The Instructor’s Playbook:Elevate Your Game in First-Year Experience Courses
Ali Ressing, Northeastern University
Janine Bradley, University of Massachusetts Boston
Introduce yourself to your neighbor
How do you interact with first year
experience courses?
How did you get your start with
teaching?
High Impact Practices
First year seminars and experiences
Common intellectual experiences
Learning communities
Writing intensive courses
Collaborative assignments
Undergraduate research
Global learning
ePortfolios
Service based learning
Internships
Capstone projects
Student engagement
Improved academic performance
during the first year of college
“Another way in which participation in the first-year seminar
may promote students’ persistence to degree completion is by
improving their academic performance during the first term in
college. Research indicates that there is a relationship between
higher first-term GPA and student retention (Fox, 1986;
Pascarella & Chapman, 1983), higher rate of college completion
(DesJardins, et al., 2002; Nora & Cabrera, 1996) as well as
shorter time to graduation (Goldman & Gillis, 1989; Young,
1982). The first-year seminar has been found to improve
students’ academic performance during the first year of college.
Thus, by impacting the short-term outcome of first-year
academic performance, the first-year seminar may in turn
contribute to the longer-term outcome of persistence to
graduation.”
-Joe Cuseo
UMass Boston College of Science and Mathematics
● 12,000+ undergrads, 100% commuter
● Learning community model based on major
● Self-selected
● Two types of courses: faculty-led vs. advisor-led
Northeastern
Where did it happen?
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How about when??
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aliqua.
Best Practices of Intentional
First Year Programs
● Research Based
● Student Centered
● Mission Driven
● Intrusive
● Proactive
● Diversified
● Holistic
● Sequential
● Integrative
● Scaleable
● Sustainable
● Assessment-Driven
Best Practices
Expectations
● Set them early
● Student engagement
● Revisit as needed
Relevance
● Timing!
● Connect to student
experience
● Student input
Feedback
● Student experience
matters
● Make it matter
Peers
● Modeling
● Office hours
● Presentations
Best Practices
Best Practices
Best Practices
Best Practices
Best Practices
Expectations
● Set them early
● Student engagement
● Revisit as needed
Relevance
● Timing!
● Connect to student
experience
● Student input
Feedback
● Student experience
matters
● Make it matter
Peers
● Modeling
● Office hours
● Presentations
Discuss
What is one obstacle or challenge
you are currently facing in your
classroom?
References
Cuseo, J. 2010. “The empirical case for the first-year seminar: promoting positive student outcomes and campus-wide
benefits.” The first-year seminar: research-based recommendations for course design, delivery, and assessment.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Kuh, G. D. 2008. High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter.
Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Upcraft, L. M., J. N. Gardner, and B. O. Barefoot, eds. 2005. Challenging and supporting the first-year student: A
handbook for improving the first year of college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Images
Slide 1: http://www.talentism.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bigstock-Business-strategy-
businessman-67467796.jpg
Slide 2: https://media2.giphy.com/media/3rgXBA2pMZn1PSuYtW/200w.webp
Slide 4: https://cache-blog.credit.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/how-to-spend-graduation-
money.jpg
Slide 5: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/08/09/umass-boston-harvard-square/
Slide 13: http://www.michelfalcon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/obstacle.gif
Slide 16: : https://www.pinterest.com/pin/582160689302834914/