Understanding How First-year Seminars Affect Persistence

Porter, Stephen R.; Swing, Randy L.

doi:10.1007/s11162-005-8153-6

Cited by 151 publications

(169 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(16 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

149

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Much of the literature that argues for the value of first-year seminars in higher education positions first-year seminars as interventions within universities and colleges, related to outcomes such as student retention and persistence (Porter & Swing, 2006;Schnell & Doetkott, 2003) instead of engaging students with new ways of learning, with multi-or inter-disciplinary ways of knowing, or transferrable research skills. Our research demonstrates the value-added enrichment effect of participation in a single interdisciplinary first-year seminar.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in First-Year Students’ Use of Research Resources: Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Seminar Program on Research and Literacy Learning Outcomes

Murray

Lachowsky

2017

cjsotl-rcacea

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Internet, which has made information ubiquitous and seemingly infinite, has transformed education. Universities are challenged to educate students to navigate and evaluate critically the undifferentiated information of the Internet so that students gain the ability to transform it into knowledge. To better understand the effects of taking a First-Year Seminar we examined the types of research resources students consulted before and after taking an interdisciplinary graded for-credit First-Year Seminar at a midsize comprehensive public university in Canada. We analyzed 2,576 anonymous questionnaires collected across 102 first-year seminars. After completing a first-year seminar, students consulted more reliable and scholarly resources, irrespective of the semester of enrollment. Generally, there were some improvements noted between first and second semester students. However, comparisons between students who had just completed a seminar in semester one with students who were about to begin a seminar in semester two, reveal that the improved results are not solely attributable to the normal transition and maturation process experienced by students in their first semester of university. L’Internet, qui a rendu l’information omniprésente et apparemment inépuisable, a transformé l’éducation. Les universités sont mises au défi d’enseigner aux étudiants comment naviguer et évaluer de façon critique les informations non différenciées trouvées sur Internet afin que les étudiants puissent apprendre à transformer ces informations en connaissances. Pour mieux comprendre les effets sur les étudiants qui suivent un séminaire de première année, nous avons examiné les divers types de ressources de recherche que les étudiants ont consultées avant et après avoir suivi un séminaire interdisciplinaire noté et menant à l’obtention d’un crédit, dans une université canadienne publique de taille moyenne. Nous avons analysé 2 576 questionnaires anonymes obtenus de 102 séminaires de première année. Après avoir suivi un séminaire de première année, les étudiants ont consulté des ressources plus fiables et plus savantes, indifféremment du semestre dans lequel ils se trouvaient à ce moment-là. En général, on a noté quelques améliorations entre les étudiants de premier semestre et ceux de deuxième semestre. Toutefois, les comparaisons entre les étudiants qui venaient de terminer un séminaire au cours de leur premier semestre et les étudiants qui étaient sur le point de commencer un séminaire au cours de leur deuxième semestre ont révélé que les meilleurs résultats ne sont pas exclusivement attribuables à la transition normale et au processus de maturation dont les étudiants font l’expérience au cours de leur premier semestre.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in First-Year Students’ Use of Research Resources: Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Seminar Program on Research and Literacy Learning Outcomes

Murray

Lachowsky

2017

cjsotl-rcacea

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The research literature largely shows these programs do make a difference (Crisp & Taggart, 2013), though it is not clear to what extent (Robbins, Oh, Le, & Button, 2009), why the impact may be short-lived or long-lasting (Karp, Raufman, Efthimiou, & Ritze, 2016;Weiss et al, 2015), or to what extent effects are due to student or program differences (Pike, Kuh, & McCormick, 2011;Porter & Swing, 2006). To address these limitations, researchers have called for larger-scale studies across multiple sites that better account for programmatic features.…”

Section: The Community College Student Success Program Inventorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Content Validation of the Community College Student Success Program Inventory

Hatch

Mardock-Uman

2017

Community College Journal of Research and Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study reports on the content validation of the Community College Student Success Program Inventory (CCSSPI), a structured interview protocol for program personnel, designed to serve as a tool for researchers and practitioners alike to account for critical features of various types of student success programs in detailed and comparable ways across multiple sites. In all, 20 subject matter experts (SMEs) rated the relevancy and clarity of each item to ascertain essential program features. Content validity index (CVI) and scale-level index scores (S-CVI) were calculated. Results showed high to moderately high validity for items related to course goals, logistics, skills-focused curricular items, and academic and student services. Other contingent facets-collaborative and contextualized learning, co-curricular and community activities, ancillary instruction, and instructor role-were rated as less valid, depending on program goals. The instrument is recommended for use in multisite qualitative or mixed-methods research and institutional improvement. The Community College Student Success Program Inventory

show abstract

“…Following Boston University's transitional approach, seminars frequently took the shape of courses such as "Introduction to University," more colloquially "University 101," or university survival skills (Jessup-Anger, 2011;Mamrick, 2005). Generic, skills-based seminars remain popular and, as recently as 2009, comprised 40% of first-year seminar programs at universities in the United States (Mamrick, 2005;Padgett & Keup, 2009;Porter & Swing, 2006). A different model is found in programs that offer a number of multi-sectioned, interdisciplinary seminars on prescribed topics.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this type of program, students are able to sample the approaches of various disciplines, within an established and consistent prescribed curriculum (Wanca-Thibault, Shepherd, & Staley, 2002). In general, academic seminars focus on intellectual skills development while generic programs tend to centre on the social transition to university (Brant, 2005;Friedman & Marsh, 2009;Porter & Swing, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Faculty Experience Teaching in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar Program: The Case of the University of Guelph

Murray

Wolf

2016

cjsotl-rcacea

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

First-year seminar programs have been a feature on the landscape of post-secondary teaching and learning in the United States, since they first appeared in the 1880s at Boston University (Mamrick, 2005). More recently, they have begun to appear at Canadian universities. For example, first-year seminars were introduced a decade ago at the University of Guelph, as a campus-wide initiative. To recognize the first decade that these unique, interdisciplinary seminars have been offered, faculty were surveyed to understand better the impact of the program on those teaching in it, as well as their perceptions of their students. The experience of the University of Guelph suggests first-year seminar programs can have a significant influence on the teaching and professional experience of faculty and encourages them to extend their networks beyond the department and across the campus. Significantly, seminars serve as sites for pedagogical experimentation that can influence departmental curricula. Faculty who teach a first-year seminar have high satisfaction and report myriad benefits to morale, teaching, and research. The salutary effects of a first-year seminar program are not local but would be transferable across post-secondary institutions. Aux États-Unis, on a beaucoup parlé des programmes de séminaires de première année dans le paysage de la pédagogie dans l’enseignement supérieur, depuis leur première apparition dans les années 1880 à l’Université de Boston (Mamrick, 2005). Plus récemment, ils ont commencé à apparaître dans les universités canadiennes. Par exemple, des séminaires de première année ont été introduits il y a dix ans à l’Université de Guelph en tant qu’initiative à l’échelle du campus. Afin de marquer la première décennie au cours de laquelle ces séminaires interdisciplinaires uniques ont été offerts, une enquête a été menée auprès des professeurs pour mieux comprendre les effets du programme sur les enseignants, ainsi que les perceptions de leurs étudiants. L’expérience de l’Université de Guelph suggère que les programmes de séminaires de première année peuvent avoir une influence importante sur l’enseignement et sur l’expérience professionnelle des professeurs et peuvent les encourager à élargir leur réseau au-delà du département et sur tout le campus. Il est significatif de constater que les séminaires servent de sites pour des expériences pédagogiques qui peuvent influencer les programmes d’études départementaux. Les professeurs qui enseignent un séminaire de première année en retirent une grande satisfaction et rapportent une myriade d’avantages pour le moral, l’enseignement, et la recherche. Les effets salutaires d’un programme de séminaires de première année ne sont pas ressentis uniquement au niveau local, ils sont transférables à tous les établissement d’enseignement supérieur.

show abstract

Understanding How First-year Seminars Affect Persistence

Cited by 151 publications

References 24 publications

Changes in First-Year Students’ Use of Research Resources: Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Seminar Program on Research and Literacy Learning Outcomes

Changes in First-Year Students’ Use of Research Resources: Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Seminar Program on Research and Literacy Learning Outcomes

Content Validation of the Community College Student Success Program Inventory

Faculty Experience Teaching in an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar Program: The Case of the University of Guelph

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About