scholarly journals Everyone is Responsible for Everything: Corequisites and the First-Year Seminar

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (Volume 2, Issue 2) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Keyword(s):  
Student Support ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Underprepared Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
State Legislation ◽  
First Year Seminar

Following state legislation mandating corequisite support in lieu of remedial prerequisites for underprepared students, this article tells the story of a specific corequisite program piloted in South Texas. Our model transformed certain sections of our institution􏰀s first-year seminar into corequisite courses, which were paired with required gateway classes. We argue, this model helped to extend existing networks of student support beyond classrooms and beyond advising.

scholarly journals First-Year Seminars: A Comparison of Course Characteristics and High Impact Practices at Two-Year Colleges

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (Volume 2, Issue 1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Underprepared Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academically Underprepared ◽  
Two Year Colleges ◽  
Course Characteristics ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
First Year Seminar

Contemporary literature underscores the salience of First-Year seminars (FYS) in supporting the success of college students. The problem is that the research outlining the characteristics of FYS at two-year colleges is sparse, particularly when certain populations are required to enroll in these courses. There is little information about how these seminars vary to meet the needs of certain students. This study examined the characteristics of FYS at two-year institutions where academically underprepared students were required to enroll in a first-year seminar. The results and implications for practice are discussed in this study.

A First-Year Seminar on Cryptography

Cryptologia ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren Glass
Keyword(s):  
First Year ◽  
First Year Seminar

scholarly journals Portraits of primary school pre-service teachers at a South African university: Implications for nuanced student support

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarita Ramsaroop ◽  
Nadine Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
South African ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
School Teacher ◽  
Student Support ◽  
Primary School Teacher ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Primary School Teacher Education

In this article, we report on a study of two South African primary school teacher education cohorts undertaken to investigate and understand their readiness to succeed in higher education and to plan support accordingly. Using the methodology of portraiture, we generated data from a combination of student questionnaires and examination results. Qualitative content analysis enabled the construction of six personas and three main themes. The portraits helped with an understanding of the complexity of the themes, in particular with how an identification of both the malleable and non-malleable elements affecting students' lives could inform and shape interventions for successful transition into university. More specifically, the dominance of particular characteristics in the personas provided information about which student groups required the most psychosocial and academic support and where it was required. The portraits also helped us to gauge the value of existing first-year initiatives, such as the educational excursion, for promoting student enculturation and in overcoming their initial anxieties and preconceptions. We argue for more nuanced information about students to inform a multi-pronged approach to student support that may extend much longer than teacher educators anticipate.

scholarly journals Thinking Through Improvisation: Do General Improvisation Studies Belong in a Liberal Arts Curriculum?

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Poccia
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Reading Performance ◽  
First Year ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Arts Curriculum ◽  
Creative Problem ◽  
Liberal Arts Students ◽  
First Year Seminar

Thinking Through Improvisation implies two meanings: 1) carefully examining all that improvisation encompasses including how it is practiced, and 2) using improvisation to generate ideas or performances. Using a First Year Seminar course I taught for 20 years, I illustrate how a general course in improvisation can introduce students to improvisation as a way of thinking in diverse fields and can strengthen liberal arts skills in critical and creative thinking. Interdisciplinary and multicultural approaches are readily incorporated as are a range of activities including writing, critical reading, performance, and creative problem solving. Risk taking, trust, creativity, adaptability, teamwork, respect for knowledge, abstract and practical thinking and the joy of creative discovery are explored through discussion and practice of improvisation. Scientific explanations of improvisation are compared to subjective experiences of improvisational performance. These activities lay a groundwork for creative explorations of the discipline-oriented curriculum in the range of fields subsequently encountered by liberal arts students.  

scholarly journals Impact of first-year seminar on student engagement, awareness, and general attitudes toward higher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina A. Al-Sheeb ◽  
Mahmoud Samir Abdulwahed ◽  
Abdel Magid Hamouda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
First Year ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Of Law ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
Campus Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

Purpose This study intends to add to the existing body of literature on the impact of a newly implemented first year seminar in the College of Law and Business. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects the course have on students in regard to three aspects: student awareness and utilization of resources, interaction patterns, as well as, general interests and attitudes toward higher education. Design/methodology/approach The methodology of the assessment included analysis of a survey that has been conducted by the end of Spring 2014 semester. A quasi-experimental design was implemented to measure the impact of the intervention on students’ awareness and utilization of resources, interactions, general interests, and attitudes toward higher education. Through the SPSS application, the Mann Whitney U Test, and χ2 tests were used to check for significant differences while comparing the means or frequencies for both groups. For the three questions, the authors have used the 90 percent confidence level and the standard significance level p-value of 0.05 or less for statistical analysis. Findings The results indicated that the course had a highly significant positive impact on student attitudes and awareness of campus resources but had less significant impact on student interactions and utilization of resources. The results in this study reveal a positive impact for the first-year seminar course on student satisfaction and attitudes toward higher education as well as their awareness of campus resources. However, in terms of the course impact on student interaction, results conveyed that students who have participated in the first-year seminar course show a slightly better interaction rate with instructors, academic advisors, and close friends than those in the control group. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that the sample was small. Nonetheless, it has provided valuable insights into the understanding of the social and academic impact of first-year seminars on student engagement; through the use of comparison groups, this study increased the validity of prior research. Practical implications The first-year seminar course evaluated in this study demonstrated the potential to support and enhance student social and academic engagement during the first year of college. Based on the results in this study, the study team recommended some revisions to the current first-year seminar model (UNIV P100 Skills for University Success). The team proposed three models for subsequent first-year seminars at this university. Originality/value This study adds to the existing literature by examining the impact of a newly implemented first-year seminar course at the College of Law and Business at this university on both academic and non-academic aspects from the students’ perspective. These aspects were selected as retention and GPA effects have been widely explored; therefore, the focus is on the less studied emotional and social factors associated with student success and retention. The results from this study can act as a guide for universities intending to introduce a first-year seminar course as it gives clear guidelines on design, content, and course implementation, which can be useful in enhancing general student motivation and attitudes toward academic study and higher education in general.

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