I have long been interested in helping first year students to
make a successful and rapid transition from high school to college. I believe
that the earlier students make academic and social connections on campus the
more rapidly they adjust to and take advantage of all that the university
has to offer.
Description:
Noting that a large number of first year students seem to languish
in the process of adapting to and engaging in university life, I decided to
attempt an experiment to speed up the process. I did the following:
I set my class up to include a mix of upper class
and first year students.
I spent a part of a couple of classes discussing
the value of getting to know a number of people who work at the university
and of becoming involved in extra curricular activities.
I took the first year students aside after such
whole class discussions and spoke with them about the importance of exploring
new activities and of learning about life and work by getting to know
caring adults who are engaged in a variety of fields on campus.
I gave each first year student the assignment
of attending a couple of meetings of and interviewing members of a student
group on campus, and interviewing a university employee to discuss how
they got into their line of work and what they rewarding about it.
I formally and informally discussed the assignments
and their value for the first year students at various points throughout
the semester.
Results:
While I think that I could have been more effective in connecting
the students to activity groups and employees on campus, most ultimately did
find groups and people to discuss with. Measuring progress in such a project
is not easy, but I did notice an increase in general enthusiasm among my first
year students and in communication between the first year students and their
neighbors in my class. There appeared also to be a general increase in the
willingness of the first year students to explore various aspects of UMD and
to take greater advantage of the opportunities available on campus.
Specific actions have included:
All of the first year students made an effort
to meet and get to know employees on campus. Among the most noteworthy
were relationships established with Residence Hall staff and faculty members.
The following quote from one student was rather typical for the group:
"On the first day of class I described him
to my father as a mean, grouchy Santa Clause. The first time I went to
see him, I was surprised by the way we interacted. He talked to me as
an equal, not making me feel inferior or intimidated in any way. We didn't
always talk about English - we talked about issues in the news and exchanged
our opinions on them. My visit one-day a week gradually turned to two
days a week for at least an hour. I became very motivated to improve my
writing skills, and I enjoyed going to class at 8:00am - a freshman's
worst night mare."
Two students investigated and joined the Outing
Club.
One student joined Mass PIRG and took part in
a clean up activity on campus.
One student investigated, enjoyed and became
a participant in the Open Mic Nights in the Underground Café.
One student decided to explore the services offered
by the Office of Disability.
