What is the difference between high
school and college?*
 Structure/Freedom
 Faculty
 Tests
 Grades
*
Taken from the following website: www.smu.edu/alec/whyhighschool.html
Structure
High School
 You proceed from class
to class all day
 Your time is structured
by others
College
 You may have hours
between classes (12-16
hr/wk)
 You manage your own
time
Faculty
High school
College
 Remind you of
 Expect you to
assignments and due
dates
 Check you homework
understand and follow
syllabus
 Assume you come to
class prepared
Tests
High School
College
 Make-up tests are
 Make-ups may not be
routinely available
 Frequent and usually
cover small amounts of
information (chapter)
an option
 Tests tend to be
infrequent and
cumulative
Grades
High School
College
 Most assigned work is
 Not all work is graded
graded
 Extra credit projects are
available
 Generally speaking,
extra credit is not
available
High School
 Structure/freedom
 Faculty
 Tests
 Grades
 Other
College
Guiding Principles
High School
 Structure- You’re told
what to do
 Teachers- High School
is a teaching
environment in which
you acquire facts and
skills
 Tests-You’re expected
to reproduce what you
were taught
 Grades- Effort counts
College
 You’re expected to take
responsibility for
decisions
 College is a learning
environment in which
you take responsibility
for what you have
learned
 Tests-Mastery is seen
as the ability to apply
what you’ve learned
 Results count
First Year Experience/Freshman
Seminar Topics
Transition Issues
• Acculturation process
•
•
•
•
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Motivation and Goal-setting
Time Management
Managing Stress
Skills Improvement
•
•
•
•
•
Getting the most out of textbooks- (SQ3R)
Note taking and active listening
Decoding Faculty
Test-taking Strategies
Critical thinking and Metacognition
Topics
Assessment Tools
•
•
•
•
Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Learning Styles Inventory
LASSI-Learning and Study Skills Inventory
Self-Directed Search
Campus Resources
•
•
•
•
Student Affairs resources
Using the Library
Email, Windows, and the Internet
Academic advising
Topics
Student Development Theory
•
•
•
•
Multiple Intelligences Theory- Howard Gardener
Arthur Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student Development
William Perry's Theory of Cognitive Development
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives