scholarly journals Prioritizing Reflection and Integrative Learning in First-Year Seminar Courses

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianna Z. Rust ◽  
Ryan Korstange
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Integrative Learning ◽  
First Year Retention ◽  
College Learn ◽  
First Year Seminar

First-Year Seminar (FYS) or First-Year Experience (FYE) courses help college students transition to college, learn valuable academic skills, and create successful habits. This research analyzes the benefit of reorganizing FYS curriculum around reflection and integrative learning, by comparing students who participated in this redesigned curriculum with those who participated in a skills-based, extended orientation first-year seminar course. The two groups were compared on several measures, including perception about the utility of reflective and integrative thinking, first year retention, and first year GPA. Our findings suggest that prioritizing reflection and integrative learning in a FYS seminar is beneficial.

scholarly journals Bringing a Learning Strategies Project to Scale in a First-Year Seminar

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Hillary Steiner ◽  
Nirmal Trivedi ◽  
Joshua Brown
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Academic Skills ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Transition ◽  
Metacognitive Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Year Seminar

This paper describes the impact of a learning strategies intervention conducted in first-year seminar courses that, 1) disaggregated components of academic skills into meaningful components for first-year students, 2) taught students academic skills within an authentic context, and 3) scaled-up the intervention for implementation at a programmatic level. This work is grounded in research on metacognition, self-regulation, and motivation, as well as literature on the academic transition to college. Results reinforced earlier findings indicating significant improved use of metacognitive learning strategies, even when the intervention was expanded to include multiple instructors in multiple course sections. Further research is needed to determine the precise factors precipitating improvement when the project was brought to scale.

Understanding difference through dialogue: A first-year experience for college students.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charu Thakral ◽  
Philip L. Vasquez ◽  
Bette L. Bottoms ◽  
Alicia K. Matthews ◽  
Kimberly M. Hudson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year

scholarly journals Mental Health and Academic Success of First-Year College Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy Jordan Wyatt ◽  
Sara B Oswalt ◽  
Yesenia Ochoa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
College Health ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Mental Health Issues

The prevalence and severity of mental health issues are increasing among college students, and such issues pose a threat to health and academic performance. Responses from 66,159 undergraduate students about mental health and academics from the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II were examined using regression analyses. Differences in mental health diagnoses were found by classification with first-year students reporting higher rates of self-injury and seriously considering suicide. Upperclassmen reported higher rates of academic impact from mental health factors. Findings indicate one’s first-year of college as the prime time to promote awareness of and strategies to prevent mental health issues or negative academic effects; implications for first-year experience programs are discussed. 

Do First-Year College Students' Expectations Align with their First-Year Experiences?

NASPA Journal ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Smith ◽  
Ellen C Wertlieb
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Transition To College ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Expectations ◽  
Social Expectations ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
First Year College ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
First Year Experiences

First-year college students’ expectations about "what college is like" do not always align with their actual experiences. This study examined 31 first-year students’ social and academic expectations and compared those expectations with students' experiences at the middle and end of their first year of college. Paired t tests revealed that students' academic and social expectations did not align with their first-year experiences. Academic and social expectations/experiences were not statistically significant predictors of first-year academic achievement. However, students with unrealistic high social or academic expectations had lower first-year grade point averages (GPAs) than students with average or below-average expectations. Recommendations for increasing high school and college collaboration to assist students with the transition to college are included.

Using Student Drawings to Understand the First-Year Experience

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele C. Everett
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Study Data ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Visual Research ◽  
Students First ◽  
Undeclared Students ◽  
First Year Seminar

This article reports on an exploratory study that investigated the use of student drawings as a visual research method to understand the first-year experience. A total of 31 undeclared students enrolled in a first-year seminar participated in the study. Data generated from pre- and postdrawings of students’ first semester paths were analyzed to identify emergent themes and understand experience at the group and individual levels. Findings provide novel insights about the first-year experience from the student’s perspective. These new understandings have important implications that may help institutions shape and strengthen retention efforts at the student, classroom, and program levels.

scholarly journals Know Your Safe Drinking Skills: Adaptation Strategies for the College Effect

2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Lin ◽  
John L. Christensen ◽  
Anne Borsai Basaran
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Alcohol Prevention ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
College Life ◽  
First Year College ◽  
First Year College Students ◽  
Drinking Frequency

Objective: The current study investigates the effects of an alcohol-prevention program delivered to college students in a formal classroom setting. Participants: The sample comprised 231 first-year college students who enrolled in a multisection “First Year Experience” course at a large northeastern university in the United States. Method: A naturalistic experiment was conducted, with a baseline evaluation at the beginning of the semester and a post-experiment evaluation near the end of the semester. Results: Social drinking attitudes, proximal drinking norm and the college effect are significant predictors of pre- and post-intervention episodic drinking frequency. The intervention reduced episodic drinking frequency as well as perceived distal and proximal drinking norms. It also increased drinking attitudes and did not change perceived efficacy or drinking-outcome expectancies. Conclusions: Practitioners could consider implementing a similar intervention to allow students to learn and practice safe drinking skills in the first year of their college life.

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