Catalyst Project Results of Analysis of Data 2004 First Year Student Cohort (Year 1)

With the help of our consultant Karen Schilling we developed the following framework for the Catalyst Project. It is conceived of as a diverse, developmental approach to creating the capacity for integrative learning in our students.

First Choice Students Intellectual Issues Students Capstone Students Students at Fr. Orientation Catalyst Project Team Advisory Board Faculty Catalyst Project Framework

Both to provide us with data and to begin to have students develop a reflective framework, students were asked a series of questions during summer orientation in 2004 and again with slight modification after the first semester. (See next slides for questions.)

Question One Summer: looking back at your high school years, reflect on how your experiences as a student have influenced your interests, goals, beliefs, and/or general outlook. Fall: as you complete your first semester at SUNY at Oswego, reflect on how your early experiences as a college student have changed or influenced your interests, beliefs and/or general outlook.

Question Two Summer: Describe a recent assignment for one class in which you used skills, knowledge and/or methods that you learned in other classes. Described how you applied your learning in this course or assignment. Fall: Describe an exercise or assignment you were asked to complete this semester that required or enabled you to use information and/or strategies you learned in other classes. How did you go about integrating your learning for this exercise or assignment?

Question Three Summer: In college you will be taking classes in your major, general education courses, and courses that you choose simply because they interest you. What do you think is the value of the variety of courses that you will be taking? Fall: During this fall semester, you have taken classes in your major and general education, as well as elective courses that interested you. What do you see as the value of this variety of courses you are now completing?

Question Four (end of semester only) Evaluate your experience with your FirstChoice course.

2004 Freshman Cohort at SUNY Oswego Applied =7466 Admitted =4242 (57%) Enrolled =1390 (33%) Breakdown by Discipline Undeclared =306 (22%) Business =181 (13%) Education =326 (23%) Arts & Sciences =577 (42%)

Procedure for End of Fall Semester Evaluation All incoming freshmen were enrolled in a FirstChoice course with enrollment 19. Instructors had received training relative to adding activities in their classes to assist students to be successful in college. Most FirstChoice courses are introductory general education courses or Gateway courses to major programs. At the end of the first term, faculty members of these classes were asked to have their students respond to questions similar to those presented during summer orientation One additional question was added which asked them about what they had learned about being a college student during their First Choice course

Analysis of Responses Categories (our rubric) were not pre-defined – after multiple reviews as a team we derived them from recurrent themes and trends in the responses from both surveys. We then asked the following questions: What changes have occurred during this first semester & what trends seem to be emerging? Are there changes in how students perceive that their academic experiences have influenced or changed their interests, goals, beliefs or general outlook? Are there changes in students’ attitudes/opinions about the “value” of the variety of courses they will be/have taken at SUNY Oswego?

Question One CATEGORY SUMMERFIRST CHOICE Personal Growth30.6%19% More Motivated13.8%5.5 Less Motivated1.2%2.9% No Change1.8%11.9% Less Confident0%1.5% Learned Keys to Academic Success9%23.5% More Confident7.5%11.1% Learned About my Interests35.8%22.9%

Question Two CATEGORYSUMMERFIRST CHOICE Skills Transferred 47.3%49% Academic Concepts Transferred *37.6%31.8% Personal Growth *7.2%2.8% Used Skills Learned Outside of Class *5.3%2.7% No Transfer of Information2%6.4% No Response.6%7%

Question Three CATEGORYSUMMERFIRST CHOICE Value for the Future19.7%8% Negative Value.003%10.7% Means to Discover Interests, Likes & Dislikes & Exploration33.4%35% Breadth/Diversity 39.2%39.8% Personal Growth6.7%3% No Response.005%3%

Question Four (only at end of semester) CATEGORYFIRST CHOICE Negative Lessons7% Academic Growth15% Personal Growth37% Realized Keys to Academic Success41%

New Question Summer `05: What motivates you to learn? (preliminary analysis) CATEGORYFIRST CHOICE Unique Experience/Real Life App15% Competition/Challenge 6% Getting Good Grades/Get Smarter21% Love for Reading/Specific Subject17% Sense of Accomplishment 7% Good Teachers (passion/skills/interest)22% Part of Academic Community/Knowledge 8.5% Bad Experience/Nothing Specific 2.5%

Observations about changes during this First Semester Students’ focus on personal growth issues is much stronger during their summer orientation session. In all three questions, students’ responses at the end of the first semester illustrated a shift away from relating expressions of individual growth, (examples of learning about interests and personal drive) – in favor of discovering keys to being successful and gaining confidence in their academic abilities.

When asked to reflect on the “value” of the variety of classes taken in college, most believe there IS value and the number of students describing this as a means to acquire breadth/diversity or discover interests, likes & dislikes remains consistent over time at just over 70% of the cohort.

With regard to their recall about academic exercises and assignments that enhances integration, almost all students were able to identify “something” they had done in which they believe integration had occurred. Transference of skills was the largest category for the entire cohort. At the end of the first term, there were slightly fewer students who were able to articulate examples of activities where they had transferred academic concepts – slightly more of these first semester freshmen also tell us that they do not see “any” transfer of information. This result has led us to develop the “first year project” that we describe later in the results.

General Observations on Students’ Reflections from Integrative Projects during their High School Years Although almost all students could present an example of integration, they differed in amount and type The majority of students connected a positive affect to the experience Excitement about the project Pride in their accomplishments External affirmation in both grades and teacher and student comments

Students Described Various Levels of Integrative Complexity Categories Skills integration Simple realizations that skills can be taken from one class to another Multiple skills integration Content Connections – Student is making the connections Contextual grounding One course is used as grounding for another (ex. place a novel in a historical context) Usually involves connecting two course Content complexity Student makes the connection across courses Can involve multiple courses

Levels of Integration (cont.) Global Student makes connection from one or more courses using a concept that applies to many courses Personal Connections Students makes a connection to their personal lives “Cosmic” Student comes to the realization that everything is connected

Types of Projects A variety of types of projects were described by students as having required integration across classes. These included: “Soup-to nuts” projects: Students take the projects from question formation to oral presentation Term papers Science lab projects Simulations Can be “soup-to-nuts” but center around real life issues related to a class Used most often in business classes and in political science classes Forced Integration Projects Problem explicitly asks students to integrate material from a variety of classes

Types of Projects (cont.) Public policy issues: Students are asked to research all sides of an issue Ex. Legalization of marijuana, homelessness, censorship Projects with creative products Ex. Films, sculpture Internships or field placements Projects that relate personally to the student’s growth and development

How Projects and Levels of Integration Are Related

Using what we had learned from students, we created a set of principles for faculty to use in developing what we have called the “first year projects”.

Two Main Principles Since our first year program is composed of a variety of different courses, a set of principles for faculty in developing first year projects, rather than a specific assignment, seems most feasible. First year projects should be developmentally appropriate for the level of student.

Principles Students should have some input into the choice of topic within appropriate guidelines The integrative nature of the project should be made explicit to students There should be some presentation component to the project Projects should provide a challenge to the students but not be so challenging as to be daunting Projects should focus as much on process as on product Students should keep a reflective journal throughout the project A pilot project to develop these projects began in Fall 2005 with interested faculty.