1. Betsy Barefoot, EdD Vice President & Senior Scholar Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education October 21 st, 2010 The First-Year Seminar at Midterm: Time for a Mid-Course Correction?

2. The First-Year Seminar A different kind of teaching –More personal –More holistic –More ambiguous –May be less driven by the need to cover content than students needs Its not everyones cup of tea.

3. Reaching the Mid-Point: Time to Take Stock Do you need to make a mid-course correction?

4. Is your plan (conceived several months ago).... meeting the needs of your students? your own needs as an instructor?

5. Your Personal Reactions Are you focused and moving forward? Are you overwhelmed? (the homeroom effect)

6. Your Personal Reactions Are you enjoying your class? Or, are you counting the days until its over?

7. Your Personal Reactions Are you a first-time instructor of a first-year seminar? Or an old hand? Would you do it again?

8. What Has Been Most Enjoyable – Most Frustrating? The students? Course objectives and expectations? Are they reasonable for the amount of credit offered? The textbook? What else?. Course Expectations 1. You will cover many topics. 2. You will transform students into engaged learners. 3. Students will know how to study and love it! 4. Students will persist & graduate.

9. How Are the Students Responding to Your Class? Have students left your class or left the institution? –Do you know why? Based on YOUR class, does the first six weeks notion make sense? Is there a problem with class attendance? What is your attendance policy?

10. How Are Students Responding to You and to the Course Content? Have you asked for feedback on your instructional style and course content? What would students like you to... –stop? start? continue? Are you hearing these comments? –I know all this stuff – I dont need this course. –This course has too much busywork. –This is a crip course.

11. What Can You Do to Address Complaints Be receptive to criticism. Make sure that both you and your students understand the purpose of your course and the rationale for each component. Work with other instructors to guarantee consistency of requirements across sections. Work with a peer leader. Make your course a real course, whatever that means in your institutional context.

12. Evaluating Student Needs at Midterm: A Checklist Midterm is time to –Meet with each student one-to-one to get to know them better and to determine their progress in other courses –Refer students to helping services on campus. Remember that suggesting may not be enough. Tutoring, writing center, math lab, counseling services, etc. Are you a participant in your institutions early warning/early alert system?