enhances student persistence from first to second year Increases academic performance and eventual degree attainment Assists with academic and social integration

  13. Encourages and intrusively demands active student involvement in learning Provides a setting for examining and discussing student-institutional fit Helps students transition to new learning environment and community

  14. Transmits culture and expectations of institution What other rationales did you discuss at your table?

  15. A “laboratory” for good practices in undergraduate education (Chickering& Gamson, 1987) • Student-faculty contact • Active learning • Prompt feedback • Time on task • High expectations • Respect for diverse learning styles • Cooperation among students

  16. Potential Commonalities Across Seminar Types Small class size Discussion intensive Peer connections Faculty/student and student/student interaction

  17. Engaging pedagogy Early and frequent feedback Out of class engagement Intentional development of community Reflection of and support of institutional mission and goals

  18. Characteristics of “successful” Seminars (broad-based campus support and long life) • Academic credit • Centered in first-year curriculum • Involve both faculty and student affairs in design and instruction • Instructor training and development • Compensation or other reward for teaching • Involves upper level students in seminar delivery • Assessment (Barefoot & Fidler,1996)

  19. Digging Deeper Survey Data on Current Status of First-Year Seminars in the United States

  20. References Barefoot, B.O. (1992) Helping first-year college students climb the academic ladder: Report of a national survey of freshman seminar programming in American higher education. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. Barefoot, B.O. & Fidler, P. P. (1996) The 1994 national survey of freshman seminar programs: Continuing innovations in the collegiate curriculum. Columbia: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. Chickering, A.W. and Gamson, Z.F (1987) "Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education" American Association of Higher Education Bulletin pp.3-7

  21. Fitts, C.T. & Swift, F.H. (1928). The construction of orientation courses for college freshmen. University of California Publications in Education, (1897-1929), 2(3). Pp. 145-250. Gahagan, J.S. (1992) A historical and Theoretical framework for the first- year seminar. In National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, The 2000 national survey of first-year seminar programs: Continuing innovations in the collegiate curriculum (Monograph No. 35) Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. Gordon, V.N. (1989) Origins and purposes of the freshman seminar. In M.L.Upcraft, J.N.Gardner, & Associates (Eds.) The freshman year experience: Helping students survive and succeed in college (pp. 183-197). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  22. Hunter, M. S., & Linder, C. (2005). First-year seminars. In M. L. Upcraft, J. N. Gardner, & B. O. Barefoot (Eds.), Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A handbook for improving the first year of college (pp. 275-291), San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Padgett, R.D. & Keup, J.R. (2011) 2009 National Survey of First-year Seminars: Ongoing efforts to support students in transition (Research Reports on College Transitions No. 2) Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

  23. Contact Information Mary Stuart Hunter Assistant Vice Provost University 101 Programs & The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition University of South Carolina ph 803-777-4761 shunter@sc.edu

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