Developing Innovative and Effective
Assignments for First Year Seminars
15 May 2013
Why First Year Seminars?
• 21st Century Essential Learning Outcomes**
– Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and
natural world
– Intellectual and practical skills
– Personal and social responsibility
– Integrative and applied learning
** 2002-03 Greater Expectations Forum on Twenty-First-Century Liberal Arts Education
Practice (AAC&U)
Educational priorities and outcomes
Educational Priorities
Knowledge
Inquiry
Reasoning
Communication
Intercultural Literacy
Ethical Behavior
Citizenship
Vocation
Well-Being
Students will…
integrate and apply knowledge from a focused area of study as well as a
broad general education which includes disciplinary and interdisciplinary
perspectives in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
respond to the complexities of contemporary and enduring problems
using information literacy tools, research skills, creative thinking, and
analysis.
evaluate evidence; interpret data; and use logical, mathematical, and
statistical problem-solving tools.
speak and write clearly, listen and read actively, and engage with others in
productive dialogue.
connect with diverse ideas and with people whose experiences differ from
their own and that may be separated from them by time, space, or culture.
recognize personal, academic, and professional standards and act with
integrity.
collaborate with others and contribute in their communities and the larger
world.
discover and prepare for the range of opportunities and challenges that
await them beyond their college experience.
respect the ways physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual well-being
may contribute to a balanced life.
High Impact Practices
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First-year seminars/experiences
Common intellectual experiences
Learning communities
Writing-intensive courses
Collaborative assignments/projects
Undergraduate research
Diversity/global learning
Service/community-based learning
Internships
Capstone courses/projects
Padgett, R.D., 2011. The effects of high-impact practices on 21st century learning outcomes. National Resource
Center of the First Year Experience and Students in Transition (http://www.sc.edu/fye)
High Impact Practices
• “…combine and concentrate other empirically
validated pedagogical approaches into a single
multidimensional activity..” (Kuh et al., 2010)
• High-impact practices have minor direct effects on
student learning (Salisbury & Goodman, 2009)
• A more significant connection exists between “good
practices” and student learning (Goodman et al, 2011)
“Vetted” Good Practices**
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Exposure to effective teaching
Teaching clarity and organization
Quality of non-classroom interactions with faculty
Active learning
Influential interactions with other students
Cooperative learning
Academic challenge
High expectations
Integrative learning/experiences
Diversity experiences inside/outside the classroom
** e.g. 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
High Impact
Practice (e.g. FYS)
Inputs
Learning outcomes
High Impact
Practice delivered
using good
practices
FYS show tendency towards this stuff
(Engaging Pedagogy)**
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A variety of teaching methods
Meaningful discussion and homework
Challenging assignments
Productive use of class time
Encouragement for students to speak in class and
work together
** Swing, R. L., 2002. The impact of engaging pedagogy on first-year seminars. Policy Center on the First Year
of College Report (http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Swing-8.28.02.html)
Students who participate in a FYS that was required
were more likely to:
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Non-classroom interactions with faculty
Academic challenge and effort
Positive peer interactions
Co-curricular involvement
Service learning
Integrative learning
Interactions with student affairs staff
Cooperative learning
Study abroad
Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, 2006-09
Why these specific objectives?
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Introduce an academic discipline and the concept of a discipline within the context
of the liberal arts
Provide instruction for academic skills common to all disciplines:
– Academic Honesty: knowing when to document sources; understanding
ethical, legal and professional reasons for documenting sources
– Critical Reading: restating central points; making inferences; identifying and
questioning underlying assumptions; assessing evidence
– Information Literacy: distinguishing between and evaluating primary and
secondary sources; popular and scholarly sources
– Writing: using write-to-learn assignments to investigate, analyze, and
summarize course material
Address college-level academic expectations and practices
Introduce academic support services
Student satisfaction inventory
METRIC
More intense and challenging than
high school
Introduced me to available academic
resources
Helped understand a specific
discipline
Helped understand value of a liberal
arts education
Developed critical thinking skills
Allowed for student interaction
Allowed for positive exchange of
ideas
Professor was approachable
2011 (n = 215); 2012 (n = 161)
Mean - FYS 2011
3.69
Mean - FYS 2012
3.61
4.03
4.13
4.07
4.11
3.69
3.91
3.93
4.23
4.24
3.91
4.22
4.31
4.37
4.44
Reflective responses
(n = 287)
Academically Adrift (Arum &
Roksa, 2011)
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2300 students, range of colleges and universities
Transcript analysis
Student surveys
Results of Collegiate Learning Assessment
• 45 percent of students "did not demonstrate any significant
improvement in learning" during the first two years of
college.
• 36 percent of students "did not demonstrate any significant
improvement in learning" over four years of college.
• Those students who do show improvements tend to show
only modest improvements
Direct relationship between rigor and gains in learning
• Students majoring in liberal arts fields see "significantly higher gains in
critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over time than
students in other fields of study.“
• Students whose classes reflect high expectations (more than 40 pages of
reading a week and more than 20 pages of writing a semester) gained more
than other students.
• Students who study by themselves for more hours each week gain more
knowledge -- while those who spend more time studying in peer groups see
diminishing gains.
BUT
• 32 percent of students each semester do not take any courses with more than
40 pages of reading assigned a week
• half don't take a single course in which they must write more than 20 pages
over the course of a semester
• students spend, on average, only about 12-14 hours a week studying, and
that much of this time is studying in groups
Literature cited:
Association of American Colleges and Universities - 2002-03 Greater Expectations Forum
on Twenty-First-Century Liberal Arts Education Practice
http://www.aacu.org/gex/Forum/
Arum, R. and Roksa, J., 2011. Academically adrift: Limited learning on
college campuses. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
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.
Goodman, K.M., Baxter Magolda, M., Seifert, T.A., King, P. M., 2011. Good practices for
student learning: Mixed-method evidence from the Wabash National Study.
About Campus 16: 2-9.
Kuh, G., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E. J., 2010. Student success in college: Creating
conditions that matter. John Wiley & Sons, San Francisco.
Padgett, R.D., 2011. The effects of high-impact practices on 21st century learning
outcomes. National Resource Center of the First Year Experience and
Students in Transition (http://www.sc.edu/fye)
Salisbury, M. and Goodman, K., 2009. Educational practices that foster intercultural
competence. Diversity and Democracy 12: 12-13.
Swing, R. L., 2002. The impact of engaging pedagogy on first-year seminars. Policy
Center on the First Year of College Report
http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Swing-8.28.02.html
Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education 2006-2009
http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/study-research/