Students are faced with numerous challenges as they reach the high school level. Among these issues are declining levels of academic efficacy, expectancy, confidence, positive academic behaviors, and motivation. Intentionally developing existing strengths or talents may reverse these negative trends and equip students with the skills necessary to…

This study serves as the preliminary analyses of a pilot study of community college students who persisted through their remedial classes and their programs of study and had attained the associate degree at a multicultural community college. This study is informed by Tinto's academic integration model, Astin's social involvement model and Freire's…

The goal of the work reported here was to help students expand their understanding of antibiotic resistance, the Central Dogma, and evolution. We developed a unit entitled "Ciprofloxacin Resistance in "Neisseria gonorrhoeae,"" which was constructed according to the principles of scientific teaching by a team of graduate students, science faculty,…

Since the first National Survey on Freshman Seminar Programs was conducted in fall 1988, the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition has continued to investigate, triennially, the extent to which first-year seminars are offered on college campuses across the United States. Data in this publication provide…

Offers annotated citations that outline the structure of programs for incoming freshmen at some colleges, and discuss the outcomes related to participation by students. Asserts that these types of programs are more difficult to structure at community colleges because many students attend part-time or have outside obligations that limit the time…

This study explores the concept of strategies as a means for understanding how students negotiate the transition to college. Based upon a qualitative study of eight first-year students at an urban, commuter, public four-year college, it explores how students experienced challenges, perceived influences, and devised strategies during the freshman…

This article analyzes the challenges encountered in a first-year service-learning course in which students had high expectations for community involvement and a commitment to social responsibility, yet significant difficulty connecting their service orientation to the intellectual inquiry expected of them at the college level. This conflict…

Increasingly, companies and corporations are seeking to diversify areas of their workforce that are predominantly male. Many of the positions in these areas are highly technical. However, despite abundant opportunities, women are not preparing themselves for technology-related careers. To develop a first step toward addressing this problem, a…

A group of five graduate students and a faculty mentor used the cultural popularity of forensics to develop a first-year undergraduate seminar. This course fulfilled two main objectives: First, the graduate student instructors developed professionally through a two-year process of creating, instructing, and revising a course. Second, a variety of…

Assessment is a worthwhile undertaking when meaningful data are generated, evidence-based improvement initiatives are thoroughly considered and discussed, and results are ultimately used to improve educational effectiveness. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results are oriented toward such practical use. Each year, more campuses use…

The trend toward implementing models for Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for academic support in higher education is gaining momentum. Whether due to external influences, such as the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which promotes inquiry about teaching and learning, or more related to internal forces such as…

Examined whether college graduation rates of students taking a first-year seminar differed significantly from a comparison group. Found a significantly greater graduation rate for those enrolled in the seminar. Also found that the effect of the seminar was greatest for students from middle to lower high school deciles and minimal for students from…

The authors investigated changes in self-efficacy in writing and writing apprehension in a sample of first-year college students in an interdisciplinary writing-intensive course taught by faculty from varied disciplines at a liberal arts college. Results showed that self-efficacy in writing significantly increased while writing apprehension…

Freshmen entering Hofstra University in the Fall of 1966 were assigned on a random basis either to the regular Freshman Seminar course, with emphasis on discussion, or to the Modes of Inquiry course, with emphasis on ways of learning and the development of critical thinking. The students responded to a 30-item questionnaire which was designed to…

As a recent curriculum innovation replacing Freshman English, the Freshman Investigative Seminar consists of 12 or 13 students meeting for one semester of five weekly class hours, directed by faculty from different disciplines. Its objectives are to lead the student to learn how to gather information from various sources, how to keep accurate…